 |
|
 |
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MENU NYdV News New Leader: Hiromi Ogawa New Event: Happy Hour Advisors meeting Office condition improved Activity Report Beauty Volunteer Beautify Japan Association Introducing Japanese culture at the Bon-Odori event Hiroshima/nagasaki memorial event Our NPO Partner You are the HERO Mr. Alan Ho Our participants NYdV @ Media Message Connextion Bracelets  Back Number |
|
NYdV Newsletter Winter 2006 (Vol.7) Let's make a difference!
Tankentai (volunteer expedition team) is organized by a leader referred to as Taicho, or the Expedition Leader.  Soup Kitchen volunteering, which is one of the core volunteer activities of NYdV, will be organized by Hiromi Ogawa as a Taicho. Ogawa, who had experienced many volunteer activities, joined us as a program staff this spring. She decided to become a Taicho for this event because she wanted to do something more than just joining as a volunteer. She hopes to help promote the importance of volunteerism to many people. She is going to be the contact person for the Bowery Mission, the agency which hosts the soup kitchen. NYdV always welcomes experienced volunteers who want to become a Taicho. Please email us for detail.s: Staff@nydevolunteer.org
We hosted a new event "Happy Hour" on August 17, and 45 people participated. The event increased the awareness about NYdV and created an opportunity for new members to meet each other. Attendees included frequent volunteers, first-time participants, JETAA members, and staff from NPO's which NYdV has provided volunteer services. We had a great time together.  Tabit, a travel agency, kindly donated airline travel discount coupons to Japan, which was handed out to everybody. We will continue to host "Happy Hour" on a regular basis.
We have received great help from our advisors, who have been selected based upon their experiences in managing companies and NPO's. They are helping us to create new projects and to unify our programs. We held the official Advisors Meeting in order to gather their advice and we gained insights into fundraising and overall strategy for our organization. The Advisors Meeting will be held regularly to continue laying the foundation for NYdV.
Upon our request to improve the LAN system at the office, Mr. Koichiro Araki, a photographer by profession, helped to connect two Windows computers, one Macintosh computer, and two printers, which improved the productivity of our office. We really appreciated it.  We're still using very old computers at the office.In kind donations of desk top computers or laptop computer's are appreciated. Please send the list of items you would like to donate to: 212-932-7208 / Noriko@nydevolunteer.org. Thank you!
 Beauty Volunteer was held on May 20 at Isabella Nursing Home in Upper West Side, where many Japanese Americans live.This event was announced on NY1 so the nursing home staff have been waiting for us. We used the biggest room of the building and organized a one-day event with Ms. Asako Tamura, an opera singer who has participated in numerous international productions. Ms. Tamami Yukawa, a pianist, and Ms. Yuka Hyodo, a music therapist, also participated. We provided services such as make-up, manicure, hair-styling, and massage. Japanese cakes were served as refreshment. The recipients enjoyed the music while having the cake and conversing with the volunteers. Volunteers were given cosmetics skills through the lessons provided by professional make-up artists prior to this event. These professional artists have helped us since the first event. Ms. Rika Matsui, a make-up artist who contributed for this event as a leader until last year, left New York and is now working actively in Tokyo. This year, Mr. Makoto Nakai, a make-up artist in New York, helped us as a leader.  We received the following comments from participants: It was a pleasure to see many elderly people so happy. It's impressive to know that the process of beautification revitalizes elderly women. (a volunteer) It's the most wonderful service event at the nursing home! (Lima, Plannning Director of Isabella Nursing Home) After this event, we received $100 donation from Isabella Nursing Home which showed us how much they appreciated our efforts.
 "The 4th Annual Beautify New York" organized by Beautify Japan Association took place in May. NYdV has been arranging the location and volunteers in New York for this event since the first time, in response to a request from Mr. Rocky Aoki. We began cleaning from early morning at Hansborough Recreation Center, the same location where we had the event last year. There were 25 people from Japan, 15 staff members from the Center, and 20 NYdV volunteers. There were no language barriers - as people cleaned dilligently, their hearts became one. The event's supporter Mr. Kenneth J. Podziba, the New York City Sports Commissioner who has previously sent written messages, gave a speech this year. "This is very good activity to show people to do something for their city. We need to tell other New Yorkers about this." We are going to organize this event next year and Mr. Podziba will provide accommodations such as US-based media to promote the event on the occasion of the 5th anniversary. Mr. Shiogai, a member of the executive committee of Beautify Japan Association, said, "They understand what we've worked on for years," and relished the visible result of the efforts.
 Our customary function of introducing Japanese culture was a big success at the Bon-Odori event. This year, all the volunteer staff were able to wear matching Happi coats at the event. Our thanks goes to FUNAI Electric for donating them.
At the Origami booth, we gave different types of Origami to visitors and taught them how to make Origami. Younger kids especially loved origami frogs, origami cranes, and Kabuto hats made of newspapers. Some people were very good at origami and they were actually exchanging origami techniques with our staff. Kids left the booth with their hands full of origami pieces and big smiles! It was our pleasure to see kids having fun with origami, and to see their parents' happy faces next to them.  At the chopsticks booth, Kent, one of our volunteers, took a leading role in explaining how to use chopsticks. The visitors practiced how to pick up small bean bags and gummy candies with chopsticks. If they were able to pick up gummy candies, then they could eat them at the end! Most of the visitors took chopsticks home with them, saying they were going to practice more at home.
A huge crowd gathered at the calligraphy booth, where they learned how to write their names in Kanji (Chinese characters) with a brush. The visitors were from different countries. We looked up Kanji for their names, which had similar sounds to their original names and explained the meaning of the Kanji to the visitors. They were all very satisfied with their Kanji names and took home the piece of paper with their Kanji names on it. There were many people practicing calligraphy at the booth. Our Japanese staff struggled with dictionaries to find the best Kanji for the visitors. Our introduction of Japanese culture was very popular and all the booths were packed with people; at times people were even waiting in line to get to the booths. The Bon-Odori event also provided a demonstration of the Japanese bon-dance and a Taiko performance. (Reported by Toshiko Yamamoto) Comments from the host NPO: -It was great to see kids' happy faces at your booths. We found the chopsticks game very unique and interesting. Thank you very much. Comments from our volunteer staff: -I was helping the chopstick booth. I cannot forget the happy faces of people when they finally managed to master the chopsticks. I tried to deal with each visitor in a polite manner, which, I hope, helped to improve peoples' image of Japan. -It was a great surprise as well as a pleasure to know that so many people were interested in Japanese culture and dropped by the booths.
The annual Hiroshima/Nagasaki memorial service, 'Universal Peace Day," took place on a much large scale this year. NYdV supported the event by guiding visitors around the stage, expediting the procession, handing out candles, and marching with signs. The main events included: 1. Outdoor Peace Concert @ Riverside Park 2. Peace Gathering @ NY Buddhist Church 3. Silent Peace Walk 4. Peace Concert at Church @ The Riverside Church  Over 30 groups of artists from the US and Japan, such as Shinji Harada and Peter Yarrow, and Robert Thurman (the father of Uma Thurman , professor of Buddhism at Columbia University, and the first ordained American monk in Tibetan Buddhism), and many religious leaders gathered to pray for peace. People gathered at this event to mourn the victims of the atomic bombs that fell in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as to encourage mutual understanding in the world and to share their hope for peace.
 NYdV regularly sends our volunteers every second Wednesday of every odd month to Grand Central, a soup kitchen. Ms. Kenyatta, the development director, sent her message of appreciation to us: "I really appreciate having the volunteers from NYdV come on a regular basis. Thank you. NYdV volunteers are always on time, and they're proactive in communicating with the staff. I appreciate that they are not just here to help, but to deepen their understanding of the homeless. In the future, I would like to have the volunteers help with an art workshop, a computer workshop, a facility improvement program, or a painting project." Report of the event >10:00am-- Start Volunteers checked in at a meeting room on the top floor of the facility. Ms. Kenyatta, the Development Director, explained the facility and showed us a video. A facility staff gave us an explanation about homeless people visiting this facility, followed by a facility tour. >11:00am-- Made approximately120 sandwiches Sandwiches are ham & mayonnaise, peanut butter & jam. >12:00pm-- Served Lunch Lunch was bread and either meat spaghetti or ravioli, with juice and dessert (canned peach). Homeless people wrote down their name one by one and received lunch. When Yoshimi, our volunteer staff, brought juice and dessert to the dining tables for the homeless people, they thanked her sincerely, which was very heart-warming. >13:00pm-- Meal time at library/meeting space >13:30pm-- Filled in questionnaire, Review of the event Our original plan for this group of volunteers was to expand our activity to serve a meal on the street in addition to our usual soup kitchen to support homeless people. However, in order to ensure the security of the street activity, some facility staff had to be in charge of security for the street activity. This raised concern about security inside the facility. Consequently, we gave up on the street activity at this time. However, it is likely that we will be given an opportunity to have a street activity in a future. Please join us next time! (Reported by Toshiko Yamamoto) Comments from our volunteer staff: -Lots of homeless people were dressed neatly with donated clothing. I got a different impression from the usual stereo-type images of the homeless people. It was very beneficial to be able to hear interesting stories from the facility staff and volunteer staff. Thank you very much. -I enjoyed working with homeless people face to face. Thank you very much for this experience. -The director of this facility really did a lot for us. I was happy to see that kitchen staff at the facility appreciated our help as well.
 Alan Ho from Hong Kong --He is studying Japanese. Alan reviewed his experiences with NYdV. Q1. What made you start participating in volunteer activities? A1. I moved from Iowa to NY and found NYdV after I settled down with my job. I was looking for an opportunity to make good use of my free time, and to practice Japanese. Q2. What do you think about other volunteers at NYdV? A2.They are all very kind. For example, whenever I did not understand the conversation and looked up a dictionary, they asked me what I did not understand, and tried to involve me in the conversation. Staff at NYdV always cared about whether I understood or whether I had any questions. Thanks to people at NYdV I feel quite comfortable in participating in volunteer activities among Japanese people. When all of us visited Chinatown together, I took them to my favorite restaurant. I was very happy as I felt I could do something in return for their kindness. Q3.What has happened since you started to volunteer? A3.I met lots of Japanese which helped to improve my Japanese a lot. Volunteer activities turned out to be opportunities to meet people and made my life fun. Q4.What kind of volunteer activities do you want to do next? A4. All the volunteer activities I participated in so far were fun. I would like to participate in anything. Q4.What does NYdV mean to you? A5. Although I cannot schedule my attendance well in advance as my work is quite busy, the application system via e-mail makes it easy for me to join in activities, and the activities always make me feel fulfilled. NYdV is an important organization that gives me valuable opportunities.
Volunteer participants of NYdV have earned a great reputation from various host NPO's. It appears that Japanese cultural politeness and attention to details are highly valued. The comments from host NPO's include praises such as team work, frequent attendance, punctuality, thoroughness, politeness, and considerate attitude. The majority of the volunteer participants of NYdV are Japanese women in their 20s and 30s.
Activities of NYdV are on the air during 8:00pm to 8:30pm, every Sunday at channel MNN (Local TV station in Manhattan). Our six different promotional videos are shown. Please tune in!
In order to support our continuous operation, we are planning charity bazaars and online raffles. It would be a great help if corporations could donate surplus items for this project. In the past, we have received approximately 600 pieces of clothing from Sumitomo Bussan, and approximately 550 household items from Felissimo design house. Currently FUNAI Electronics Corporation is offering flat screen TVs. Your surplus items can contribute to our society. Please contact Noriko Hino, if your corporation does have any surplus items. We greatly appreciate your help(212-932-7208 / noriko@nydevolunteer.org).
In cooperation with the Online shop "Cose belle", which sells underwear for breast cancer patients, we now sell NYdV goods online as part of our fund raising. Our "Message Connextion Bracelet," has been introduced in fashion magazines such as Vogue and InStyle. They have also been popular among celebrities. The bracelets are fashionable and come with a case where message plates and photographs can be inserted.
(20% of sales will be donated to NYdV.
)
Shop online at: http://cosebelle-ny.com/connextioncases2.asp
Please Support NYdV! In order for us to keep on running our programs, it is essential to have sufficient operational funds. By giving us contributions, you will be able to participate in educating our community and building a society where individuals can make their own social contributions. Why don't you join NYdV to create a better society? Please support us: (All contributions are tax deductible.)
$25, $50, $100, 300, 500, 1000 and any amount you want,  Make checks payable to: NY de Volunteer, Inc.; 601 West 110th Street Suite10K5, New York, NY 10025
 Click the left
button!You can use the Web site, Network for Good! You can donate through the Internet securely and easily!
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
