Send Your Cranes To Hiroshima

To send a thousand cranes to the Children's Monument in Hiroshima's Peace Park, string them on garlands of 100 cranes each, and mail them to: Office of the Mayor, City of Hiroshima, 6-34 Kokutaiji-Machi, 1 Chome Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730 Japan.

To string the cranes, attach a string to a long needle, push it through the hole in the bottom of each crane, and bring it out through the point in the center of the crane's back. Be sure to tie a knot at the end of the string. To separate the cranes on the string, add a 1/4" piece of a plastic straw or coffee stirrer between each crane.

Before sending them to Hiroshima, here are some other ways you can share the story of Sadako, the legend of the crane, and your beautiful display of paper cranes:

1. Hang them in a school or a public library, and ask the librarian to make a display of books related to Sadako, Japan, World War II, leukemia, and peace.

2. Bring them to a nursing home or hospital along with instructions for folding the cranes; it's a wonderful activity to share with others.

3. Ask your local newspaper to publish a story about why you folded the cranes along with a picture of all the people who participated.

4. Look for someone traveling to Japan who would be willing to go to Hiroshima to personally place your cranes at the based of the statue. It could be a business person, a student, or someone visiting a relative. Call travel agents to see if they are booking people on flights to Japan, and ask them to help you find someone who might take on your crane mission.

Whether they are sent to Hiroshima, the President of the United States, the mayor of a small town, or a sick person recovering from an illness, the gift of a thousand paper cranes is a powerful gesture of caring, devotion, and love.