LTSCene MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

January 2019 Issue

Prudential Lighting holiday party

The holidays are a time for joy and hope. LTSC believes everyone deserves the chance to celebrate and feel valued. Through a series of partnerships, we were proud to organize several events to make the holidays a little brighter for participants in our diverse programs.

Thanks to multiple community toy drives, LTSC’s Resident Services program shared gifts with more than 300 youth in our affordable housing communities. In just two days, with the help of 20 volunteers, we wrapped and distributed over 650 toys. LTSC also held holiday parties at Angelina Apartments and Casa Heiwa, with delicious tacos and games for children and adults to enjoy.

Clockwise from left: senior bingo holiday party, Angelina Preschool holiday presentation, Angelina Apartments holiday party

LTSC’s Resident Services staff is grateful for all our community partners: Changes in the Community, the Zumba group at Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple, Lumbini Child Development Center, Urban Land Institute YLG and Assemblymember Miguel Santiago who helped make all this possible.

Over at Angelina Preschool, students had the opportunity to meet Santa, receive a personalized gift and enjoy a special lunch, thanks to a generous donation from Prudential Lighting. Later in the week, the preschool held its annual holiday presentation, where a packed house of parents and families cheered their little ones as they sang and danced in front of their own hand-made decorations.

Finally, the Nikkei Basketball Association and LTSC’s Resident Services department continued a longstanding tradition of hosting a holiday bingo party for seniors. The event, which has been held for over 20 years, gathers enthusiastic seniors from the different LTSC affordable housing communities to try their hand at bingo, win gifts, partake in a delicious buffet and enjoy the companionship of good friends.

Budokan campaign staff members, from left: Mike Murase, Scott Ito, Adina Mori-Holt, Chris Aihara, Kim Kawasaki and Minako Ferrante

LTSC extends our deepest gratitude to all who have donated, volunteered and otherwise supported our efforts to build Terasaki Budokan in 2018.

In April 2018, we began the long-awaited construction of the $33.8 million sports facility in Little Tokyo. The 2-court gym and outdoor plaza, scheduled to open in early 2020, will be located on Los Angeles Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets.

When we broke ground nine months ago, the fundraising gap for the project was $4.1 million. Since then, you have helped close the remaining gap to $2.5 million. With your help, we can raise the entire amount before the grand opening of the facility–a wonderful community asset for future generations.

Please visit www.TerasakiBudokan.com to donate, volunteer and learn more about our gym.

LTSC staff members greet visitors in the South Bay.

To serve the large population of Japanese American seniors in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, LTSC opened a satellite office at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute in 2016. Since then, LTSC has been serving South Bay seniors who are unable to drive to Little Tokyo to receive services at our main office.

With a generous grant from the JA Community Foundation, LTSC will be able to expand its services at the South Bay office with more time for walk-ins, care management services and recruiting and training additional volunteers.

LTSC’s goals for the South Bay office are to help seniors maintain their economic security, help them age in place and maintain their independence. LTSC would like to thank JA Community Foundation for helping us achieve these important goals.

When Yonezo from Tokyo and Hatsuko from Imperial Valley met in 1940 they struggled to communicate. After 78 years (and counting) of happy married life, the couple shares their secrets.

Read their story on p.2 of the winter edition of Through the Seasonsopens PDF file , LTSC’s Social Services Department newsletter.

Ceramic artwork of Shoshi Watanabe for Shoshi’s General Store

Small businesses are at the heart of healthy neighborhoods. They generate excitement, promote culture and create employment opportunities.

Recognizing the value of small businesses, LTSC supports @LASmallBizcubator, a collaboration between LTSC and the Sustainable Little Tokyo community initiative, which gives up-and-coming entrepreneurs the chance to use free pop-up space in Little Tokyo.

In January, @LASmallBizcubator will feature small business Shoshi’s General Store by ceramacist Shoshi Watanabe. Shoshi’s General Store will occupy LTSC’s 341 FSN, a collaborative and experimental space designed to explore community control and self-determination in Little Tokyo and at First Street North. Shoshi’s General store will be open Jan. 8-29 (Monday closed, Tuesday – Friday 4-10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday noon – 9 p.m.) Evening musical events will be held at 341 FSN with dates and times TBA.

In February and March, the Japanese American National Museum will use the 341 FSN space for media programming that celebrates “Bronzeville,” an African American enclave that formed in downtown LA to replace Little Tokyo when Japanese Americans were sent away to incarceration camps during WWII. Visual Communications and LTSC’s +LAB Artist Residency Program will also use the space later in the year.

Events

Donors

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

December 2018 Donors

George Abe
Toshie and Syed Ahmed
Aihara & Associates Insurance Services Inc.
Anonymous
William Asato
Jim and Elena Azama
Ako Bramson
Elizabeth Burton
Archer Cannella
Ross Chan
Orson Cheong
Mieko Chin
Bernice Chu
Efrain De La Peza
Sam Demonteverde
Chantal Denny
Jeffrey and Lorraine Dohzen
Hope Fang
Fong Toji Family
Akira and Atsuko Fujimoto
Hiroshi and Misako Fujisaki
June A Fukuhara
Alex H Fukui
Leslie Furukawa
Peter Gee
Hiroshi Gomyo
Miyeko Hasegawa
Lisa Hasegawa
Dee A. Hayashi
Frank and Betty Hiji
Marsha Hirano-Nakanishi
Holly Services, Inc.
Tomiko Hooper
Yoko Hozumi
Erin Hsu
Peter Huang
Steve and Janine Hunt
Ann Igarashi
Charles and Yuko Igawa
Douglas Ikemi
Sharon Im-Lee
Sumiko Inoue
Seiji and Nell Itahara
Paul H. Iwahashi
Gerald Kado
Alice Kaku
Kambara Family Fund
Yoko Kamiguchi
Scott and Taeko Kanai
Jessica Kanai
Gary Kanemoto
Mizue Katayama
Suzy Katsuda
Sayaka Kawase
Machiko and Shuji Kawata
Yuka Kimbell
Machiko Kimura
Janet Kitazaki
Toni and Gary Kitazawa
Steve and Akemi Kayleng Knight
Harold and Reiko Kobata
Dennis Kobata and Jan Tokumaru
Brian Kohaya
Chris Komai and Qris Yamashita
Reiko Kondo
Harry Kondo
Akiko Kotani
Geoffrey Kowalchuk
Eric Kurimura
Jane and Samuel Kurohara
Masao and Peggy Kushigemachi
Amy and Scott Kushigemachi
James Kwon
Dan Kwong
Vien Le
Mia and Greg Lockwood
Nobuko Marcial
Gary and June Masada
Yonezo Masuda
Asao Masumiya
Judd and Leslie Matsunaga
Diana and Yoshi Matsushima
Robert and Teresa Matsushima
Judy Matsuzaki
Akiko and Michael Lazare
Dave and Terri Mitani and Family
Yuri Miyagawa
Amy Miyakawa
Sandie and Dean Mochinaga
Masako Mochizuki
Katsuko Morita
Mariko Motoyama
Yooko Munekata
Paul Murata
Tatsuo Nagashima
Kaoru Nakagawa
Roy and Setsuko Nakahara
Harumi and James Nakao
David and Lily Nakatani
Debra Nakatomi and Bob Miyamoto
Takeshi Nakayama
Daryl Narimatsu
Pat Naritomi
Carol and Henry Ng
Vy Nguyen and Cameron Levin
Scottie Chikashi and Sayoko Niizawa
Jean and Richard Nishimoto
Kay and Nancy Oda
Susan Oda Omori
Dianne and Richard Odagawa
Taeko Okada
Shirley Okayama
Tracy Okida
John Okita and Michiko Yamamoto
Akira Okuda
Fred and Yumiko Ong
Ryan and Denise Onishi
Oomasa Restaurant
Ronald Osborne
Kaz Ota
Davis Park and Allison Yoh
Terumi and Samuel Peters
Kanji Sahara
Louise Sakamoto
Glenn and Donna Sanada
Roy Sanderson
Jeff and Reina Schaffer
Senshin Buddhist Women’s Association
Toshimi and Joel Shapiro
Gail Sharp
Hisayo Shibata
Raymond and Sharon Shibata
Doris Shigaki
Ellen and Alan Shimamoto
Bruce and Diane Shimano
Alan and Jean Shinseki
Donald Spivack
Tokiko Sugimoto
Ken and Lily Sugino
Lillian Sugita
Walter and Aiko Sumi
Nikki Kealalio Sutton
Shigeko Tada
Chris Taga
Sumiko Takahashi and Yildirim Arkun
Carolyn Takeshita
Diane Tan and King Cheung
Cathy and Masaru Tanaka
Bessie Tanaka
George Tanaka
Linda Tanamachi
Edward and Karen Toguchi
Stuart Tsujimoto
Catherine Uchida
Robert and Mae Uchida
Keith Umemoto
George Umezawa
Alden and Teruko Uyemura
Matsuko Uyeno
Ken Wada
Louise Wada
Henry and Carolyn Watanabe
Ruth Watanabe
Harold Wickersham
Allyne Winderman and Glenn Wasserman
Andi Wong
Steven Wong
Lisa Wong
Gayle and Craig Wong
John Wright
Carole Yamakoshi
Yukiko Yamamoto
Emily Yamane
Sandra Yamane
Jane Yamashita
Michael and Lilly Yanagita
Gary and Akemi K Yano
Catherine Yen
Phyllis Yogi
Noboru Yonemoto
Brett and Susan Yoshimura
Leonard and Marsha Young
Spencer Yu

In Honor of Victor Aguilera
Kathy and Mark Masaoka

In Honor of Roy Natividad
Craig and Cindy Ogawa

In Honor of Kazuo Ota
Kathy and Mark Masaoka

In Honor of Yosh “Bill” Watanabe
Melodee Smith

In Memory of Hiroshi Furukawa
Michiyo Burkart

In Memory of Kikuye Imamura
Duane and Joy Hirayama

In Memory of Mr. and Mrs. Frank M. Inafuku
Paul Inafuku

In Memory of Kuwashi Iwataki
Miya Iwataki

In Memory of Fusao Kawato
Tay Kawato

In Memory of Roy Kobashigawa
Kiku Yamada

In Memory of J and Mariko Kobata
Atsuko Yomogida

In Memory of Mitsuko Murase
Janice Harumi and Chao M. Yen

In Memory of Judy Nishimoto Ota
Victor Aguilera

In Memory of Hideko & Hiroshi Ota
Anonymous

In Memory of Jeannette Kyoko Sanderson
Emily and Dan Weaver

In Memory of Yoneo Lucky Yamamoto
Rick Yamamoto and Jayne Sakoda

In Memory of Hirohisa Hiro Suzuki

Terasaki Budokan

Akemi Arakaki
William Asato
Anonymous
Laura Blosser and Chris Argyros
Katherine Brown
Tomoko and Ty Carter
Mark, Tracey, Kevin and Jennifer Doi
Dennis, Jill, Tyler and Travis Fukumoto
Regina Furumoto
Lori Hashimoto and Garret Tyau
Teruhiko Higashi
Scott Ito and Nan Lee
Jamestown Charitable Foundation
Masashi Kamoda
Gary Kanemoto
Akira Kawasaki
D.K. Kazahaya
Chester and Eileen Kido
Brent Mori and Jessie Kikuchi
Brian Kimura
The Kobara Family
Roy and Aileen Kozaki
Charles and Jean Kuniyoshi
Amy and Scott Kushigemachi
Yuri Miyagawa
Gail Miyasaki
Darice Mori
Mike Murase and June Hibino
Carol and Rudy Obrero
Susan Oda Omori
Michael Okabayashi
Orange County Japanese American Association
Glenn and Donna Sanada
Sierra Madre Issei Memorial Foundation
Kayko Sonoda
Frank Soyejima
John and Helen Sun
Grant Sunoo and Emily Maeda
Nikki Kealalio Sutton
Martin and Karen Tachiki
Carol Takafuji
Bill and June Takeshita
Kenji Takeuchi
Diane Tan and King Cheung
Linda Tanamachi
James Toma
Lily Tsurumaki
Atsuko Yomogida
Yonsei 14 Families
Brett and Susan Yoshimura
Tad Yoshimura
Leonard and Marsha Young
Scott Yun and Evelyn Mar

In Honor of Adina and Whitman Mori-Holt
Anonymous

In Honor of Bill Watanabe
Anonymous
Suzanne and Henry Borenstein Family

In Memory of Tadashi Goto
David and Toshiko Fusato
Viki Goto

In Memory of Gonsaku and Mine Ito
Gonsaku and Mine Ito Family

In Memory of Philip Ito
Barbara Ito
Leslie Ito and Steve Wong

In Memory of Mitsuko Murase
Steve and Delcey Kawasaki
Barb, Gary and Kyle Kitagawa, Akemi and Minoru Nishida
Adina Mori-Holt and Whitman Holt

In Memory of Monica Quan
Walter and Carrie Morita

In Memory of Denny Sunabe
Robinetta Campbell-Mack
Mason Matthews
Adina Mori-Holt and Whitman Holt
Namita Patel
Lourdes Saab
Aldric Soong
Jack and Marian Sunabe

In-kind Donations

Baby2Baby
Metro
Trader Joe’s San Dimas
Lily Tsurumaki
Marsha and Gary Watanabe
Nicole Willms
Linda Yokoyama

Vehicle Donations

Anonymous
Brian Kanegawa
Moo Jung Kim
Michael Nomoto
Sylvia and Ted Santiago