Updates

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Give to JCYC’s Chibi Chan Preschools this May!

JCYC’s Chibi Chan Preschools need your support this May to help us deliver vital childcare services – please donate today here!
In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month and this year’s Give in May “Forging Community Bonds” campaign, the Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC) would sincerely appreciate your consideration of a contribution to our organization this May. Your contribution will help JCYC’s Chibi Chan Preschools rise above the financial challenges Chibi Chan continues to face as a result of the pandemic.
While both Chibi Chan Preschool and Chibi Chan Too staff have worked tirelessly to transition both preschool sites to full-time, in-person care, the ongoing lingering effects of and instability caused by the pandemic has resulted in constant changes in enrollment. Reopening our preschools involved complex challenges to re-organize space to maximize safety and comply with social distancing requirements, securing adequate personal protective equipment, and establishing new safety protocols.
We are hopeful that our many friends and supporters, like you, will consider lending a helping hand to our organization during this difficult time by donating to JCYC’s Chibi Chan Preschools this Give in May.
Please support our cause by donating this Give in May here!

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JCYC College Access Programs’ Upward Bound SoCal College Trip

Over Spring Break, JCYC College Access Programs’ Upward Bound students went on their first SoCal College Tour in two years! 
A group of over 40 Juniors and Seniors from the high schools we serve got the chance to check out and explore different types of SoCal college campuses and interact with other first generation college students. The 4-day trip began with a stop at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, as the group made their way down to Los Angeles. The students then toured the campuses of UCLA, USC, Claremont McKenna College, UC Riverside, and UC Merced. Additionally, students were able to visit other iconic SoCal attractions like the Santa Monica Pier, where some students braved the roller coaster rides and others enjoyed the delicious funnel cakes and pier views.

With our Seniors preparing to decide on their college of choice, and our Juniors starting to think about which campuses they will be applying to next year, this trip was a great opportunity for them to envision themselves walking through these college campuses and gave them a chance to reflect on what aspects of college life they care about when deciding on a college campus. Students came back with a stronger sense of what college life actually looks like, as well as with cool swag from each of the campuses!

Learn more about JCYC Upward Bound by visiting our website here! 

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Hellman & Friedman Raises $24,900 for JCYC’s Chibi Chan Preschools

This past November, Hellman & Friedman, a global San Francisco headquartered private equity firm, selected JCYC to be one of their company’s three end of year fundraising campaign beneficiaries. Hellman & Friedman sought out a San Francisco Bay Area based non-profit working with children and youth from communities of color. Fortunately, JCYC was an organization that repeatedly appeared throughout their research. Given the breadth of programs the organization offers, Hellman & Friedman selected JCYC to be a beneficiary of Hellman & Friedman’s “Giving through the Generations” end of year fundraising campaign. In addition to JCYC, two other non-profits were selected who serve the adult and senior populations.

Hellman & Friedman’s community and network raised an astounding $12,450 for JCYC through 31 donations! Hellman & Friedman’s generosity did not stop there – the company also matched the $12,450 raised, which brought the total raised to $24,900! Funds from this campaign will support JCYC’s Chibi Chan Preschools who continue to navigate the many challenges of providing child care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hellman & Friedman team, community, and network believe that individuals and businesses should all strive for – thoughtfulness, selflessness, warmth, and solidarity – even during the tough times we continue to face. JCYC is incredibly grateful for the extraordinary generosity of Hellman & Friedman and their demonstration of leadership as stewards of generosity and solidarity in our community.

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Bay Area Day of Remembrance 2022 – 80 Years After Executive Order 9066: Register Today

Bay Area Day of Remembrance 2022 is the 80th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066. This year’s event will be held virtually on Saturday, February 19th from 5:00 – 6:30pm via Zoom, and you can register here!
JCYC’s Executive Director, Jon Osaki, is honored to be this year’s Keynote Speaker, and he will be joined by other extraordinary headliners including Dr. Emily Murase, Karen Kai & Robert Rusky, Anthony Brown – Lauren Ito – Jerry Waki, and the Japanese American Religious Federation (JARF).
Please join us in our effort to support Black, Japanese, and Latin American reparations and to continue building solidarity between our communities!

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JCYC’s 2nd Annual Thomatra Scott Scholarship: Empower Our Black Youth by Donating this Black History Month!

In February 2022, JCYC will once again launch the Thomatra Scott Scholarship Fund in honor of Black History Month. The goal of this scholarship fund is to help our Black youth pursue higher education.

Last year JCYC was able to award college scholarship funding to 15 of our outstanding Black youth participants in 2021 based on their academic achievement, community involvement, and financial need.

Donate this Black History Month by clicking here to help us carry on Scotty’s legacy as an advocate for education and human rights issues.

Please note, on JCYC’s donation page, please select the Thomatra Scott Scholarship in the dropdown options. You can also mail a check to JCYC (2012 Pine Street, San Francisco, CA 94115), directing it for the Thomatra Scott Scholarship.

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BTWCSC and JCYC Premiere Reparations

On Friday, December 3rd, the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center (BTWCSC) and JCYC co-hosted the San Francisco premiere of Jon Osaki’s award-winning documentary, Reparations. The in-person screening was the first opportunity for the BTWCSC to welcome the community back into their facility and was attended by a multi-generational audience.

The event was an important acknowledgement of the rich history of solidarity between the Black and Japanese American communities in San Francisco’s Western Addition. Following the film, BTWCSC Executive Director Shakirah Simley, Jon Osaki and SF Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton participated in a powerful and enlightening post-screening panel discussion which was moderated by SF Human Rights Commission Executive Director Sheryl Davis.

During the panel, Jon shared that the inspiration for the film was drawn from organizations such as the BTWCSC which has a long history of working in solidarity with the Japanese American community. During WWII, the BTWCSC served as caretakers for the Kinmon Gakuen Japanese language school and used the facility to store and protect the possessions of many Japanese American families while they were incarcerated in American concentration camps. He also shared his admiration for the BTWCSC, which after the war, had the courage and foresight to hire Japanese American social worker named Toshi Koba. Ms. Koba would serve youth for decades and eventually mentor another young social worker named Yori Wada. Several references and stories about Mr. Wada were made during the discussion for his iconic career as a community leader in both the Black and Japanese American communities.

To watch the entire panel discussion, go to: https://vimeo.com/655444753 (video credit: Monks Media Works, Greg Viloria).

About The Reparations Documentary

Reparations explores the four-century struggle to seek repair and atonement for slavery in the United States. Black and Asian Americans reflect on the legacy of slavery, the inequities that persist, and the critical role that solidarity between communities has in acknowledging and addressing systemic racism in America.Co-sponsors of the December 3rd premiere include (partial list): Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, SF Chapter and NCWNP Regional Office of the Japanese American Citizens League, Japanese American Religious Federation, Japanese Community and Cultural Center of Northern California, Japantown Community Benefit District and the Nihonmachi Street Fair.To download a complete version of JCYC Up Close: BTWCSC and JCYC Premiere Reparations, click here.

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SF Aloha Run for Solidarity

JCYC’s 2021 SF Aloha Run for Solidarity is taking place in-person at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Sunday, October 17th and virtually (same format as last year) between Sunday, October 17th – Sunday, October 24th from any US or international location.

This year’s run is focused on bringing our communities together to stand in solidarity against hate and racism. This is a unique opportunity for individuals of all ages and backgrounds to be a part of an uplifting and healthy activity which supports groups that are addressing critical equity and social justice issues.

We hope to contribute to a global movement for unity by engaging runners and walkers across the country in lifting up messages of inclusion and hope for communities who are targeted and marginalized in America. The 2021 SF Aloha Run for Solidarity is a platform for all of us to educate and lead by example through individual acts of kindness and compassion. All participants will also receive a distinctive race technical t-shirt & medal.

Proceeds from the run will be donated to the LYRIC Center for LGBTQQ+ Youth, Tsuru For Solidarity, and an additional Hawai’i based non-profit that we’ll be announcing soon, and will also provide scholarships for low-income, first generation college students through the JCYC Scholarship Programs.

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Matcha Cafe Maiko – Thank You!

August 20, 2021

JCYC would like to give a big shout out to a San Francisco Japantown and internationally present business that has set a forward-thinking example of solidarity and generosity – Matcha Café Maiko – better known as Matcha Café!

Matcha Café first entered JCYC’s radar when owner Chris Chin reached out to JCYC in 2018 with interest in hosting a fundraiser for JCYC, as part of Matcha Café’s opening weekend in San Francisco’s Japantown. Chris had diligently researched the local businesses and agencies in the area, and JCYC was fortunate that our mission resonated with Chris. Matcha Café’s opening weekend in 2018 raised $1,500 for JCYC’s child and youth participants.

Matcha Café and Chris did not stop there. In 2019, JCYC reached out to Chris to hold a similar fundraiser for JCYC’s College Access Programs. This one-day fundraiser raised over $750; however, Chris generously rounded up the total and granted JCYC $1,000. Chris did the same with JCYC’s latest Matcha Café fundraiser, which was for JCYC’s Thomatra Scholarship Fund (a scholarship program for JCYC’s most outstanding Black youth participants), when he once again rounded up the over $750 we raised again during our one-day fundraiser to $1,000!

Chris and the Matcha Café team set a high bar that we as individuals and businesses should all strive for – thoughtfulness, selflessness, warmth, and solidarity – even during the tough times and adversity we have all faced, in one way or another, over the past year and a half. THANK YOU Matcha Café for continuing to demonstrate your leadership as stewards of solidarity and generosity in our community.

If you are looking to enjoy delicious Matcha treats, in all sorts and sizes, and want to support an amazing business, please check out Matcha Café here https://www.matchacafe-maiko.com/eng/!

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2021 JCYC Scholarship Program Winners!

JCYC is excited to announce our 2021 JCYC Scholarship Program winners! Thanks to the generous support JCYC received from our 2020 SF Aloha Run for Black Lives, we are able to continue shaping the lives of our outstanding middle and high school youth participants, by making the dream of a college degree a reality. We are proud to award college scholarship funding through the JCYC Scholarship Program for our 22 General Scholarship Program winners and 15 Thomatra Scott Scholarship Fund winners! These combined 37 scholarships, which make up our 2021 JCYC Scholarship Program, were awarded based on academic achievement, community involvement, and financial need of our outstanding youth participants.

JCYC’s decision to establish the JCYC Scholarship Program in 2016 was motivated by the unfortunate reality that the cost of attending college continues to be a major barrier for students, particularly those from low-income households who are hoping to be the first from their family to attend college. Also, due to the unfortunate financial and social barriers JCYC’s Black youth participants continue to face today, JCYC’s Inaugural Thomatra Scott Scholarship Fund, which is now an integral part of the JCYC Scholarship Program, is JCYC’s act of solidarity to help bridge the gap, lower the barriers, and create equal opportunity for our outstanding Black youth participants who are pursuing a college degree. This scholarship funding will help lower the financial barrier of attending college (e.g. books, room and board, tuition, and beyond) and will allow our scholarship winners to establish firm grounding on their path to a college degree by not needing to find paid work during their first semester or year in college.

JCYC hopes to continue expanding these scholarship programs through funds raised from our upcoming 2021 SF Aloha Run for Solidarity – the in-person event will take place on Sunday, October 17th at Crissy Field in San Francisco and the virtual side is from Sunday, October 17th through Sunday, October 24th from any US or international location. Please register for our 2021 SF Aloha Run for Solidarity here https://raceroster.com/events/2021/49814/sf-aloha-run-for-solidarity, and create a running-walking team and fundraise to help us raise funds for our 2022 JCYC General Scholarship Program and Thomatra Scott Scholarship Fund!

Meet our 2021 JCYC Scholarship Program winners below, and meet a few of our winners by checking out our winner profiles, which are included in this Up Close article!

2021 JCYC Scholarship Program Winners

General Scholarship – High School Recipients

Siyani Bell, Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program & San Francisco YouthWorks, Gateway High School

Maceo Carney, Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program & San Francisco YouthWorks, Jefferson High School

Rafael Cenzano, Asian Youth Prevention Services, Japantown Youth Leaders, & Tomodachi Summer Program, Lowell High School

Pamela Cruz, San Francisco College Access Center, George Washington High School

Mia Gibb, Educational Talent Search & Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, Phillip & Sala Burton High School

Wendy Huang, Upward Bound & Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, Balboa High School

Wendy Lam, Educational Talent Search, Balboa High School

May Li, Educational Talent Search & Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, Phillip & Sala Burton High School

Yinghao Thomas Lin, Educational Talent Search, Galileo High School

Andrew Lin, Educational Talent Search, George Washington High School

Kelvin Mejia De Paz, San Francisco College Access Center, Mission High School

Jaime Robles Jr., Educational Talent Search & San Francisco College Access Center, Jefferson High School

Dejohn Thompson, Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program & San Francisco YouthWorks, Gateway High School

Ana Villareal, Upward Bound & Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, Mission High School

Daisa Watkins, San Francisco YouthWorks, City Arts & Technology High School

Zhiyan Wei, Upward Bound, Thurgood Marshall High School Caiyan Yang, Upward Bound & San Francisco YouthWorks, Galileo High School

General Scholarship – 529 Recipients

Kenneth Barron, Educational Talent Search, James Denman Middle School

Francesca Jayne Legaspi, Educational Talent Search, T.R. Pollicita Middle School

Dereck Quezada, Educational Talent Search, James Denman Middle School

Zen Wold, Educational Talent Search, Roosevelt Middle School

Nicholas Walters, Educational Talent Search, Aptos Middle School

Thomatra Scott Scholarship – Graduating Senior Recipients

Maylee Brigham, San Francisco YouthWorks, Jefferson High School

Maceo Carney, San Francisco YouthWorks & Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, Jefferson High School

Ava Clark, Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, Gateway High School

Aaliyah Evans, Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program & San Francisco YouthWorks, Leadership High School

Maeket Gebersamuel, San Francisco YouthWorks & Educational Talent Search, Galileo High School

Samir Hooker, San Francisco YouthWorks, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory

Ahlaya Martin, San Francisco YouthWorks & Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, Gateway High School

Daisa Watkins, San Francisco YouthWorks, City Arts & Tech High School

Messiah Williams, Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, Raoul Wallenberg High School

Thomatra Scott Scholarship – 529 Recipients

Jalliah Butler, Educational Talent Search, Phillip & Sala Burton High School

Andrew Davis, Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, George Washington High School

Gianna Posey, Educational Talent Search, James Denman Middle School

Zion Sharpe, San Francisco College Access Center, Aptos Middle School

Isabella Tucker, Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, Gateway High School Aniah Whitley, Educational Talent Search, James Denman Middle School

To learn more about the JCYC Scholarship Program, please contact JCYC Human Resources Manager Emily Thayer at ethayer@jcyc.org or JCYC’s Black Equity Task Force at blackequitytaskforce@jcyc.org. Also, for more information on this year’s SF Aloha Run for Solidarity, please contact JCYC Development Manager Tony Jenks at tjenks@jcyc.org or get your registration and fundraising started here https://raceroster.com/events/2021/49814/sf-aloha-run-for-solidarity.

To download a complete version, click here.