May 2017 Issue

LTSC Social Services volunteers and staff

To coincide with National Volunteer Month, LTSC’s Social Services Department held a special lunch ceremony to acknowledge the essential contributions of its many volunteers. The department is fortunate to benefit from the dedicated service of 89 volunteers, who help with everything from answering client phone calls, to actively listening to socially isolated seniors, providing translations, performing data entry, conducting workshops and classes and more.

Thank you, volunteers, for your hard work and commitment.

SOLT Team back again, check it to wreck it, let’s begin. “Straight Outta Little Tokyo,” the popular ’80s and ’90s hip hop concert is back on Saturday, June 3. Brought to you by Made Entertainment, KFA, SOS Productions, Japangeles and Friends of Budokan, the event features great food, drinks, music and live dance performances. Don’t miss the action. All proceeds benefit Budokan of Los Angeles. Buy your tickets now online.

LTSC staff wear denim to protest sexual violence

Members of LTSC’s staff participated in “Denim Day in LA,” an annual rape prevention and education campaign rally organized by the social service agency Peace Over Violence. April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Denim Day called on people to come together by wearing denim as a visible sign of protest against sexual violence. LTSC stands against sexual assault, supports survivors, and fights against the shame and stigma surrounding sexual violence.

LTSC staff present at the South Bay workshop

A large group of community stakeholders and leaders joined an LTSC workshop on the needs of South Bay Nikkei. LTSC reported on findings from a comprehensive needs assessment conducted on Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants in the South Bay. In addition, an expert panel shared their views on the challenges of serving the increasingly diverse South Bay Nikkei community. The workshop, held at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (GVJCI), was conducted in both English and Japanese.

To view the assessment, please click Resources Informationopens PDF file .

Angelina Preschool students

Families of current and prospective students learned about Angelina Preschool, its curriculum, and how the school prepares children for kindergarten and beyond. Participants were treated to activities, refreshments and prizes. Angelina’s program provides early care and education services Monday through Friday, full day (7 a.m. – 5 p.m.), all year (July 1-June 30). Spaces for 2017-2018 are still available, and Angelina enrolls students year round.

Keiro President and CEO Leona Hiraoka (front row, fifth from left) with LTSC staff and board members

For over 35 years, LTSC has been serving Japanese and Japanese American seniors in Little Tokyo and throughout Los Angeles with services to improve their lives and allow them to age in place. Recently, LTSC received a grant from Keiro to support this important work.

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.

LTSC would like to thank Keiro for its support of our Senior Services Program as we work together to provide seniors with the best possible quality of life and maintain independent living through bilingual, bicultural social services, caregiver support and opportunities for socialization.

Tournament winners from left: Omar Carranza, David Pineda, Alarick Sandoval, Shaston Yound and Keiyon Johnson (kneeling)

Each year, LTSC holds a basketball tournament for residents of Angelina Apartments to coincide with the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Four teams participated in this year’s 5-on-5 tournament, which was open to athletes over 14 years old. 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the tournament, which was previously held at Casa Heiwa in Little Tokyo before being moved to the Angelina Apartments affordable housing complex. The tournament is one of several programs organized by LTSC’s Resident Services Department.

Performers at “Bronzeville, Little Tokyo” program

With financial support from LTSC, FORM follows FUNCTION and Visual Communications held the multimedia event “Bronzeville, Little Tokyo,” exploring a period in the 1940s when many African-Americans made Little Tokyo home. The event, which was part of the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, featured an interactive media installation, a 360-degree virtual reality presentation and a live Jazz performance on the historic First Street North block.

“Bronzeville, Little Tokyo” is one of several community arts programs that have been supported by LTSC’s creative community development strategy, known as +LAB. Through this support, +LAB aims to help Little Tokyo organizations elevate their cultural and historic work, while drawing attention to the fate of the First Street North block. First Street North is a Little Tokyo block, deemed critical to the past, present and future of the neighborhood.

Another program supported by +LAB, “Moving Day” is an outdoor public art installation by the Japanese American National Museum. The installation focuses on the WWII exclusion orders used during the incarceration of thousands of people of Japanese descent. “Moving Day” is presented each night, from sunset to midnight, through August 11. On Thursday, May 18, there will be a special public program in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

From left: Ron Fong, API SBP Executive Director; Max Wang, Splash Party, Inc.; Sharon Wang; and Kerry Situ, API SBP Counselor

Max Wang, a client of the Asian Pacific Islander Small Busness Program (API SBP), received an award from the City of Los Angeles at City Hall. A consortium of LTSC and partner organizations, ABI SBP assists the development of small and micro businesses in LA, with a particular focus on the Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai and Filipino business communities as well as low income immigrants.

Max Wang, a Taiwanese immigrant and full-time medical electronics technician at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, built Splash Party, Inc. around his popular invention—an easy-to-use tool for making water balloons. Wang received a helpful boost from API SBP’s guidance on start-up and pricing strategies and through its Entrepreneur Training Program. His award-winning tool is now patented in the U.S., Taiwan, China, England, Japan, Australia and other countries.

LTSC’s Senior Safety Program participants (photo courtesy of Bear Guerra)

LTSC received a grant from Edison International to support ​our Senior Safety Program. The energy company is committed to helping families and the community prepare for natural and human-caused disasters.

LTSC’s Senior Safety Program aims to help seniors stay safe both in and outside their homes. Through our Japanese and Korean language workshops, seniors learn what to do in an emergency at home, whether it be a natural disaster, fire or utility mishap. While Little Tokyo is a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood, seniors also face safety risks while walking. LTSC’s program provides pedestrian safety workshops that cover crosswalk, traffic, bicycling and construction issues. Many of our seniors do not speak English and do not have access to this information through normal channels.

LTSC is working to keep Little Tokyo safe for seniors, residents and visitors. We thank Edison International for its support of our program.

Events

Events

3/23-8/11 – Moving Day Installation
4/27-5/4 – LA Asian Pacific Film Festival
5/6 – How to Raise Financially Aware Children
5/18 – Moving Day JANM Program
6/3 – Straight Outta Little Tokyo
6/3 – Online Security & Protecting Yourself From Identity Theft 
6/10 – How to Choose an Emergency Alert System
7/21 – 11th Annual Sake and Food Tasting Event
10/14 – Annual Asian Small Business Expo

Green Tip

When you eCycle old computers and cell phones, you help reduce waste, save energy, and recover valuable materials.

Donors

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

April Donors
Ted and Tomi Akahori
Mikako and Ali Amini
Anonymous
Asian Pacific Community Fund
Marlene Berry
Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area
Coastal Carolina Combined Federal Campaign
Everett and Gladys Endow
Paul Jay Fukushima
Noriko Goto
John and Betty Hatakeyama
JD Hokoyama
Takahiro Ide
Philip and Barbara Ito
Dick and Pauline Kaku
Jessica Kanai
Tay Kawato
Mark Kawauchi
D.K. Kazahaya
Toni and Gary Kitazawa
Dennis Kobata and Jan Tokumaru
Gary and June Masada
Bruce Matsui
Jim Matsuoka
Robert and Teresa Matsushima
Janet and Henry Minami, Jr.
Keiko Miya
In Memory of David Miyashita
Katsuko Morita
Tetsuo Murata
Kaoru Nakagawa
Carol and Henry Ng
OAA Women’s Association
Yosuke Ouchi
Tadao Okui
Janice Osumi
Kitty Sankey
Janette Shew
Hisayo Shibata
Sam and Kuniko Shimoguchi
Lisa Sugino and Jay Rosenthal
Edwin Takahashi
Frank and Mable Takenaka
Yukio Tanaka
Keith Umemoto
Gary and Akemi Yano
Gerald and Anne Yee
Nolan Young

In Memory of Jeannette Kyoko Sanderson
Emily & Dan Weaver

In Memory of Toyoji Sugita
Lillian Sugita

In Memory of Chor Chai Tan
Marie Tan and Gregory Tan

Budokan of Los Angeles Donations
Akemi Arakaki
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy
Daniel Braun
Mark and Tracey Doi
Scott Ito and Nan Lee
Mike Murase and June Hibino
Brian Okuhara
Katherine Porter
Adam Rossetti
Southern California Kendo Federation
Toyota Financial Services Making Life Easier Fund
Ruth & Bill Watanabe
Kimberly and Damon Wong
Ichiro Yamazaki

Vehicle Donations
Yukiyoshi Hasegawa
Masao and Peggy Kushigemachi

In-kind Donations
Baby2Baby
Saki Miata
Yukari Travis