Members of Girl Scout Troop 12135 working on their Bronze Project.
A Positive Change Reaction
The mission of Girl Scouts of America is to “build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.” The students and staff of Angelina Preschool were fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of Troop 12135’s efforts to make the world a better place.
South Bay Workshops
Join us for a free 9-Part workshop series for entrepreneurs, small business owners and publicists to receive hands on training to start, improve and build their businesses and create an effective media outreach strategy. Learn how to get your business off the ground, engage with customers in your community and get noticed by local media outlets, bloggers and influencers!
When: Every Tuesday, 6:30-9:30 PM, from September 24th to November 19th
Where: Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (1964 W 162nd St, Gardena, California 90247)
Free Summer Art Series
Japanese American National Museum Plaza
Projections in the JANM Plaza provide a look into traci kato-kiriyama’s Past Present: Conversations with the Future
Photo credit: traci kato-kiriyama
Aug 28-30: Past Present: Conversations with the Future
From sunset to 10:00 pm this Wednesday thru Friday, August 28-30, the Japanese American National Museum Plaza will fill with large-scale projections onto the “old” and “new” walls of JANM in conversation between past and present as we look to the future of solidarity, community, home and belonging. Projections will feature letters from WWII Japanese American incarceration, current day detention and pledges & messages of support.
At 8:15 pm each night, there will be a short live performance with readers and movers activating these letters. This performance-installation is the culmination for PlusLab artist traci kato-kiriyama and includes the collaborative talents of Kuniharu Yoshida, Ally Vega, Rino Kodama, Mia Barnett, Linda Wei, Mya Worrell, Junko Goda, Greg Watanabe, Joy Yamaguchi, Amy Sanchez Arteaga, Umi Hsu, Grace Umali, and producers Dan Kwong and Clement Hanami.
Also featured in JANM Plaza will be opportunities to contribute letters to Otay Mesa Detention Center, a communal tea & conversation area, and fellow Plus Lab cohort artists Cognate Collective and their listening dome installation, where you can hear stories on the future, including recordings from collaborative activations throughout the Residency by traci and Cognate Collective.
More Info at Artist Residency Program Events.
TTS-Summer 2019 LTSCene Image
Healthy Aging: What do you enjoy doing? The keys to stay healthy and active.
Community Partner: Wells Fargo Foundation
Santa Monica Vermont Center Rendering
LTSC is rising to meet the housing crisis with four new affordable housing projects currently underway. One project is Santa Monica Vermont Center. The 154 units of affordable housing will be in East Hollywood adjacent to the Santa Monica Vermont Metro subway station and Los Angeles City College. The project will provide housing to extremely low-income residents and half of the units are reserved for homeless and special needs households. The ground level will have a Federally Qualified Health Center, retail and a food court featuring legacy neighborhood small businesses.
This is LTSC’s biggest housing project to date and we are thankful to Wells Fargo Foundation for supporting our work. Wells Fargo Foundation supports thousands of national and community-based nonprofits annually to help revitalize and strengthen communities. With Wells Fargo Foundation’s recent grant LTSC will keep this large project moving forward.
The affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles requires LTSC to think big and we are thankful to Wells Fargo Foundation for its generous support of our big ideas in affordable housing.
Never Again Is Now
“Never again is now”
Hundreds from all over Los Angeles County gathered in Little Tokyo to take a stand.
“Never again is now” was the chant heard throughout the night as over 750 protestors gathered in front of the Japanese American National Museum to speak out against the White House’s plans to use Fort Sill in Oklahoma as a detention center for migrant children.
Over a dozen community organizations located in or aligned with Little Tokyo, including Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), stood together to speak out against the separation of families, the incarceration of children and the inhumane conditions of detention centers.
As speaker and LA-based criminal defense attorney Mia Yamamoto stated, “We’re not a part of family separation. We can’t look at what’s happening in those concentration camps and be still and be silent.” Yamamoto, a survivor of American concentration camps, made it clear that the community must speak up. “We are Japanese Americans and we got put in camp for our race. The same thing is happening now and we can’t let it happen.”
Fort Sill has a history of wrongful detainment and family separation. Between 1886 and 1914, members of the Apache tribe were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands and held captive at Fort Sill. For years Native American children of various tribal nations were taken from their families and placed at Fort Sill to attend “boarding school” in an attempt to destroy their identity and culture. And more than 700 people of Japanese ancestry were unjustly incarcerated at Fort Sill during World War II.
This dark history that is currently repeating itself sparked action in multiple communities. On June 27 a vigil took place in San Jose and a press conference was held in San Francisco, showing alignment and solidarity amongst all three remaining historic Japantowns. Earlier, on June 22, Tsuru for Solidarity brought together individuals from throughout the U.S, including WWII detainees, for a peaceful but poignant protest in front of Fort Sill. “They’re wanting to remove us,” stated incarceration survivor Satsuki Ina. “We’ve been moved too many times.”
Joy Yamaguchi stood at Fort Sill as well as Little Tokyo. As a Tsuru for Solidary representative she declared, “We stood to say we will not stand idly by while more children are incarcerated there at Fort Sill.” Fellow member Leslie Ishii added, “Are you with us?”
LTSC is with them. As an organization that has spent nearly 40 years standing up for marginalized communities and providing services to minority groups often overlooked, LTSC believes that “Never again is now.”
Annual Asian Small Business Expo
Mark your calendar’s and don’t miss the FREE Asian Small Business Expo “Sustaining Your Business In A Strong Economy” on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello.
This event offers a great opportunity to connect with small businesses, market your organization and tap into a network of entrepreneurs, service providers, financial organizations, franchises and governmental and legislative representatives.
Artist Residency Program 2019 Calendar Icon
August 24-30 – +LAB Summer Art Series
September 17 – Legacy of Diana Apcar
October 19 – Small Business Expo
September 24 to November 19 – South Bay Small Business Workshops
Donors
Thank you to all our supporters for your contributions last month!
Add your name to the list by making a DONATION today.
Don and Lynn Akamine
Anonymous
Dennis Arguelles
Jim and Elena Azama
Elizabeth Burton
The California Wellness Foundation
Wendy Chang
T.C. and Elaine Chung
Louis and Beatrice Danoff
Wayne Endo
Rudolph Espinoza
Mabel F Harman
Yas and Nancy Gohata
Lisa Hasegawa
Mimi Ho
Kelly Takasu
Miwako Hoshi
Takahiro Ide
Sumiko Inoue
Gary T. Izumi
Gerald Kado
Alice Kaku
Dick and Pauline Kaku
Gregory Kame
Jessica Kanai
Craig Kawamoto
Richard and Misa Kawano
Christine Kimura
Keith Kishiyama
Evelyn and Ron Kita
Kumiko Kondo
Raymond and Noriko Kong
Janet Kurihara
James Kwon
Nobuko Marcial
Gary and June Masada
Asao Masumiya
Morley and Sue Matsuda
Robert and Teresa Matsushima
Evelyn Mitarai
Mica and Julie Miyamoto
Terrie Monaghan and Brian Coleman
Yukiko Morimoto
Walter and Carrie Morita
Mark T Munekata
Jason Murai
Gail and Mitchell Matsumura
Shirley Okayama
Fred and Yumiko Ong
Oomasa Restaurant
John and Irene Ota
Ken and Donna Ota
William Ota
San Fernando Valley JACC
Eugene and Catherine Sato
Taeko Schaeffer
Matthew Shima
Moto Shimizu
Sam and Kuniko Shimoguchi
Lillian Sugita
Nikki Kealalio Sutton
Chris and Janet Taga
Hisami Tahara
Esther Taira
Edwin Takahashi
Julia Takeda
Yuka Takeuchi
George Tanaka
Jimmy and Sally Tokeshi
Sandra Toshiyuki
Uchima Commercial Real Estate
Keith Umemoto
Edward and Momoyo Wada
Ken Wada
Craig Wakamoto
Susie Wang
Alice Watanabe
Henry and Carolyn Watanabe
David and Michiko Watanabe
Wescom Credit Union’s WeCare Foundation
Allyne Winderman and Glenn Wasserman
Joe Yamagawa
Yukiko Yamamoto
Carol Yamane
Carolyn Yatomi
Gerald and Anne Yee
Catherine Yen
Tad Yoshimura
Nolan Young
Ryoko and Yoshiro Yunouye
In Honor of Vivian Lee
Dr. John Luo
In Honor of Yasuko Sakamoto
Alyce LaViolette
In Memory of Tomi Akahori
Ted Akahori
In Memory of Alfred Taro Ishida
Anonymous
In Memory of Ryo Ito
Anonymous
In Memory of Jimmy Katsuda
Suzy Katsuda
In Memory of David Miyashita
Marivic A. Miyashita
In Memory of Tamaye Mizutani
Suzy Katsuda
In Memory of Lucille Nakahara
Suzy Katsuda
In Memory of Grace Shinoda Nakamura
Yoshio Nakamura
In Memory of Jeannette Kyoko Sanderson
Emily and Dan Weaver
In Memory of Hirohisa Suzuki
Kiyoe Suzuki
In Memory of Katsuko Yamada
Anonymous
In Memory of Alice Yoshida
Karen Bronson
In-kind Donations
Baby2Baby
Gardena Valley Baptist Church
Shelter Partnership
Linda and Gary Yamauchi
Vehicle Donations
Anonymous
Gerlie Collado
Joseph Takahashi
April Toshiyuki
Terasaki Budokan
Lean Aballe
Anonymous
Akemi Arakaki and Takao Suzuki
Laura Blosser and Chris Argyros
Jerry Fukui
Mabel Fujita Harman
Thomas J Hibino
Joyce Hirayama
Scott Ito and Nan Lee
Ada Kawa
Akemi Ki
Chester and Eileen Kido
Jessie Kikuchi and Brent Mori
Jimmy and Alison Kochiyama
Ryan Lee
Alan Leung
Mike Murase and June Hibino
Gabriel Nakano and Alina Nakano
Erich Nakano and Sandra Viera
Mike Nitake
Mickie Okamoto and Geoffrey Tsudama
Kyoko Peters
Wayne Sugita
Grant Sunoo and Emily Maeda
Nikki Kealalio Sutton
Eddie and Karen Takata
Loana Valencia
Ken Wada
Clement and Angela Yang
Jeff Yonemura
Yonsei 18 Families
Saeko Zirkelbach
In Honor of traci kato-kiriyama
Anonymous
In Honor of Alan Kosaka
Robert and Laverne Cohen
Yonsei 18 Families
In Memory of Alice Kikkawa
Conrads Restaurant
Don Hankey
Michael McCracken
Massie Nishikawa
John Petrie
Steve Toyama
In Memory of Shizuko Sakamoto
Kenji Sakamoto
In Memory of Denny Sunabe
Ethel Nave
Chiyoko Sunabe
In Memory of Monica Quan
Sally Lew
In Memory of Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie N. Uyeda
Sachiko and Joseph Watari
* We get some of our custom printed Vinyl Stickers from our friends at Sticker Mule! *
