LTScene MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

December 2018 Issue

Residency fellow Kuniharu Yoshida holds a calligraphy exhibition. Photo by Rudy Espinoza.

In the first year of LTSC’s +LAB Artist Residency program, four talented artists electrified the Little Tokyo community with their exciting artwork. Now, +LAB is at it again with a call for artists to participate in the program’s second installment.

The 2019 +LAB Artist Residency is a creative “place-keeping” residency that will focus on addressing the most recent cycle of displacement that is affecting LA’s Little Tokyo. We are seeking community-engaged artists who, through their work, will help LTSC advocate for the preservation of the neighborhood’s unique cultural identity and responsible development of two contested parcels of land owned by the City of Los Angeles: First Street North and the Mangrove block.

The two parcels represent an opportunity for the neighborhood to defy the forces of of displacement and achieve a community vision for this land.

Click here for more information on the second year of the +LAB Artist Residency Program.

Click here for interviews of last year’s residency fellows.

Thank You for Supporting LTSC at Napa Rose

Last month, Honda hosted a fundraising event for LTSC and El Camino College Foundation at the elegant Napa Rose restaurant in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa in Anaheim. The event was a unique opportunity for LTSC to raise money for our activities in the South Bay, where LTSC established a social services office in 2016. Thank you to Honda for their great generosity and all those who participated in the event to support LTSC.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash.

LTSC and fellow affordable housing advocates celebrated key victories on important 2018 general election ballot measures. Proposition 1; to create bonds for affordable housing programs for low-income Californians, veterans and farmworkers; and Proposition 2; allowing the state to build or renovate housing for Californians with mental illness who are homeless; were both aproved by LA voters.

Another LTSC backed measure, Proposition 10, however, was defeated at the polls. That proposition would have given cities and counties the option to respond to the housing crisis with local rent control measures.

Thank you to all who took the initiative to be informed, voted and otherwise participated in the 2018 general election.

Nora Ito draws the winning raffle ticket.

In November, the Paul I. Terasaki Budokan campaign held a drawing for a 2019 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The vehicle was the last of three cars that Toyota Motors USA (led by Toyota executives Tracey and Mark Doi) donated to the fundraising campaign for the gymnasium that is now under construction.

The winner of this year’s raffle is a resident of Arcadia and a professor at Cal State LA. She purchased her ticket from one of her students.

The student previously contacted LTSC months ago for help with a class assignment. The Budokan campaign team helped the student complete her assignment and asked her to help sell raffle tickets. The student sold 14 tickets, as part of a pizza night fundraiser to benefit Budokan. One of those tickets ended up being the winner.

LTSC is still raising funds for Budokan. Click here for more information on how to support the project.

Marrow recipients Brandon Ito and Alex Tung

Every dollar donated to Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M), an affiliated organization of LTSC, helps it save lives.

A3M is a nonprofit organization based in Little Tokyo with a mission of improving the health and welfare of patients with blood cancers or blood related disease by educating and recruiting potential marrow donors and providing patient support services. Their vision is to grow and diversify the Be The Match Registry by focusing on marrow donor recruitment within various ethnic communities–therefore increasing the likelihood of patients finding a marrow match.

Whether you donate $5, $20, $100, or $500, your contribution will make an impact. Spreading the word about A3M’s efforts is also essential. Your support will allow A3M to further their efforts to register bone marrow donors and become a stronger support system for patients.

You can find more information about A3M’s fundraising campaign at this link.

Funder Spotlight: JPMorgan Chase Foundation

LTSC has been awarded a generous grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation to address the tremendous need for affordable housing in LA. With this support, LTSC will continue its work on five affordable housing projects in the Little Tokyo, East Hollywood and Arts District neighborhoods.

Los Angeles is rated one of the most unaffordable cities for renters in the U.S. With the support of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, LTSC’s affordable housing program will continue its work to build housing that serves the most vulnerable individuals including families and seniors with low incomes. This includes LTSC’s newest project, Vermont-Santa Monica Center. At 154 multifamily rental units, this is the largest affordable housing project LTSC has undertaken. When completed it will provide much needed affordable housing in the East Hollywood community. The project is adjacent to the Vermont and Santa Monica Metro station and will include improvements to the bus shelters, bike storage areas and streetscape.

LTSC would like to thank the JPMorgan Chase Foundation for its support and commitment to addressing the affordable housing crisis in LA.

Artwork designed by Jared Yamahata for Uprising

LTSC’s Small Business Assistance Program welcomes Michelle Hanabusa, founder and creative director for the clothing brand Uprising, to Little Tokyo as the @LASmallBizcubator‘s December Entrepreneur-in-Residence.

@LASmallBizcubator is a pilot program launched by LTSC in partnership with the Sustainable Little Tokyo community initiative. The program invites entrepreneurs to Little Tokyo to connect to the community’s small business legacy, while promoting community control and self-determination.

Uprising is a performance-driven clothing brand inspired by Japanese minimalism. The brand will be featured at LTSC’s 341 FSN community space located at 341 FSN, 341 East 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 from Dec. 6 – Jan. 3.

STORE HOURS (Dec. 6 – Jan. 3)

Tuesday-Friday, 4-10 p.m.
Saturdays, 1-10 p.m.
Sunday, 1-8 p.m.

Uprising also invites you to a Pop-Up Party on Dec. 11.

Nikkei Progressives & Friends bitter party album and book launch

During the month of November, Nikkei Progressives + Friends held a series of events related to community activism and empowerment at LTSC’s 341 FSN. Nikkei Progressives brought their stint to a close on Nov. 30 with a “Clean Up, Close Up” celebration.

341 FSN is a collaborative and experimental space designed to explore community control and self-determination in Little Tokyo and at First Street North. LTSC owns and operates 341 FSN, which provides our +LAB project with a unique asset for promoting neighborhood and community engagement.

IRA Donation

Did you know you can donate to LTSC directly from your IRA with a Qualified Charitable Distribution? It will count towards your Required Minimum Distribution and the money is not included in your income. No itemization necessary. No time like the present! Speak with your Financial Planner today for the details.

Calculate your minimum distribution here.

Events

Green Tip

Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins at dinner.

Donors

Thank you to all our supporters for your contributions last month!

November 2018 Donors

Anonymous
Elizabeth Burton
Shirley Chami
Bernice Chu
Consulate General of Japan
Jeffrey and Lorraine Dohzen
First Choice Bank
Merilynne Quon
Lisa Hasegawa
Jessica Kanai
Alan Kawa
Raymond Kawamoto
Liferay Foundation
Susan Maki
Kathy and Mark Masaoka
Robert and Teresa Matsushima
Lorene and Mark Miller
Joyce Miyabe
Much Is Given Foundation
Trisha Murakawa and Warren Wong
Gabriel and Alina Nakano
Erica Namba
Barbara Nishimoto
Alan and Yvonne Nishio
Michael, Margie and Katherine Odanaka
Taeko Okada
Yosuke Ouchi
Toshi Shapiro
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Kayoshi Shoda
Nikki Kealalio Sutton
Martin and Karen Tachiki
James and Lilian Tanaka
Stacey Tanaka
Jill Tsutsui
Keith Umemoto
Marsha and Gary Watanabe
Kevin Yamanaka
Catherine Yen
Linda Yokoyama
Spencer Yu

In Memory of Joyce Mitsuhashi
Justin and Sharon K. Kurashima

In Memory of Judy Nishimoto Aguilar Ota
Paul and Ruth Kadota

In Memory of Jeannette Kyoko Sanderson
Emily and Dan Weaver

Terasaki Budokan

Anonymous
Jim and Elena Azama
Laura Blosser and Chris Argyros
Bunkado, Inc.
Bill and Raissa Choi
T.C. and Elaine Chung
Ava Herbrick
Shirley Hibino
Leona Hirayanagi
JD Hokoyama
Hoops for Friends
Dr. Kenji Irie
Norma Ishigo
Scott Ito and Nan Lee
Carole Kakita
Emi Kamiyama
Raymond Kawamoto
Chester Kido
Brent Mori and Jessie Kikuchi
Raymond and Noriko Kong
Atsuko and Tadashi Kowta
Jenni Kuida and Tony Osumi
Morley and Sue Matsuda
Carol Matsui
Gene Matsushita
Carol Mochizuki
Mike Murase and June Hibino
Donald Murashige
Alan and Yvonne Nishio
Dianne Odagawa
Mickie Okamoto-Tsudama and Geoff Tsudama
Demetri Parides
Rafu Shimpo Foundation
Yoichi Serizawa
Grant Sunoo and Emily Maeda
Nikki Kealalio Sutton
Akemi Arakaki
David Teragawa
Mitzi Toshima
Maki and Richard Wallace
Gary, Marsha and Sean Watanabe
Scott Watanabe
Richard and Evelyn Yoshizumi

In Memory of Tadashi Goto
Paige Van Riper
Gary Jimenez

In Memory of Sam Imamoto
Faye Tomoyasu

In Memory of Russell Takeuchi
Anonymous

In-kind Donations

Baby2Baby
Adina Mori-Holt and Whitman Holt
Colleen Seto-Gee and Douglas Gee
Tom Sogi
Lily Tsurumaki
Marsha and Gary Watanabe
Linda Yokoyama

Vehicle Donations

George Nakagawa

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