Friday, August 11, 2006
Food banking makes economic sense: Lehman Brothers supports the community through 2HJ
Imagine a business opportunity that promises a thirteen-fold return on your investment. As one of the world’s leading investment banks, Lehman Brothers assesses market opportunities every day, but Charles McJilton’s value proposition to feed underserved communities in Tokyo struck us as uniquely compelling. I remember when I first met Charles at his Asakusa headquarters. There I learned first-hand about his passionate drive to distribute even a small percentage of the 6,000 metric tons of food discarded in Tokyo each day to feed some of the city’s nearly half a million people who lack food security. Leveraging on the fact that it costs an average of 100 yen to dispose of a kilogram of food, Charles found that he could save money for companies and at the same time turn a “profit” for society by delivering food valued at up to 13 times his operating costs. For an investment banker like me, that made terrific economic sense.
Second Harvest Japan also met an important aim of Lehman Brothers, which is to support the communities where we work. Lehman Brothers’ philanthropic contributions take many forms: financial support, employee volunteerism, and in-kind donations of knowledge, resources, and contacts. We believe that philanthropy strengthens our relationships with all of our constituents, including people in our communities, our clients and shareholders, while enriching the experience of our employees. In Asia, where the non-profit sector is often nascent and fragmented, we work with many entrepreneurial groups who may have limited resources initially, but who exhibit enormous potential to address Asia’s massive humanitarian needs.
Second Harvest Japan, which has already been successfully helping orphanages, single-parent families and the homeless for many years, proved to be the perfect partner to achieve our philanthropy goals. Our partnership with them is extensive. Many Lehman Brothers employees participate as volunteers with 2HJ, preparing and distributing food to people in need. We offer professional advice and advisory support to help 2HJ grow. Moreover, the Firm solidified its relationship with Second Harvest Japan this year with a grant from The Lehman Brothers Foundation of $91,000 over two years to help the organization reach an even larger population of people.
We look forward to deepening our relationship with Second Harvest Japan. Many of my colleagues and I have truly been inspired by Charles’ mission, and we hope that together we can share his vision with countless others.
Writer: Jim Quismorio
Photo: Lehman Brothers
Monday, September 05, 2005
Donate to America’s Second Harvest for Katrina relief
In sympathy with the victims of Hurricane Katrina and in solidarity with America’s Second Harvest, we urge you to make a donation to A2H’s Katrina Relief Fund.
Donate through their website at http://www.secondharvest.org/default.asp.
A2H is bringing truckloads of food and grocery products in for relief. Several of its member food banks have been affected by the hurricane and are operating without power. Your donation can help.
Link to News story »Monday, August 29, 2005
2HJ’s Charles McJilton Finishes Ironman Canada 2005!
For his second Ironman Canada triathalon, we all had a chance to donate funds to bet on Executive Director Charles McJilton’s times compared to last year. See how he did at http://liveupdate.ironmanlive.com!
Thanks to everyone who contributed, both with funds and fundraising help.
Link to News story »Thursday, August 11, 2005
2HJ seeks volunteer pickup/delivery drivers
We are currently seeking volunteers who can help out with driving?for our Costco pickup on Fridays and Saturdays. Do you have a Japanese Drivers Licence?with?some free time? Can you commit regularly (e.g., one Friday a month)? We’ll provide a wonderful vehicle!! For more information e-mail volunteer@fbj.or.jp or call Patricia: 090-9332-8822 or Alix 090-3214-7560.
Link to News story »Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Executive Dir. Charles McJilton to participate in Ironman Canada Triathalon—Fundraiser
Once again 2HJ’s Executive Director, Charles McJilton, is competing in the Ironman Canada triathlon to raise funds. This year donors can win great prizes! Just guess Charles’ finishing time for each event and his final time (this includes transition periods and time taken out for pizza). Each guess is 1000 yen for four guesses for 3000 yen. You can follow the results live on race day with a link from our site at http://www.itadakimasu.org.
The cutoff for submitting guesses is the day of the race, August 29 Japan time. Contact us at info@fbj.or.jp to enter or do some fundraising yourself.
It’s not too late to help with this fundraiser! Collecting donations is easy to do with our fundraising pack, which includes all of the information and materials you need to take donations. Ask your friends, family, and coworkers to support 2HJ! To get a fundraising pack and get started, just inquire at volunteer@foodbankjapan.org.
Link to News story »RSS
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