By Lisa Schick

Jeans for Japan

Mar 16, 2011 | 11:25 AM

When international disasters hit people flock to give aid money, but one Birch Hills’ woman has a different idea.

Jenni Willems has decided to collect Jeans for Japan.

She said she came up with the idea while watching footage of the disaster in Japan on the news.

“Watching the footage (I was) shocked and devastated and (wanted) to do something and I thought ‘man, what would I miss if everything else that I owned was gone,’ and I thought of jeans, my favourite pair of jeans,” said Willems.

The event is being held at Willems restaurant, the New Ground Café, in Birch Hills Friday night.

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She is asking people to bring a good pair of jean and an old pair of jeans along with donations for the Red Cross effort in Japan.

The good pair of jeans will be collected and given to local charities like the YWCA and shelter.

“When a global disaster happens around … the giving kind of focuses a little more globally, this way we can kind of keep (the local charities) in the loop too,” said Willems.

The older pairs of jeans will be collected and made into a care quilt to send to a municipality in Japan.
Willems said she heard a story about the Japanese ambassador to Canada.

“He said gestures are meaning as much to them as actual aid, so that kind of fit (and was) another reassurance that we should be doing (this).”

Willems holds many of fundraisers for both local and international causes at her restaurant.

“I do what I can when things come up.”

Everybody wants to do something and because she owns her own business it makes it a lot easier to put things together, she said.

Willems said she gets a lot of support from her customers when she puts on fundraisers like this.

The menu for Friday will include a Japanese inspired stew, sesame bannock, and green tea ice cream for dessert.

The meal will be free but she is asking everyone to donate what they can.

lschick@panow.com