Walk the Farm is an annual event that supports farmers affected by the Japanese earthquake & tsunami and Californian farmers impacted by natural disasters. It is a charitable event with a 1.5 mile walk with fresh fruits, vegetables, exhibits, and entertainment. I visited these farmers in Japan, wrote a newsletter to 2,000+ sponsors, and created a video shown here & to Japanese government officials that documented their struggles to recover. That year, we had a record number of volunteers and walkers and increased sponsorship to $100,000.
The existing website for the fundraiser was very scroll-heavy, so one of my main goals was to spread the information out over different navigational tabs and create new pages. I also wanted to develop a more cohesive color scheme and aesthetic.
Check out the new website here:
I’m also passionate about preserving history before it’s lost or forgotten. I'm on a mission to preserve all that I can about Japanese-American farming history before another generation of farmers passes away. As the only teenager doing research with members of the oldest Japanese-American farming families in Orange County, it’s exciting to collect personal stories, photographs, and memorabilia from across the country.
I’m organizing the collection of photos, stories, and facts from a survey I created with the assistance of UCLA professor, Dr. Valerie Matsumoto, that has been sent out to thousands across the US. My goal is to assemble the largest repository of data points about JA farmers in order to develop new understandings and share findings.
I spent many months adding sections to my new website because I wanted to display the farm data in an accessible way, complete with a map of all the farms and their histories.
I’m so proud to be a part of a project that helps document important history, starts conversations among generations and spreads awareness of this little-known part of American history.