Monday, June 15, 2009
Volunteer Interview No.1
2HJ is holding an interview relay involving volunteers who are active in the Friday and Saturday programs. The premier interview features Mr. Yoshiyuki Watanabe who is one of our regular volunteers on both Fridays and Saturdays.
Former principal’s motto is “Let’s have fun!”
Yoshiyuki Watanabe, 69, has a nickname of “Sensei (teacher)” because he was a principal in Tokyo before he retired nine years ago. In his 37-year career in teaching, he worked at a Japanese continuation school in New York as well. It was a news show on TV-Asahi broadcast in April, 2008, that he learned about 2HJ.
The first volunteer work he did at 2HJ was to deliver food with Mr.Haijima, one of 2HJ staff who happened to be his pupil. Later, he helped with food delivery to care facilities. And now, Watanabe joins preparation for the soup kitchen every Friday and the soup kitchen activities on Saturdays. On Friday, he cuts vegetable all day long, and on Saturday, he sets up the working area so that other volunteers can work smoothly. He also shares his “grandpa’s knowledge” about how to handle kitchen tools and food.
“I am so happy that I can do things for others, while learning something new. It’s also nice to be able to meet various people,” Watanabe says cheerfully. He hopes that more people can help each other by having the spirit of “co-existence.” In order to do so, “we have to enjoy doing volunteer work,“ he says.
“I’m hoping that 2HJ establishes a nationwide network sometime soon,” says Watanabe who sat in on a food bank meeting held in Yamanashi. After he and 2HJ staff delivered food donated from companies in Tokyo, the car became full of potatoes and turnips from Yamanashi on the way home. Watanabe says that 2HJ faces some challenges, such as securing more drivers and cars, but his dream is growing as he warmly watches young leaders grow.
Link to News story »Friday, November 28, 2008
Yamato Cup Tournament Donated 120,600 yen to 2HJ
On October 11, 2008, The Yamato Cup, an international street hockey tournament held in Tokyo, a fundraising program was created where players asked friends and family to pledge money for each goal the player scored.
Members of the Tokyo Street Hockey Association (TSHA) and the Misconduct Hockey League (MHL) participated in the program, and raised raised 120,600 yen for Second Harvest Japan.
Tokyo Street Hockey Association (TSHA) -> http://tokyohockey.com
Misconduct Hockey League (MHL) -> http://www.misconduct.co.jp
The Yamato Cup -> http://yamatocup.com
Monday, November 10, 2008
New 4-ton truck added to 2HJ’s vehicles!
At long last, 2HJ has become the proud recipient of a 4-ton truck! The purchase of the truck was made possible by generous donations from NuSkin Japan. We sincerely thank NuSkin Japan for this important donation.
Soon after we received the truck, we took it down to Nagoya for a delivery. In Aichi and Mie, we delivered food to agencies in cooperation with Second Harvest Nagoya. We used to be able to deliver less than 2 tons of food at a time, but with the new truck, we can deliver more than 3 tons at a time. This means we can deliver more food in a more efficient manner.
So far, the truck has also shown outstanding performance for pickup of baby food and industrial refrigerators. Those who are most in need of food assistance are people like low-income single mother households and elderly households. They do not necessarily belong to any agencies, so one of our biggest goals is to establish a food assistance system for them. This truck represents the capacity for a big step toward that goal.
As the photos below show, this 4-ton truck really stands out in the streets. If you spot it somewhere, please wave hello to the driver!
2HJ’s new 4-ton truck
Loading the 4-ton truck
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Looking for Delivery Volunteers
Second Harvest Japan is looking for volunteer drivers who can help food deliveries to agencies.
1) Volunteer drivers
We are looking for volunteer drivers who can drive our trucks and pick up foods from our donors and deliver them to our agencies. Our staff will give you good trainings so that you can learn exactly how you conduct pick-ups and deliveries. Clean driving record is needed. We will make a photocopy of your driver’s liscense.
2) Driver’s club
We are also looking for volunteers who can make deliveries with his/her own car. Now we have five people in the driver’s club and they make food deliveries to agencies in Yokohama, Saitama, West Tokyo.
The followings are messages from our volunteers.
Mr. K: People at orphanages are very happy when I deliver foods. That makes me really happy. It’s very nice for me that I can volunteer at my own pace.
Ms. S: Meeting recipients gave me opportunities to know that I am being helpful to somebody. That gave me a happy feeling.
If you want to volunteer as a driver please contact us at volutneer@2hj.org.
Link to News story »Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Welcome, Yayoi Sogo, Volunteer Coordinator!
In July, Second Harvest Japan (2HJ) was pleased to welcome Yayoi Sogo as volunteer coordinator. Entering this new staff position, Yayoi fulfills the need for a central point person to manage the soup kitchen and other volunteer activities, which had always been largely volunteer-run. These activities have grown and evolved over the years thanks to the hard work of volunteers. Now, with Yayoi’s help, 2HJ will develop even more as we continue to depend on the good will and dedication of volunteers.
I know that the other volunteers will join me in welcoming Yayoi to the team, and I hope the below interview provides a good start for getting to know her!
Yayoi Sogo (left) with Patricia Decker, who served as volunteer coordinator since 2003.
Q: How did you find out about 2HJ?
Actually, I only found out about it recently. I had been interested in social entrepreneurship and non-profit organizations (NPOs) that support the socially disadvantaged, and I wanted to find a job that would let me provide such people with the things they need, thereby delivering hope and strength to them as well. At the beginning of 2008, I went to New York to visit some NPOs and find out how I could get involved but, since I also do other work, I was having trouble figuring out how I could balance my time and attention between both types of work. Just then, a friend saw a program featuring 2HJ on TV and told me about it.
Q: What made you decide to work at 2HJ?
I believe that at the very least, as we all carve out our path in life, each and every person should be ensured a basic living standard and a fair start. The fact that 2HJ’s activities focus on providing that most basic necessity—food—really resonated with me. My particular interest was in fighting poverty, but I learned that 2HJ’s deal not just with helping the needy, but also with making good use of foods that would have gone to waste (because of nearing expiration dates and other reasons), so we’re naturally involved in addressing environmental and other societal problems.
What really sealed my decision to work at 2HJ, though, was the fun experience of working together with the volunteers. Seeing such a large number of volunteers come together to make a huge amount of food for the soup kitchen, and the feelings of happiness and fulfillment I got from working as a team to make the food, brought back memories of the fun I’d had at my high school culture festivals.
Q: What do you do at 2HJ?
I basically coordinate the volunteers. The main volunteer activities happen Thursday through Saturday, so throughout the week I act as the point person for recruiting and signing up the number of volunteers needed for the activities, and on the day of the activities I assign the job responsibilities and oversee all the work.
Q: How do you spend your time when you’re not at 2HJ?
I work as a conference interpreter. Doing simultaneous interpretation, you work in a booth in total isolation; if you lose your concentration for even a moment, you miss what’s being said and can’t do your job. For me, it’s almost like some kind of ascetic training, trying to find that point where I cease to be aware of my own existence and can truly focus. The active cooperation of working with various people to produce something at 2HJ is the polar opposite of interpreting, and I feel that both are necessary jobs for my life.
Q: What are your hopes for contributing to 2HJ?
My first impression of 2HJ’s volunteers was of the overwhelmingly abundant number of people who signed up for or were interested in volunteering, as well as the fact that many of the volunteers were non-Japanese and had experience volunteering in their own countries. The volunteers are diverse not just in terms of nationality; they represent a variety of ages, viewpoints, and backgrounds. I’m realizing day by day what a treasure trove of resources this diversity amounts to. I think the richness of its volunteer base is 2HJ’s strength, and my goal is to make the best use possible of that invaluable power.
Interviewer: Patricia Decker
Link to News story »RSS
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