ATSUGI, Japan - Sailors and family members from Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, collected relief supplies on March 12, for victims affected by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

Within a few hours of the collection’s kickoff, boxes outside of Atsugi’s commissary were overflowing with donated items including bottled water, canned goods and numerous other items.

“So far two of those tri-walls are full already, so the response from the community has been wonderful,” said Gladys Hall, an American Red Cross liaison assisting with the event.

The driving force behind the collection of goods was the overwhelming number of inquiries from base residents, asking how can they help survivors of the earthquake and tsunami.

“I know from phone calls, emails and messages, our community wanted to be involved,” Command Master Chief (AW/SW) Bennora Simmons said. “Any time we have folks in need we have to do our part. It’s really important that we get out there and produce as much assistance as we can.”