March 2018 Issue

Debbie Ng Kazama, Jason Kazama and family with their new Toyota Highlander

In February, a 2018 Limited Edition Toyota Highlander Hybrid was delivered to the winners of the 2017 Terasaki Budokan Toyota Raffle. Debbie Ng Kazama and Jason Kazama of West Covina had the winning raffle ticket, which was purchased for them by Jason’s mother. Jason and Debbie were not aware of the raffle ticket purchase, so winning the Highlander came as a complete surprise.

The Terasaki Budokan Toyota Raffle is an annual fundraiser supporting LTSC’s effort to build the multipurpose sports and community center Paul I. Terasaki Budokan.

Thank you to Toyota USA for donating the Highlander Hybrid and to all the 501(c)(3) organizations that participated in our raffle. If you want to be part of this year’s Toyota Raffle, your nonprofit organization can earn $4 for every $10 ticket sold.

Please contact the Budokan team if your organization wants to participate.

From left: former LTSC Board of Directors President Debra Nakatomi, President Dick Kaku, Kira Teshima, Keith Terasaki, Lisa Hasegawa and Kelsey Iino

LTSC is pleased to announce a new president for its board of directors and the addition of four new board members. The LTSC Board provides oversight and leadership for LTSC, as the organization promotes “positive change for people and places.” Dick Kaku will serve as LTSC’s board president. The new members are: Lisa Hasegawa, Kelsey Iino, Kira Teshima and Keith Terasaki.

Click New Board President and Members to read the full announcement.

Susu Attar, Dan Kwong, Tina Takemoto and Kuniharu Yoshida

LTSC announced the artists selected for its inaugural +LAB Artist Residency Program in Little Tokyo. These California-based artists were awarded three-month community based residencies from over a hundred applicants.

The Inaugural +LAB Artist Residency Program Fellows are:

• Susu Attar, Visual Artist, Los Angeles
• Dan Kwong, Performance Artist, Los Angeles
• Tina Takemoto, Visual Artist, Daly City
• Kuniharu Yoshida, Traditional Artist, Torrance

The four Artist Fellows were chosen from a talented pool of candidates in an open call by a panel of professionals from the Little Tokyo community and the program’s partner organizations.

Click Artist Fellows to read the full press release.

Alan Nishio; Photo: Gann Matsuda/Manzanar Committee

Longtime LTSC board member and Board of Governors Chair Alan Nishio delivered a powerful keynote address at the annual Los Angeles Day of Remembrance program in February. The annual event gathers members of the community to reflect on the enduring legacy of Executive Order 9066. That directive, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, authorized the forced removal and incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese descent during World War II.

The theme of the 2018 program was “The Civil Liberties Act of 1988: The Victory and the Unfinished Business,” commemorating the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (CLA). The 1988 legislation provided the U.S. government’s official apology and monetary reparations to the survivors of the World War II incarceration.

“We challenged the government on a wrong that was committed and we won,” said Nishio, who was born in Manzanar incarceration camp. Nishio went on to comment on current events, “Twenty years from now we will see 2018 as a turning point in U.S. History … Do we stand silent and remain uninvolved as our country moves to increasing authoritarianism or do we stand up and join with others to affirm the principles of democracy and due process?”

California State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi also addressed the crowd, along with other distinguished community speakers.

Click Rafu Shimpo for coverage of the event.

Seniors at LTSC’s South Bay satellite office

The South Bay region of Los Angeles County has a significant number of Japanese American and Japanese-speaking older adults that are underserved and in need of bilingual social services. To meet this need, LTSC opened a satellite office located at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute in the spring of 2016. Recently, LTSC received a grant from Keiro to expand services at the office in order to reach more people with more comprehensive services, including needs assessments, care management and mental health services.

Keiro is expanding its reach to broadly engage and support Japanese American and Japanese older adults wherever they call home. Serving primarily Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties, Keiro provides services to older adults and caregivers, along with programs for residents of Keiro’s former facilities. For more information, visit Keiro’s website.

LTSC would like to thank Keiro for its support of our South Bay satellite office and helping us provide seniors with the best possible quality of life and to maintain independent living through accessible bilingual, bicultural social services, caregiver support and opportunities for socialization.

LTSC Through the Seasons events winter edition

Did you know there are 640,000 licensed social workers in the U.S.? Many different types of social workers work with children, families, immigrant communities, domestic violence victims and others. Meet one of LTSC’s social services counselors in the Winter edition of the LTSC Social Services newsletter Through the Seasonsopens PDF file (p.6).

Angelina and her friends attending LTSC Event

Students at Angelina Preschool participated in a variety of activities to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Angelina’s students listened to stories, received Valentine’s gifts, and made arts and crafts. Parents and other family were encouraged to join the students.

Angelina Preschool is now enrolling. For more information on LTSC’s childcare and early education program, please visit LTSC’s website.

Build Your Instagram

LTSC’s Small Business Counselor will hold a series of social media workshops in March. Every Thursday morning, for four weeks, starting on March 8, workshops will help businesses build their presence on Instagram. The workshops will walk participants through everything from setting up an account, to mapping out an editorial calendar to best practices for growing a businesses brand.

Check the LTSC events calendar or contact Small Business Counselor Mariko Lochridge at mlochridge@ltsc.orgcreate new email or 213-473-1658 for more details.

Events

Ongoing – April 12 – Happy Cranes Seniors’ Origami Exhibition

Ongoing – April 14 – Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Season

March 8 – Small Business Workshop: Build Your Instagram Today (Part 1)

March 15 – Small Business Workshop: Build Your Instagram Today (Part 2)

March 18 – Normal “Senior Moments” or Early Stage Alzheimer’s? (RSVP)

March 22 – Small Business Workshop: Build Your Instagram Today (Part 3)

March 24 – Financial Planning for Younger Families/家族のための ファイナンシャルプラニング

March 29 – Small Business Workshop: Build Your Instagram Today (Part 4)

Green Tip

Give Meatless Mondays a try.

Donors

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

February 2018 Donors

Anonymous
Akemi Arakaki
Dennis Arguelles
Asian Pacific Community Fund
Elizabeth Burton
Care 1st Health Plan
Consulate General of Japan
Louis and Beatrice Danoff
Jeffrey and Lorraine Dohzen
Lisa Hasegawa
Takahiro Ide
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Miyako Kadogawa
Jessica Kanai
Combined Federal Campaign of Greater SoCal
Gary and June Masada
Robert and Teresa Matsushima
Mission Valley FMC
Hiroko Miyagishima
Erica Namba
Sanuki No Sato
Stacey Tanaka
Keith Umemoto
United Way California Capital Region
Weingart Foundation
Gerald and Anne Yee
Nolan Young

In Honor of Tom Sogi
H. Chris Taga

In Memory of Jack Kunitomi
Myron Gee and Ann Ogawa Gee

In Memory of Jeannette Kyoko Sanderson
Emily and Dan Weaver

In Memory of Maryann Ito Yoshihiro
Toshie Mosher
Marian and Frank Sata
Margaret Settle
Robert and Mae Uchida
Grace Wong

Terasaki Budokan
Akemi Arakaki
Laura Blosser and Chris Argyros
Minako and Robert Ferrante
Jason and Lynnette Fujimoto
Myron Gee and Ann Ogawa Gee
Tuan Huynh
Scott Ito and Nan Lee
The James Irvine Foundation
Brent Mori and Jessie Kikuchi
Norman and Mardy Maehara
Gene Matsushita
Adina Mori-Holt and Whitman Holt
Mike Murase and June Hibino
Shoichi and Ayumi Omoto
Harvey Stromberg
Grant Sunoo and Emily Maeda

Bill and Ruth Watanabe Director’s Office Campaign
Daphne Kwok
Gary and Jan Sakata

In Honor of the Ito Family
Lisa Okamoto

In Honor of the Jason and Janice Yamada Family
Margaret and Ken Shimada

In Memory of George Takeo Kasamatsu
Jayne and Gideon Young Family

In Memory of Judy Nishimoto Ota
Russell and Susan Kadota

In Memory of Monica Quan
Kelli Obrero

In Memory of Maryann Ito Yoshihiro
Helen Grubbs
Tom Ito
Francine Kawabe
Nancy Omi-Hara
Mary Watanabe
Robert and Yukiko Yokoyama

Vehicle Donations
Fumiko Tsuda

In-kind Donations
Baby2Baby
Marsha and Gary Watanabe