In the aftermath of last month’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Tomoko Boerman wanted to do something to help those affected by the disaster.

With two young daughters enrolled in Nozomi Japanese Christian School in Redmond, the Kirkland resident focused her efforts on helping children.

After some researching, Boerman found Hikari Christian Preschool in Miyako, Japan, one of the cities most heavily hit by the tsunami. The school’s building was heavily damaged and buses were destroyed. A number of students’ families had also lost their homes, so the school has set up a scholarship fund to provide financial assistance.

On Sunday, Nozomi will have a booth at Overlake Christian Church, located at 9900 Willows Road N.E. in Redmond, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to raise money for Hikari. The fundraiser, “Pray for Kids in Japan,” will have a booth set up in the church’s mall way to collect donations of any amount.

And as a token of their gratitude, Boerman said they will be handing out pin buttons designed by Nozomi students, who range from 3 years to elementary school-aged, to people who make a donation. Each student designed one to two pins and with almost 60 students in its preschool, after school and Saturday school programs, there will roughly 1,000 pins with more than 100 designs.

“I wanted kids to be part of (the fundraiser), not only parents,” Boerman said.

She wanted to the children to see that even at a young age, they can help.

Nozomi principal Dennis Nakagami agreed. He said oftentimes relief efforts following natural disasters focus on bigger organizations such as the government, emergency and medical services and the little ones are forgotten.Working with young children, Nakagami thought helping a preschool in Japan was a great idea because they work with youngsters as well.

Nakagami was also very impressed by his students’ artwork and very proud of their beautiful pictures.

“They did a great job,” he said.

Other Nozomi parents were similarly supportive and willing to help the efforts.

“They want to buy their own kids’ designs,” Boerman said.

Boerman chose to find a smaller organization to donate to because the earthquake and tsunami hit very close to home for her. A few of Boerman’s relatives were living in Sendai, near the earthquake’s epicenter, and were directly affected by the earthquake. Several other Nozomi families had friends and relatives in the same situation.

The school started a prayer chain for each person they knew who was affected. There were more than 30 links in the chain.

“From day one of the earthquake, we’ve been praying together,” Boerman said.

With such personal ties to the disaster, she wanted their efforts to be just as personal. Boerman added that before they send the money, the students will also make cards for their counterparts overseas.

Boerman is not sure how long the fundraiser will last or how much money they plan to collect. She said other churches in the area have contacted them to come to their churches as well, which she is very excited about.

“Even if we are in Seattle, Redmond, we can still help,” she said.