How to Donate to the MPNFA Nanao Earthquake Relief Fund

January 18, 2024, Monterey County Weekly article
January 16, 2024, Monterey City Council Meeting, Agenda Item #12, Appropriation of $25,000 from Unassigned Fund Balance to the Monterey Peninsula Nanao Friendship Association (MPNFA)
KSBW piece from January 15, 2024 - Monterey is raising money to help Japanese sister city after deadly earthquake
NEWS posted January 9, 2024 - EARTHQUAKE ON THE NOTO PENINSULA: The Monterey Peninsula Nanao Friendship Association’s (MPNFA) Nanao Earthquake Relief Fund is collecting donations to distribute to non-profits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other eligible organizations that are providing immediate disaster relief and/or longer term recovery assistance.

Contributions can be made digitally at https://www.cfmco.org/cfmco_fund_list/mpnfa-nanao-earthquake-relief-fund/ , or by writing checks to the MPNFA Nanao Earthquake Relief Fund and mail to Community Foundation for Monterey County, 2354 Garden Road, Monterey CA 93940. Scan the QR Code to get to the donation page:

Background:

A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck western Japan’s Noto Peninsula during the afternoon of January 1, 2024, crumbling homes, triggering a tsunami and cutting off remote communities (photo above from The Associated Press). The City of Monterey, CA’s longtime sister city, Nanao, Japan, is only 35 miles from the epicenter of the disaster. As of 1/8/24, at least 160 people have been confirmed dead, 33,000 forced to evacuate and more than 100 people unaccounted for. The full extent of the damage remains unclear with first responders still on the scenes and continued heavy snowfall adding to the urgency. The Noto Peninsula has suffered multiple severe earthquakes in the last decade.

NEWS POSTED JANUARY 4, 2024 - EARTHQUAKE ON THE NOTO PENINSULA: Our longtime sister city, Nanao, Japan, is only 35 miles from the epicenter of the Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck the afternoon of New Years Day. Our hearts are with everyone affected. Many Monterey residents have visited Nanao over the years, including with the Junior Wings Program middle school student exchange, and many of the friendships between the residents of the two cities are lifelong. We are working with the Monterey Peninsula Nanao Friendship Association to provide support as well as information to anyone who would like to donate and help those affected by this tragedy. Today we were told that 30,000 residents are currently displaced, and this doesn't include residents from other areas in the region. We also want to acknowledge and thank the first responders helping around the clock with emergency support. Here's a letter from Mayor Williamson to the City of Nanao Mayor Chatani. We will provide more information as it becomes available.

NEWS POSTED SEPTEMBER 27, 2023: Mayor Yoshitaka Chatani from our sister city, Nanao, Japan visited last weekend with a delegation of eight to celebrate 28 years of sister cityhood, and to support and enjoy the Monterey Jazz Festival. Also attending the welcome reception, Mr. Hajime Kishimori, Acting Consul General, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco. As part of the sister city celebration, Dan Albert Senior was recognized for over three decades as President of the Monterey Peninsula Nanao Friendship Association (MPNFA). Dan worked tirelessly with his fellow MPNFA members - individuals, service clubs, and companies - to promote effective sister city exchanges that focus on arts and culture (both Monterey Jazz Festivals), youth and education (the highly successful Junior Wings program), business and trade (hospitality), and community development (Fisherman’s Wharf). Both Mayor Williamson and Mayor Chatani enjoyed the collaboration, discussion, and enhanced the ties that have bonded the two cities for over three decades. Thanks to the @montereyjazzfestival for the years of sister city support, and congratulations on another successful festival! #sistercity #nanao #monterey #jazz

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Quick Facts
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Website: www.city.nanao.ishikawa.jp
Sister City since: 1995
Distance from Monterey: 5,274miles, 18 hrs 5min
Population City: 58,204
Population Country: 126,860,000
Climate: humid subtropical climate, hot, wet summers, cool, snowy winters
Local Time: GMT+9
Currency: Japanese yen

About - Resolution

The Japanese City Nanao is located in Ishikawa Prefecture. Nanao is the northern part of Ishikawa, Japan and is also largest City in the Noto Province . The City was founded on July 20, 1939 and offers several amazing views of nature. Nanao has for example several hot springs to visit or viewing cherry blossoms.

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Monterey and Nanao, 1995

The Monterey-Nanao relationship dates back to 1986, when a group from Nanao first visited Monterey to study the city’s economic drivers. Like Monterey, Nanao is a coastal community that repositioned itself as a tourist destination after its fishing industry diminished. Several delegations visited California in the following years, and local Rotary clubs and non-profit organizations got involved in hosting and leading presentations. By the mid-1990s, the two communities signed a formal sister city agreement and a group of volunteers came together as the Monterey Peninsula-Nanao Friendship Association to coordinate cultural and business exchanges. Since 1995, more than 700 Nanao residents have visited Monterey; some 300 professionals and youngsters from Monterey have toured Nanao. Students from Walter Colton School regularly travel to Japan through the affiliation, as do student groups associated with Rotary International and the Soroptimist’s Junior Wings program and young musicians from the Monterey Jazz Festival’s all-star bands.
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