[361] Fundraising Students Spell Earthquake Relief 'G-E-N-K-I'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2011
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. Priya Ananth, 615-898-5357

FUNDRAISING STUDENTS SPELL EARTHQUAKE RELIEF ‘G-E-N-K-I’
MTSU Students Call for Funds to Restore ‘Vigor and Energy’ to Japanese Society

(MURFREESBORO) – Students at Middle Tennessee State University will collect donations on campus Wednesday and Thursday, March 23-24, and Monday and Tuesday, March 28-29, to help the Japanese people as they struggle to recover from the March 11 earthquake and the resulting tsunami and to cope with the ongoing nuclear crisis.
“Genki for Japan” will be conducted on the Keathley University Center (KUC) knoll if the weather is good. In the event of inclement weather, donations will be accepted in the KUC second-floor lobby. Contributions also may be made at Starbucks in the James E. Walker Library.
“’Genki’ means vigor and energy, and that is what we are praying that Japan gets back in abundance to get through this very difficult time,” says Dr. Priya Ananth, assistant professor of foreign languages.
Chiaki Shima, a graduate teaching assistant, and Risa Nakamoto, an exchange student from Kansai Gaidai University, are the main organizers of the event.
“Your help can go a long way in encouraging and providing hope for the people in Japan,” says Rhonda Waller, director of Education Abroad and Student Exchange. “With the pocket change that you plan to spend on a simple soda, wouldn’t it be more satisfying knowing that you contributed to a great cause?”
On Tuesday, March 29, students will give away candy and snacks made in Japan in exchange for modest donations. All donations will be sent to the American Red Cross. For more information, contact Ananth at 615-898-5357 or pananth@mtsu.edu.

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Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. Recently, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.