Murrieta Rotary Takes Up Donations for Ravaged Region in Japan

The recent earthquake and the accompanying tsunami that devastated northern Japan hit too close to home for members of the Rotary Club of Murrieta.

The region affected includes Fukushima, an area with which Rotarians in the Inland Empire have had a special friendship, said Murrieta rotarian Al Vollbrecht in a news release.

"District 5330 partnered with one from that part of Japan about a decade ago to do a vocational exchange that saw five-member teams from each spending a month in the homes and towns of the other. We still have many friends there," Vollbrecht said.

Vollbrecht said the district has been in touch with Rotarians in Fukushima about how they can help and have been advised that their immediate needs are being cared for, but that rebuilding their communities down the road will require all the assistance that can be mustered. 

Accordingly, the district has set up a special fund that will hold donations from clubs, individual members and non-Rotarians who wish to help.

"When Fukushima is ready, the funds will be sent to their aid."

Donations can be sent to Rotary District 5330 Foundation, c/o Milt Levinson, Post Office Box 1505, Palm Springs, Calif., 92263. In the memo section, write "Japan Disaster Fund."