Seiko Togasaki and River Furuta, two Hands On staff, had the privilege to attend this year's National Conference on Volunteering and Service held in New York City from June 28th to 30th.

 

Over 5,000 people attended this conference including New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Al Roker (a television broadcaster, best known as the weather anchor for NBC's Today show), Ruby Dee (American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and activist), cabinet secretaries, and many many more. We attended 19 sessions in all, covering a wide range of topics such as fundraising, social media, and youth development. 

 

At each of these sessions, we learned from the best in the field and were inspired by their stories of success.  We also had the opportunity to eat breakfast with some of the international affiliates of Hands On Network (Manila, Singapore, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Rio de Janeiro, and Manila) to share information and exchange best practices. 

 

 

 During the "Party for Good" (sponsored by Target), we helped box 150,000 meals for schoolchildren in New York City. We were awestruck by the level of commitment, dedication, energy, and excitement the volunteers displayed throughout the conference.

This conference was truly amazing. We would like to thank all of you, especially our sponsors, for giving us the opportunity to be better equipped to transform our community. We look forward to a year of impact, meeting various needs within our community.

(Reported by River Furuta)

 
 I found out about HOT on line. I searched, "Meguro-ku, children, volunteer" and Hands On Tokyo was one of the results.
 
 2. Which volunteer activities are you currently participating?

 
 Wakabaryo Children's Home and Hakujusou Senior Home.
 
3. What is the most memorable moment you have had as a volunteer?

 The first day I volunteered at the Wakabaryo Children's Home almost two years ago is most memorable to me. All the children were so adorable, but their reality of not being able to live with their parents tore my heart.
 
4. Do you have any advice for volunteers participating in the Wakabaryo Children's Home project?
 

 I once read an inspiring book by Yuri Morita about abused children. In her book, she mentioned Ferenczi Sándor, a Polish psychologist who lived during the time of Sigmund Freud. Seventy years ago, Ferenczi Sándor stated that being alone can bring about feelings of both joy and pain to a person, but the pain can be healed as long as there is someone in whom one can confide. (paraphrase) I think that regardless of your profession or expertise, anyone can take a moment out of their everyday life to spend time with a child in pain. However, when you do make time for a child, and the child openly rejects your invitation, it does not mean that the child does not need your help. Many of the children at Wakabaryo need your help, but they may openly reject your invitation. I always make an effort to continue inviting them no matter how many times they reject me.

 

 

DHL Global Forwarding Japan and DHL Supply Chain are part of the world's leading logistics group, Deutche Post DHL. Utilizing their global network, they offer integrated services such as warehouse management, and customer-focused solutions for transporting letters, goods, and information. Their logistics operation continues to be rated highly by customers all over the world. 
　

At Deutche Post DHL, corporate responsibility is a core element of their corporate strategy, and their commitment to environmental and societal protection has led to three corporate programs: GoGreen, GoHelp and GoTeach.  

　

Every employee is encouraged to actively participate in these programs on a regular basis. This has led DHL Global Forwarding Japan and DHL Supply Chain to establish a partnership with Hands On Tokyo, which will provide their employees opportunities to participate in activities that are aligned closely with DHL's corporate responsibility programs.
 
Commenting on the establishment of this new partnership with Hands On Tokyo,　CharlesKaufmann, Representative Director/　President of DHL Global Forwarding Japan and Shuichi Kawamura, President of DHL Supply Chain said, "We decided to sponsor Hands On Tokyo because their philosophy of 'Teamwork' and 'Do Good' are exactly aligned with ours. We hope that through this partnership, Hands On Tokyo will offer everyone a variety of meaningful volunteer programs.
 
DHL Group participates in an annual event called "Volunteer Week" and is scheduled to be held between September 11th and 20th this year. One of the events at this event, the 3R Project, was created in collaboration with Hands On Tokyo. Many employees of DHL Global Forwarding Japan and DHL Supply Chain are planning to participate in this project - refilling a first-class hotel's used amenities into large PET bottles in order to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R).  In light of this new partnership and annual event, representatives of Hands On Tokyo have visited most of DHL Global Forwarding Japan and DHL Supply Chain branch offices around Tokyo to explain to their employees, details of new opportunities that are now available to them.
 
We look forward to a successful Volunteer Week and plan to support our employees so that they will be encouraged to incorporate volunteering into their lifestyle.　

　　　　　　　

 

Specialized Group

 

 

 

 

 
Akie Abe
Wife of former Prime Minister Abe

 

Tetsuya (Ted) Fujita. Board Member,

Asset Managers Holdings Co.,Ltd.
 

Paul Yonamine, General Manager,

Sector Sales, IBM Japan