By Irene Bowers
Correspondent
At the close of his long days manning the kitchen and counter at Foon's Restaurant, owner John Chiang sat down to watch the news, and his heart ached.
"Every day there was news of the earthquake in China," he said. "It was a terrible tragedy, and it will take a very long time for them to recover. Sometimes I cried because there was so much suffering."
Chiang, a native of Hong Kong who came to the United States in 1974, said he has no relatives affected by the earthquake and its aftermath, but he became determined to send what help he could.
A member of First Chinese Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, Chiang listened to his minister's preaching and decided to host a fundraiser.
"So many people want to help - I had customers asking every day asking about where to send money - that I wanted to give all of us a way to support the relief efforts at the disaster," he said.
Today, Foon's will contribute 60 percent of all sales at the restaurant to the Red Cross Society of China, for its efforts to aid earthquake victims. The Red Cross Society of China is a partner of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Chiang said there has been some concern in the community that funds collected for earthquake victims may not be reaching their intended recipients, so he plans to publish the receipt from the Red Cross Society of China to verify their contributions.
He used the Chinese news source www.worldjournal.com to contact the society and said his goal is to raise $2,000 for relief efforts.
Chiang first operated Foon's on the west side of Lesner Bridge for some 20 years. "We downsized three years ago and moved closer to Great Neck Road," he said of the current location on the eastern end of the bridge.
Chiang said the menu essentially has remained the same, but the restaurant now offers brown rice as well as white. "People are trying to eat healthier, so they are also ordering less fried food, too," he said.
Popular menu items include General Tao's Chicken, Chicken With String Beans and Chicken with Mixed Vegetables, he said. Both take-out and delivery orders will go toward the fundraiser.
The earthquake, which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, affected the Sichuan province of southwestern China. Death toll estimates range from 30,000 to 70,000 people, with millions more displaced from their homes. In the month following the disaster, relief efforts have focused on supplying tents and medical support for survivors.
Irene Bowers, bowersi@aol.com
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