Volunteer Spotlight: Aya Higa
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 When Aya Higa first met HOT founding president Deva Hirsch, she told her of her dream to build or run an orphange in Japan someday. The next thing Aya knew, Deva asked her to attend a meeting to discuss a possible partnership with Wakabaryo children's home, and in no time at all Aya became project co-coordinator for this new project for HOT, Wakabaryo and project sponsor State Street Bank.
Aya's love for children shines through in all she does. A mother of three growing children herself, she also teaches English to Japanese children. In the past she worked for the UNICEF Japan office promoting UNICEF greeting cards to corporations. In addition to Wakabaryo, Aya also co-coordinates HOT's new motor development project for grade-school children with Special Olympics Japan-Tokyo, and she was instrumental in introducing project sponsor Hitachi Consulting. Recognizing the tremendous asset she is to our organization, HOT asked Aya to join the board as of June 2008.
Although born in Kobe, Aya is a long-time Tokyo resident, apart from a few years living in New York as a young child. She learned the value of community service early on through her education at Sacred Heart Middle School, High School and University. While a student, Aya frequently visited senior homes and says students were always fundraising for institutions or homes in need of money.
Aya believes HOT's work will be a catalyst for positive change in Japanese society by helping increase awareness of the value of volunteerism and involving more corporations in community service. In her view, eventually these changes will be good for Japan's economy as well. Aya says of her volunteering experience: "Through volunteering with children, they have given me so much in return. You can be kind and understanding to people around you. You can be patient about things around you. You only have to experience it yourself, to know what it really means to volunteer."
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Event Spotlight: Taste For Volunteering Fundraising Dinner and Auction
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 The lure of delicious cuisine, one-of-a-kind auction items and the opportunity to give back to the Tokyo community attracted over 200 guests to Hands On Tokyo's first ever fundraising dinner and auction on April 18 at the City Club of Tokyo. City Club chefs offered guests an elaborate buffet of dishes from around the world, with each room themed for a different country. Fitting for an event in Tokyo, the elegant sushi and barrel sake seemed to attract the biggest crowd. While sampling the different dishes and superb wines provided by Wine in Style, guests browsed the silent auction tables bidding on an extensive variety of over 50 items including luxury hotel stays, dinners, jewelry, and fine art. The evening's proceedings were graciously hosted by Master of Ceremonies Mr. Yuichi Katoh, Chairman, Asia Pacific Land (Japan), Ltd. Speaker and HOT board chairman Dawson Steven Lin shared the story of HOT's founding and some of his family's experiences volunteering in Tokyo, and HOT founding president Deva Hirsch struck an emotional chord with the audience with the debut of HOT's new promotional video expertly produced by Spinshell. The video will be used in orientations, presentations and events to help communicate the message of volunteering to the Tokyo community. After the speeches, the most exciting business of the evening--the live auction--got underway. Under the expert leadership of distinguished auctioneer, Mr. Tetsuji Shibayama, Managing Director, AG Holdings Corporation & former President Sotheby's Japan, guests tried to outbid one another on 19 different one-of-a-kind items and experiences. Items attracting some of the most fevered bidding included a dinner party catered by Dean and Deluca paired with wines from Cakebread, a fashion consultation from the director of Miss Universe Japan, and "Red Sox Nation" autographed memorabilia from Major League Baseball. The last item turned into a surprise additional item when MLB donor Jim Small saw the intense bidding and "doubled" the donation on the spot so two l  ucky bidders were able to go home with signed Red Sox and "Dice-K" Matsuzaka balls. By the end of the night, guests and our many generous sponsors helped Hands On Tokyo raise over 10 million yen to benefit our continued work towards providing quality volunteer opportunities for Japanese and foreign nationals in Tokyo. A portion of the funds raised will be used to hire HOT's first executive director and full-time staff. To all of our guests, volunteers, donors and sponsors who gave so much to support Hands On Tokyo, we say a most humble thank you very much. We look forward to joining you in service in the coming year.
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| Event Spotlight: Announcing Hands On Tokyo Day of Service 2008! |
 Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 4, 2008, to participate in our 2nd Annual HOT Day of Service. The Hands On Tokyo Day of Service is a one-day event which engages a diverse group of volunteers in larger-scale service activities, highlights volunteerism, promotes Hands On Tokyo as a vehicle to provide meaningful service opportunities, enables both foreigners and Japanese nationals to give back in a tangible way to local, underserved populations and raises funds to support Hands On Tokyo's year-round service projects. HOT's first Day of Service on September 29, 2007, brought together more than 130 Japanese and foreign nationals to volunteer on three different service projects in partnership with Second Harvest Japan, Fukushi Plaza Sakuragawa senior home, and Saiseikai Chuo Hospital.
We expect the desire to participate in this popular event to be even stronger this year, so we are expanding the number of projects to four to accommodate as many volunteers as possible. The first planning meetings took place in May, and the steering committee of HOT staff and volunteers will be working throughout the summer months to select and prepare the projects and solicit sponsors. If you enjoy organizing large-scale events, we welcome your skills and encourage you to join us help plan this wonderful day.
Annual sponsorships encompassing the Day of Service and all HOT's activities, either corporate or individual, are available at the 500,000 yen, 1 million yen, 1.5 million yen and 2 million yen levels. Last year's event drew 12 corporate sponsors and we aim to increase that number this year. Interested sponsors are encouraged to contact Hands On Tokyo for details. Individuals may participate on the day by contributing 2,000 yen which includes a Hands On Tokyo Day of Service t-shirt.
Although Hands On Tokyo oversees weekly, ongoing volunteer activities, the idea of holding an annual Day of Service is an effort to highlight not only the growing volunteer movement in Japan, but also the need for strong organizations (both service providers and sponsors) to work together to better society. For further information on HOT Day of Service 2008, please contact Yumiko Tategami or Marcela Campos at info@handsontokyo.org.
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Save The Date!
2nd Annual
Hands On Tokyo Day of Service
October 4, 2008 (Saturday)
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Volunteer Opportunities
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Upcoming Opportunities:
Summer is coming and we know that means many of you will be traveling on extended vacations or home leave. For those staying in Tokyo, Hands On Tokyo's regular projects will continue and we need volunteers. If you haven't joined us in a while, we hope you will make the time to come out and volunteer this summer.
Special Olympics Basketball, Weekends, 1:00-3:00 Restarting in September 2008. (Dates to be announced soon) SON Advanced Basketball, 3:00-5:00 (Must be able to play basketball) June 1,15,22,29, July 5,6,13 SON Bowling, Weekends, 10:00-12:00 Restarting in September 2008. (Dates to be announced soon.) SON Motor Development Saturdays, 1:00-3:00 June 14, 28, July 12 Sponsored by:
Second Harvest Japan, Thursdays, 1:00-3:00 June 5,12,19,26 (for 3-4 volunteers) Wakaba-ryo Children's Home, 10:15-Noon, Sunday, June 21 (For ages 10 years old and above.) Sponsored by:
NEW Project
English Conversation with Blind Adults, Saturdays, 10:00-Noon
June 7 (full this month; for up to 4 volunteers)
To volunteer for any project, e-mail us at: info@handsontokyo.org
or call: 03-5404-3563
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