Special Projects and Events
Special projects and events are held to not only address needs in our community, but also to raise funds to support the organization. These events also attempt to recruit and mobilize diverse groups of caring individuals to participate in both volunteer service and civic engagement.
Taste For Volunteering 2010 Donation Package
A Taste For Volunteering 2010, February 5--The Peninsula Tokyo
You are cordially invited to join us for an elegant evening
of delicious food, superb wines, exciting auction items and wonderful company.
DATE: Friday, February 5, 2010
TIME: 6:30-10:00 PM
LOCATION: The Peninsula Tokyo
COST: 20,000 yen per person
DRESS: Cocktail or Business Attire
RSVP: taste@handsontokyo.org
Please include complete name of each guest. Payment information details will be provided after your reply is received.
Registration and payment deadline is January 22, 2010. Space is limited, so gather your friends and register early!
Once payment is received, guests' names will be added to the guest list. Tickets will not be mailed.
Make a Night of It! Hands On Tokyo corporate partner, The Peninsula Tokyo, is offering a special accommodation rate of 38,000 yen (not including tax and service charge) for a superior room for Taste For Volunteering 2010 guests on February 5. Please e-mail us if you wish to take advantage of this great offer: taste@handsontokyo.org.
Day of Service 2009, October 3
Congratulations to our volunteers, corporate sponsors and NPO partners on another successful Day of Service. This year's event on October 3 attracted nearly 300 volunteers dedicating their time on 5 large projects. Volunteers made greeting cards with residents of the Hakujusou senior citizens home; learned photography and made one-of-a-kind frames for their photos with the children at the Wakabaryo children's home; took visually-impaired children on a virtual trip around the world to Taiwan, India, France, and Colombia at the international festival; teamed with Special Olympics athletes and their coaches in an exciting bowling tournament; and painted and planted both inside and out on the playroom and garden renovation project at Saiseikai Central Hospital's nursery for infants and toddlers. HOT partnered with California-based environmental designer and founder of With A Brush of Love, Lauren S. Henry on the renovation project. Lauren specializes in designing surroundings for children with special needs. In the evening volunteers shared stories and reflected on the day at the After Party hosted by corporate partner Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Together volunteers gave back approximately 1,000 hours in service to the Tokyo community.
The HOT Day of Service is a one-day event which engages volunteers, primarily from our corporate partners and their families, in larger-scale service activities that may be more permanent or provide a deeper connection to partner agencies than our ongoing projects. The event also serves as a showcase for volunteerism, promotes Hands On Tokyo as a vehicle to provide meaningful service opportunities, enables both foreigners and Japanese nationals to give back in a tangible way to local, underserved populations and raises funds to support Hands On Tokyo's year-round service projects.
This incredible effort would not have been possible without the tremendous support of our 12 corporate partners, 10 in-kind sponsors, 5 NPO partner agencies and especially all of you--our volunteers--who gave so much of your time in service to our community. Our sincerest appreciation to each of you.
A Taste For Volunteering 2009
On April 3, the Peninsula Tokyo served as the elegant venue for Hands On Tokyo's second annual fundraising dinner and auction-"A Taste for Volunteering". Over 150 guests gathered to enjoy the delicious cuisine, sample the outstanding wines provided by iwine.jp, Orca International, Japan Europe Trading, and Village Cellars, bid on one-of-a-kind auction items and give back to the Tokyo community.
With nearly 40 silent auction items including a stay at a luxury villa in Bali, nights at some of Tokyo's top-rated hotels, fine dining, jewelry, art and collectibles, self-improvement lessons and fun parties for the kids, plus over 30 raffle drawing prizes, all the guests had the chance to be winners. Once again this year Mr. Tetsuji Shibayama, Managing Director, AG Holdings Corporation & former President Sotheby's Japan, expertly led the live auction for the 14 truly one-of-kind items and experiences with the enthusiastic encouragement of HOT founder and president, emeritus, Deva Hirsch. Among the stand-out items were a VIP tour to Universal Studios Japan, an insider's tour of Tsukiji fish market with 2-Michelin-star chef Shinji Kanesaka, a performance and visit backstage with renowned Kabuki actor Ebizo Ichikawa XI, and a rare visit to the 300-year-old home and sake brewery of SONY's Morita family in Nagoya. By the end of the night, guests and our many generous sponsors helped Hands On Tokyo raise nearly 9 million yen to benefit our continued work providing quality volunteer opportunities for Japanese and foreign nationals in Tokyo.
We are deeply grateful to all of our guests, volunteers, donors and sponsors whose contributions are especially meaningful during these challenging economic times. We look forward to welcoming each of you to one of our ongoing volunteer projects soon.
Hands On Tokyo Day of Service October 4, 2008
More than 260 Japanese and ex-patriate volunteers turned out for the second annual Day of Service on October 4 in Tokyo. Employees and family members of 12 corporate sponsors, along with interested Tokyo residents participated in five large projects. Volunteers joined forces to build a new playground at Wakaba-ryo Children's Home, run a Matsuri (festival) at Hakujuso Senior Home, operate an International Festival for the Blind in Takadanobaba, challenge athletes to a sports day with Special Olympics Motor Development Program and participate in an art project with the children of Wakaba-ryo.
On this single day, volunteers gave back more than 1000 hours of their time to the Tokyo community, continuing the Hands On Tokyo tradition of strengthening community through service.
The annual Day of Service enables Hands On Tokyo to participate in day-long projects that may be more permanent or provide a deeper connection to a partner agency or the people served than our ongoing projects. These incredible contributions would not be possible without the generosity of our sponsors, our volunteers and our partner agencies--who serve the Tokyo community every day.
DOWNLOAD A Taste For Volunteering auction catalogue
