KOBE -- A fund to support volunteer activities in and around this port city was set up Thursday by a group of volunteers helping to reconstruct the lives of survivors of the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
The Shimin (Citizens) Fund Kobe intends to help consolidate a financial base for local volunteer activities as many nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations suffer from a lack of financial resources, said the fund chairman, Hiroko Kuroda.
Financial assistance from the fund is not limited to groups engaged in quake-related activities, said Kuroda, who has been helping elderly and disabled people living in temporary shelters since the 1995 quake. The fund plans to apply for NPO status in July and expects approval in November.
The preparatory committee for the fund has raised about 5 million yen since December, and another 30 million yen is expected to be transferred from the Hanshin-Awaji Community Fund, which was terminated at the end of March.
The fund aims to operate with 50 million yen, with another 30 million yen as the basic asset. Donations can be deposited into accounts 7965892 at Sakura Bank's Sannomiya branch and 1597921 at Minato Bank's head office.