Not Alone Film Screening
Join us on March 8 for a film screening of Not Alone presented by the Children and Families Program of Little Tokyo Service Center.
The movie follows Makoto Akai, who after losing his wife and children in the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, is forced to live alone in a strange town. Not a single day passes that he doesn’t dwell on the loss of his family, which leads him to suicidal thoughts. That is until the day Akai meets a young woman traveling by bicycle.
Social isolation is a growing epidemic among not only older adults but those of all ages. This movie highlights the importance of human connection in our society.
To RSVP, please visit film screening Not Alone.
Terasaki Budokan with the Children’s Wall
The opportunity to honor your children or grandchildren at Terasaki Budokan is here! Have their name(s) inscribed on a tile on a wall that will be located on the terrace level of the building adjacent to the facility’s playground. Tiles are $250 each and please note that children must be 18 years of age and under at the time of purchase, with a limit of one name per tile.
For more info or to buy a tile visit our website.
LTSC Offers Free Tax Prep Services
Depending on income level, you or someone you know may be eligible for free tax preparation services through LTSC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
In-person assistance is available at the LTSC offices on Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. – noon and 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. To schedule an appointment please call 213-473-1637 or visit ltsc.youcanbook.me.
In addition to the Little Tokyo Service Center’s offices, you can also meet with volunteers at our Angelina Apartments (1336 W Angelina St, Los Angeles, CA 90026). Schedule an appointment for this location at, ltscangelina.youcanbook.me
CRFT by Maki opened to the public
On January 18, the brick and mortar location of CRFT by Maki opened to the public. LTSC works to assist small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs in Little Tokyo and throughout Los Angeles County. One such entrepreneur is Darin Maki, whose CRFT by Maki offers clothing, accessories and more inspired by his Japanese heritage.
“The neighborhood once boasted one of the most robust small business economies in Los Angeles, but through waves of displacement, it has shrunk significantly in size. This is a great win for the Little Tokyo small business community to welcome Japanese American entrepreneur Darin Maki to be a part of the small business legacy of one of three remaining historic Japantowns in the United States,” says Mariko Lochridge, LTSC Small Business Program counselor.
You can learn more about Darin in our upcoming Annual Report. And to see Darin’s designs and store hours visit: crftbymaki.com
Tales of Little Tokyo
On January 11, Dan Kwong presented the second iteration of his work Tales of Little Tokyo. Originally created in July 2018 as his culminating project for LTSC’s Artist in Residency, the presentation shows that LTSC’s continuing support of the arts and community has long-lasting effects.
A live theatrical reading Tales of Little Tokyo is a collection of interviews with people asked to describe their memories of the largest Japanese American community in the U.S. One subject was a community activist fighting to prevent gentrification; another was a blind woman who reminisced about growing up in the neighborhood while another recalled their favorite Little Tokyo restaurants of the 1950s.
Read and performed by Dan, along with actors Takayo Fischer and Hanna-Lee Sakakibara, these interviews came to life with the help of historical photos, family snapshots, and period music. Together they conveyed the rich history of Little Tokyo to create a portrait of a community and its impact throughout the generations.
Having family members who’ve worked at the Japanese American National Museum and the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Dan was selected as an Artist in Resident in 2018 partly because of his deep ties to Little Tokyo. Artists were also chosen based on the strength of their artistic work and their demonstrated desire to work collaboratively within a community context. LTSC hopes to have more artist residencies in the future to find imaginative ways to empower the Little Tokyo community.
LTSC is hosting a free community CPR and First Aid class
LTSC is hosting a free community CPR and First Aid class for the first 50 people that sign up. There will be an English group and a separate Spanish group. It’s free and at our Angelina Apartment building on Saturday, March 14, from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Those who attend will be certified through the American Heart Association and will receive an official card valid for two years.
Please sign up with Doris Acosta by calling (213) 481-0227.
Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC)
LTSC would like to thank Citi Community Development, National Equity Fund
(NEF) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) for supporting our Go For Broke Apartments project. Since 2012 Citi Community Development has been generously supporting and partnering with the LISC-NEF Bring them HOMES Veterans Initiative to create permanent supportive housing for veterans.
Together with its partner Go For Broke National Education Center, LTSC is building 74 units of affordable housing on the historic block of Little Tokyo next to the future Metro Regional Connector subway station. To provide a variety of supportive services the project will also have a community activity room, social service and counseling rooms, a veteran “Honor Wall” and office space for the Education Center.
The Go For Broke National Education Center’s mission is to raise awareness about the World War II American veterans of Japanese ancestry in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare. Go For Broke, a Hawaiian saying meaning “to wager everything” was the regiment’s motto. In 1999, the Go For Broke Monument, engraved with the names of more than 16,000 Japanese American men and women who served during the war, was dedicated on the site of this development.
LTSC thanks Citi Community Development for its support of our pursuit to build affordable housing opportunities around transit in Little Tokyo.
United States Census 2020
Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau undertakes a mammoth task: counting all the people residing in America. This count affects the allocation of funding for our community’s public resources (e.g., roads, hospitals, schools), how we plan for the future, and our voice in government. For the first time, in 2020, the census will accept responses online. You can respond to the census in less time than it takes to finish your morning coffee, but you’ll also still be able to respond by mail.
If you don’t complete the census, your identity and community are invisible to people who have the power to make significant decisions affecting your life. In 2010 an estimated 74,000 children were not counted in Los Angeles County. An inaccurate count affects funding for programs that serve young children.
Your 2020 census information is protected whether you complete the questionnaire online or by paper application. By law, your personal data cannot be used against you, and the U.S. Census Bureau has taken security measures to ensure the process is safe and secure every step of the way.
Check your mailboxes starting in March as the U.S. Census Bureau will start mailing out invitations asking households to respond to the new online census.
To learn more about what to expect, when you will receive additional materials in the mail and to see the census form, visit: 2020census.gov.
December & January Donors
Thank you to all our supporters for your contributions last month!
Add your name to the list by making a DONATION today.
Toshie and Syed Ahmed
Aihara & Associates Insurance Services Inc.
Ted Akahori
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Anonymous
June Aoki
Akemi Arakaki and Takao Suzuki
Dennis Arguelles
William Asato
Jim and Elena Azama
Inaye Bell
Michiyo Burkart
Elizabeth Burton
Tomoko and Ty Carter
Shirley Chami
Bernice Chu
Consulate General of Japan
Sam Demonteverde
Chantal Denny
Saeko Dickinson
Jeffrey and Lorraine Dohzen
Edison International
Hope Fang
FIA Insurance Services, Inc.
Dave and Frances Fujii
Akira and Atsuko Fujimoto
Cathy Fujimoto
Fred Fujioka
Kimiko Fujita and Kihei Otani
June Fukuhara
Alex H. Fukui
Leslie Furukawa
Warren and Lisa Furutani
Nahan Gluck
Hiroshi Gomyo
Christeil and John Gota
Yas Hagihara
Jeffrey Hamamoto
Glenn Hamanaka and Teresa Itokazu
Geraldine Hamane
Michelle Hanabusa
Marianne Hane
Chris and Ken Hankawa
Sharon Harada
Lisa Hasegawa
Sande Hashimoto
Dee A. Hayashi
Phyllis Hayashibara
Ben and Margie Higashi
Frank and Betty Hiji
Mark and Sharlene Hirai
Marsha Hirano-Nakanishi
Duane and Joy Hirayama
Leona Hirayanagi
Jon and Jodi Hisamoto
Kelly Takasu
Bryan and Kathryn Hori
Joseph Horiye
Yoko Hozumi
Takahiro Ide
Douglas Ikemi
Paul Inafuku
Norma Ishigo
Seiji and Nell Itahara
Barbara Ito
Paul H. Iwahashi
Alice Kaku
Kambara Family Fund
Ken and Suellyn Kambara
Toshio Kamei
Gary Kanemoto
Jean Kato
Suzy Katsuda
Alan Kawa
Jean and Karl Kawakami
Raymond Kawamoto
Yuka and Daniel Kimbell
Christine Kimura
Sadao and Faye Kimura
Iku Kiriyama
Toni and Gary Kitazawa
Steve and Akemi Kayleng Knight
Dennis Kobata and Jan Tokumaru
Harold and Reiko Kobata
Carolyn Kobayashi
Ryoko Koga
Brian Kohaya
Chris Komai and Qris Yamashita
Alan and Ruth Kondo
Kumiko Kondo
Raymond and Noriko Kong
Hank and Julie Koning
Akiko Kotani
Gregory Kubo and Alyson Mizuno-Kubo
Kathleen Kubota
Charles and Jean Kuniyoshi
Eric Kurimura
Amy Phillips Kushigemachi and Scott Kushigemachi
Masao and Peggy Kushigemachi
Victor Lazo
Vien Le
Carolyn Macaranas
Nobuko Marcial
Gary and June Masada
Kathy and Mark Masaoka
Norma Masuda
Asao Masumiya
Morley and Sue Matsuda
Bruce Matsui
Carol Matsunaga and Steve Ogasa
Diana and Yoshi Matsushima
Robert and Teresa Matsushima
Judy Matsuzaki
Kenyon and I-Wen Mayeda
Neil McGuffin
Lorene and Mark Miller
Joyce Miyabe
Carol Miyahira
Amy Miyakawa
Marivic A. Miyashita
Sandie and Dean Mochinaga
Masako Mochizuki
Kelly Morikawa Kwong
Lily Morimoto
Katsuko Morita
Mariko Motoyama
Yooko Munekata
Richard and Masako Murakami
Mike Murase and June Hibino
Irene Nakagawa
Shiro Nakagawa
Roy and Setsuko Nakahara
Alina Nakano
Kiyomi Nakano
The Kenichi and Takayo Nakase Family Foundation
Tad Nakashima
David and Lily Nakatani
Debra Nakatomi and Bob Miyamoto
Takeshi and Patricia Nakayama
Daryl Narimatsu
Margaret Narumi
Eileen Nawa
Carol and Henry Ng
Vy Nguyen and Cameron Levin
Chikashi and Sayoko Niizawa
Jean K. Nishihara
Jean and Richard Nishimoto
Gail and Robert Nishinaka
Takashi and Suzuko Oda
Susan Oda Omori
Dianne and Richard Odagawa
Susan Ogawa and Charles Taylor
Lily Ohara
Yoshi Ono
Patti Okabe
Shirley Okayama
Michael Okuda
Tadao Okui
Fred and Yumiko Ong
Ryan Onishi
Oomasa Restaurant
Glenn and Lillian Osajima
Ronald Osborne
Janice Osumi
Kaz Ota
Koyu Ota
William Ota
Dr. and Mrs. Sam Masami Otsuji
Kevin Oyama
Miyako Phillips
Yoshiko Sakamoto
Tadashi and Geri Sakuma
Glenn and Donna Sanada
Taeko Schaeffer
The Seaver Institute
Senshin Buddhist Women’s Association
Mary Senzaki
Gail Sharp
Raymond and Sharon Shibata
Haruko Shimabukuro
Margaret and Ken Shimada
Ellen and Alan Shimamoto
Bruce and Diane Shimano
Spencer Shimizu
Alan and Jean Shinseki
Paul and Kay Shishima
Joe Soong
Donald Spivack
Lisa Sugino and Jay Rosenthal
Lillian Sugita
Wayne Sugita
Walter and Aiko Sumi
Betty Sunabe Ching
Jack and Marian Sunabe
Nikki Kealalio Sutton
Martin and Karen Tachiki
H.C. Taga
Esther Taira
Julia Takeda
Yuka Takeuchi
Richard and Cathie Tanabe
Bessie Tanaka
Gail Tanaka
Mike Tanaka and Jill Ishida
Wes Tanaka
Michi Tanioka
Edward and Karen Toguchi
Jeannie and Ron Toshima
Reiko Totani
Loan Thi Tran and Ngoc Vuong
Mary and Shigeo Tsuchiyama
Stuart Tsujimoto
U.S. Bank
Nobuye Ujita
Clara Ukai
Keith Umemoto
Chuong Ung
Mark and Vivien Usui
Amy Uyematsu and Raul Contreras
Alden and Teruko Uyemura
Matsuko Uyeno
VCA Realty
Edward and Momoyo Wada
Kenneth Wada
Louise Wada
Jacob Wasserman
Bill and Ruth Watanabe
Ruth Watanabe
Scott Watanabe
Allyne Winderman and Glenn Wasserman
Gayle and Craig Wong
Sharon Yajima
Kiku Yamada
Carole Yamakoshi
Geoffrey and Denise Yamamoto
Yukiko Yamamoto
Grace Yamamura
Jane Yamashita
Sachiko Yamashita
Linda and Gary Yamauchi
Michael and Lilly Yanagita
Gary and Akemi Yano
Gerald and Anne Yee
Donald Yee
Gerald and Anne Yee
Catherine Yen
Phyllis Yogi
Kaori Young
Leonard and Marsha Young
Nolan Young
Janice Yu
Gay Yuen
Scott Yun and Evelyn Mar
Ryoko and Yoshiro Yunouye
In Memory of Nicholas Colaneri, Jr.
Yasuko Sakamoto
In Memory of Yuki Gusukuma
Emi Gusukuma
In Memory of Momo Nagano Kwong
Dan K. Kwong
In Memory of Dean Matsubayashi
Anonymous
John Blackman
Heidie Joo Burwell
Sakura Lee
Michi Lew
Lisa Sugino and Jay Rosenthal
Cathy and Masaru Tanaka
Karen Yamamoto
Janice Harumi and Chao M. Yen
In Memory of Hitoshi Ohara
Grace Sakioka
Kayoshi Shoda
In Memory of Mary Oi
Victor Matsui Family
In Memory of Judy Nishimoto Aguilar Ota
Victor Aguilera
Paul and Ruth Kadota
Kathy and Mark Masaoka
In Memory of Jeannette Kyoko Sanderson
Emily and Dan Weaver
In Memory of Chor Chai Tan
Marie Tan and Gregory Tan, in memory of Chor Chai Tan
In Memory of Deklan Yoshimura
Brett and Susan Yoshimura
In Memory of Reiko Yoshinaga
Ronald and Julia Yano
In Honor of Erich Nakano
Lloyd Kajikawa and Silvina Rubinstein
In Honor of Roy Natividad
Craig and Cindy Ogawa
In Honor of Nikki Kealalio Sutton
Alan Sutton
In Honor of Yosh “Bill” Watanabe
Melodee Smith
Terasaki Budokan
Ronald Amate
Anonymous
Akemi Arakaki and Takao Suzuki
Trisha Beharie
Laura Blosser and Chris Argyros
Changes in the Community
Regina Furumoto
Myron Gee and Ann Ogawa Gee
Dylan, Ryan, and Jonas Hanami
Dale Hashimoto
Himawari Karaoke Doko-Kai
Hoops for Friends
Tony Huynh
Hisako (Betty) and Akira Imamura
Keith Inatomi
Barbara Ito
Japanese American Community Services
John and Ursula Kanel Charitable Foundation
Stefanie Kawasaki
Chester and Eileen Kido
Jessie Kikuchi and Brent Mori
Helen Kim
Dennis and Lorraine Kimura
Roy and Aileen Kozaki
Frances Kuramoto
Michi Lew
Jeff Liu and Phuong Tang
Claire Marco
Asao Masumiya
Carol Matsui
Kenyon and I-Wen Mayeda
Akiko and Michael Lazare
Lyle and Sally Murakami
Paul Murata
The Kenichi and Takayo Nakase Family Foundation
Aileen Nishimura
Mickie Okamoto and Geoffrey Tsudama
Russ and Diana Ono
Glenn and Lillian Osajima
Christine Otani and Ted Mayeshiba
Enisha and Amar Parimi
Alicia Procello
Ragan Reviere
Glenn and Donna Sanada
Jeff and Reina Schaffer
Debbie Sheen
Ellen and Alan Shimamoto
Kayko Sonoda
John and Helen Sun
Grant Sunoo and Emily Maeda
Nikki Kealalio Sutton
Martin and Karen Tachiki
Ron Takasugi
Bill and June Takeshita
Cheryl and David Teragawa
Tokio Marine Management & Insurance Companies
Kay Torres
Loana dp Valencia
Tod Wakamatsu
Carole Yamakoshi
Alice Yokoyama
Brett and Susan Yoshimura
Jayne and Gideon Young Family
In Memory of Alvin Arakaki
Pilar Estabrook
In Memory of Hisashi Ikeda
Dahni Tsuboi and Pete Manzo
In Memory of Sumi Nerio Onodera Leonard
Hisako and Akira Imamura
In Memory of Dean Matsubayashi
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
Aiza Galdo
Kirsten Grimm
Linda R Hiji
Sharon Im-Lee
Amy Phillips Kushigemachi and Scott Kushigemachi
Vivienne Lee
Maki Saito
Lisa Sugino and Jay Rosenthal
Kumiko Yamada-Yuge and Tim Yuge
In Memory of Joyce Mitsuhashi
Justin and Sharon Kurashima
In Memory of Ichiro Arthur Murakami
Kumiko Yamada-Yuge and Tim Yuge
In Memory of Glen Nakamura
Joyce and Randy Takahashi
In Memory of Sechiko Shinmoto
Barbara and Bob Okada
In Memory of John Sogi
Helen Sogi
In Honor of Aki Komai
Mark Hashima
Ken and Colleen Hayashi
Steven Hayashi
Yoneo Inouye
Ed Kamiyama, Darin Kamiyama, Stephen Kamiyama, Lauren Kamiyama
Carolyn Komai and Michael Matsumoto
Chris Komai
Michael Komai
Neil Komai
Ralph Komai
Karen Margolis
Tatsuo Minamoto
Gail and Thomas Miyasaki
Noboru Takeuchi
Mariko Wada
Marsha and Alvin Wakasa
Beatrice Yotsukura
In Honor of Alan Kosaka
Phillip Lee
In Honor of Adina Mori-Holt
Christine Pajak and Mark Duttweiler
In Honor of Chris Naito
Ann Nomura and Dale Freyberger
In Honor of Kevin, Daryl, Jason and Alysa Ogawa
Craig and Cindy Ogawa
In Honor of Lily Tsurumaki and Darice Mori
Katherine Brown
In Honor of Bill Watanabe
Anonymous
Suzanne and Henry Borenstein Family
In-kind Donations
Baby2Baby
Debra Fong
Tina Gaviers
Patrice Gillis and Montserrat Fontes
Metro
Adina Mori-Holt and Whitman Holt
Mickie Okamoto-Tsudama and Geoff Tsudama
Prudential Lighting Products
Colleen Seto-Gee and Douglas Gee
Cheryl Utsunomiya
Loana dP Valencia
Marsha and Gary Watanabe
Linda Yokoyama
Patrick and Gerrie Zvara
Vehicle Donations
Shizuko Akahoshi
Claro Diel
Linda Fukuyama
Steven Jabami and Yuri Uehara
Iku Kiriyama
Mine Kuwata
Glenn and Donna Sanada
Kenji Suzuki
