Meet Sandy and the 1000 Cranes

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I remember reading the true story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (by Elanor Coerr) in 7th Grade. After reading the story, my teacher taught the class how to make our own paper cranes by folding one piece of square paper about a million times. I was the least-creative student in the class and I could never get past step 4 or 5... go figure! 

The story is of a girl, Sadako Sasaki, who lived in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing by the United States. She developed leukemia from the radiation and spent her time in a nursing home folding paper cranes in hope of making a thousand, which supposedly would have allowed her to make one wish, which was to live. She managed to fold 644 before she became too weak to fold any more, and died shortly after. Her friends and family helped finish her dream by folding the rest of the cranes, which were then buried with Sadako. Today there is a statue of Sadako holding a giant golden paper crane in Hiroshima Peace Park and every year on a holiday in Japan to remember the fallen ones of the bombings, thousands of people leave paper cranes near the statue. On the statue is a plaque: "This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth." Sadako's goal of creating 1000 paper cranes was ambitious and has become a symbol of world peace. (source)

After reading Sadako's story, Sandy found herself inspired and decided to develop a motivating mission: Make 1,000 paper cranes, each with an inspiring word written on them and then place the cranes in public places all over the world. Her blog is where she documents this mission, with pictures of every crane that she creates and the location where she left it.


"Since cranes are symbols of peace, I wanted to put some positive words on there. My hope is that people will see the crane and be influenced in a positive way, even if it’s just a pleasant thought. Without being too whimsical or naive, I just wanted to spread a bit of happiness around in a relatively simple way." - Sandy


Take a look at some of the cranes Sandy has already placed:

#33. Terrific
Definition: (adj) of the highest quality, top-notch

Location Placed: U.S. Mint, Philadelphia, PA

Date Placed: 8/20/10 4:21p.m. 

 #35. Wonderful
Definition: (adj) grand, terrific, fantastic

Location Placed: Arts Section of Barnes and Noble, Plymouth Meeting, PA

Date Placed: 8/20/10 7:47p.m.

#36. Companionship
Definition: (n) the state of being with a familiar person or fellow
Location Placed: Woodrow Wilson Rest Stop on NJTurnpike, Hamilton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 8/21/10 at 9:27p.m.

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I just love coming across a blog with a fun, original idea! Sandy, thanks for sharing your talents and thanks for your inspriation and motivation! To see Sandy's crane journey for yourself, visit 1000CraneMission.blogspot.com

For directions on making your own paper cranes, click HERE.

To have your ideas featured on somewhat simple, click HERE