Akiko Yamazaki lost everything on March 11, 2011.  Gone  were the lives of her mother, daughter and countless other relatives when the torrential tsunami  hit her village of Otsuchi,Japan on that fateful day.  Lost were the hopes and dreams of many, including an exchange student who had visited the United States as part of a sister city educational experience with community members from Ft. Bragg, California.  Sharon Davis was one of the many who opened their homes and their hearts to students from Otsuchi and then months later felt powerless as the raging waters left destruction and death to those they had met.  Their story was recently chronicled on a CBS 60 Minutes broadcast.  (Watch below) Sharon is my colleague via the 411 VOICES media network. I also proudly call her my friend.

This Fall Sharon received a few keychains from Akiko. They are made from debris of her home.  This brave woman took what strength she had after such a catastrophic loss and decided to persevere by helping her community and giving them hope. Sharon Davis and I decided to expand her efforts by offering the above pictured keychain (or ornament) as an item for SILENT AUCTION via 411VOICES.com.

In order to place a bid for this keychain (which is about half the size of a credit card), simply send  an EMAIL with your name and the amount you wish to bid to INFO@411VOICES<dot>com  (unusual typing is to stop spammers). The bidding will conclude  at 11:59pm on December 16th (EST).  The winner  will be the person who made a bid of the highest monetary value.  The winner will be contacted the next day via email.  The keychain will be shipped priority mail within the United States by December 20th.

All proceeds go back to Akiko to help survivors in Otsuchi, Japan.

I thank you in advance for your consideration and perhaps your bid. If you are unable to bid at this time, please feel free to share this story with others. (http://wp.me/pSDlj-By)

Read more about Sharon Davis’ experience here

Newspaper article from Ft. Bragg can be found here