Scholars
We have had the privilege of being connected with the Chubu Children’s Fund as part of the ACCJ’s program in Nagoya. Over the years we have been able to give the high school graduates from the various orphanages who continue their education laptops.
Once the Mark Bell Scholarship fund was established at YouMeWe, we modeled the application process off of the CCF and were able to help financially with scholars tuition in addition to the CCF funding.
We spent Saturday morning and afternoon with over one dozen scholars as they were interviewed about their lifes and status of their education.
Aside from all the amazing scholars, some who are only 18 years old but appear to be much more mature, proves maturity knows no age. An 18 year old showing us his financial app where he tracks expenses or his nutrition. Another 18 year old who has never touched his savings from high school but lived within the means of his part time job of the scholarships. Financial management seems to be the most common challenge aside from the stellar money managers.
One student in particular humbled and impressed one. He is not a scholar recipient because he had saved enough money and makes enough money to pay his own tuition. Yet sought out and invited the co-chair to dinner with one simple request…to be part of CCF. So, though he neither needs or wants anything, he comes to the events simply for the camaraderie of the other students.
The Chubu Children’s Fund - established by the ACCJ Chubu Chapter in 2016 - provides funding and support for projects that empower, educate, and inspire children, residing in foster homes in the Chubu area, so they may become productive, motivated members of society when they move out on their own.
The key aspects of the " Catalyst Program " are based around:
Leadership Camps
Mentoring Program
Technology Assistance
With the skills and empowerment gained, participants will be further supported through:
Scholarship Program
Internships and Jobs
Leadership Camps
Participating children begin their journey with growth and leadership camps tailored to the needs of each of three age groups (elementary, junior & senior high school).
Camps for each age group typically take place from one to three times a year, and vary in length from weekend retreats to week-long adventures. Not merely fun and games, inspirational, meaningful yet fun activities with members, councilors, speakers etc., provide the potential for life-changing experiences.
Mentoring Program
The leadership camps will provide a spring board for a mentoring program with leaders from the local business community. This program may consist of monthly phone calls, emails, or other forms of communication including a monthly or bi-monthly face to face meeting.
Mentoring programs help foster long-lasting, meaningful relationships with kids that typically lead to a better future for each protege in the program.
Technology Assistance
A sound base of computer/technology skills is considered paramount to employability and simply functioning in daily life. With the help of partnering child-care facilities and orphanages, we develop a technology plan for each location based on specific needs and funding available.
Scholarship Program
Once children have progressed through the Catalyst Program, they become eligible for a scholarship when they are ready to leave the home and move out into the world on their own. The Chubu Children's Fund can provide scholarships that would assist qualifying participants when they chose to go on to higher education.
Internships and Jobs
As the children move through the system, and become young adults, the final step in our program is to provide them with opportunities for jobs or internships.
SalesForce has officially launched its NPO event to showcase how NPOs can use their Ohana Floor.
YouMeWe NPO was one of the first NPOs to use the space for a gala in 2023.
We are planning a VIP dinner in the space this year for the top Donor Circle tentatively November 20, 2024. We were joined by dozens of NPOs who were invited to Salesforce to see the space and have a kick off of their amazing efforts.
A massive thank you to WILEY Publishing for donating laptops for our computer labs
We are extremely grateful for the community reaching out to us like Wiley and having donated 10 laptops for us to be able to upgrade and replace laptops out in the field. Weekly we teach programming and language lessons online throughout Japan, Philippines and Brazil.
We live in an information society now and it is important if not imperative for the children in orphanages to have connectivity .
Diplomat Sena Yamamoto and Ambassador Yoshiki Aoyagi join the Coaching Training as part of Manchester City’s Champions 4-In-A-Row Trophy Tour in Tokyo, the Club hosted a one-day Coach Education event.
CITY HOST COACH EDUCATION DAY DURING TOKYO 4-IN-A-ROW TROPHY TOUR STOP
Man City Editorial
Tue 17 Sep 2024, 11:00
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As part of Manchester City’s Champions 4-In-A-Row Trophy Tour in Tokyo, the Club hosted a one-day Coach Education event.
The event was aimed at sharing skills and knowledge from Manchester City community coaches with young leaders, coaches, charities, and volunteers.
The course is designed to empower coaches to use football as a tool for promoting healthier lives among city youth, through a combination of practical sessions and workshops.
MORE ON OUR 2024/25 TROPHY TOUR
During the event, our cameras focused on one participant’s journey – Sena Yamamoto, a volunteer at YouMeWe.
Sena is a former soccer player from Fujieda and Shizouka and now volunteers at YouMeWe, a Tokyo-based non-profit dedicated to supporting students from institutionalised homes.
Through his volunteering at YouMeWe, Yamamoto coaches high school and pre-school children in the Tokyo Kanagawa region.
Whilst participating at the Coach Education Day, Yamamoto explained his role in using football to benefit children and young teens in Tokyo and how the training on offer from City has supported him and his ambition to become a community coach.
Watch our wrap-up video on the Tokyo Coach Education Day with Yamamoto via the video above…
Wonderful kick off meeting with Microsoft Japan to discuss the Sharing and Caring Project
The session lead by Francis Fung, our Fund Activist, joined by the Microsoft Team who created posters for the Sharing and Caring Package for the holidays using AI.
Microsoft team members Asad Ahmed,Amanda Nelson,Buket Tuna,Smita Roy,Hitomi Todani,Sajan Nair ,Tejaswini Etlam,Shuh Hun Tan,Abe Sharma,Keppell Smith,Julie Bulaklak,Shyam Sankaran,Jun Choi ,Johnson Tao,Ning Kang,Takunori Minamisawa,Yusuke Satake, and Mayuko Fujita
Had a great kick off meeting with your Donor Circle Partner Societe Generale in Tokyo
Introducing YouMeWe by Michael Perry-Clemons, the founder accompanied by Francis Fung, our FundActivist and Stephan Wilschut an intern with us for the next six months and Diplomat Gio Cannegieter.
Francis explaining about the Sharing and Caring Package project for the holidays.
The Ones Left Behind Documentary
"Good evening, my name is Michael Perry-Clemons. I am the founder of YouMeWe NPO which focuses on giving orphans computers and job skills.
In a country with more people over the age of 65 and less children under the age of 15 per capita, from the first time I went into an orphanage to play Santa Claus in 2007, I never walked out.
We focus on not, marginalized children, but MAXIMIZABLE children in Japan.
Frankly speaking, when I first learned of the documentary, I was hesitant to get too close to the film from a YouMeWe perspective because this would highlight what happens when one loses their children due to abuse, neglect and/or economic reasons.
I watched the film and decided to do whatever we can to herald the very same women who should be supported in every possible way by helping them raise their children. By either providing laptops so they can apply and do work remotely rather than having to find and work at 4 separate part time jobs to make ends meet. By making them employable and them also MAXIMIZED, it is what people DO and not what they say that matters and truly helps.
So documentary's like Rionne's, interest in the plight of the mothers but more importantly, children do not ask to be born and when they are, they deserve everything that life has to offer and we as neighbors, relatives and friends need to do more."
Thank you Micron!
Here are some words from the company:
“We are a world leader in innovative memory solutions that transform how the world uses information. For over 45 years, our company has been instrumental to the world’s most significant technology advancements, delivering optimal memory and storage systems for a broad range of applications.”
-check more at https://www.micron.com/about/company
New intern Stephan!
Hello! My name is Stephan Wiltschut, and I am really excited to join YouMeWe this coming season. I was
born in the Netherlands and moved to Suriname when I was seven, where I completed my elementary
education before returning to the Netherlands for high school. This experience gave me a unique
perspective on education and its importance. I am currently a third-year student studying International
Social Work at HAN University in Nijmegen.
I am grateful to be interning at YouMeWe because they allow me to see the positive impact of community
driven initiatives firsthand. I’m excited to learn from the team and contribute to the work we’re doing
together.
Thank you Daughters of the American Revolution!
Please check their website here: https://www.dar.org/
Thank you Societe Generale!
please check their website here: https://www.societegenerale.com/en
DAA Artists: Reiji Uemura
We would like to give a warm thank you to Reiji Uemura for volunteering as an artist at this year’s DAA! Reiji is a Horizon Japan International School graduate who works part time as a photographer for HJIS. He held a film making class at DAA in which the kids wrote and shot a short movie which Reiji later edited.
DAA Artists: Touchy the Human Camera
Introducing Touchy the Human Camera! Touchy is a performer who wears a digital camera on his head that takes a photo of what he is looking at when he is touched. The photo is then displayed in a screen on the back of the helmet. He attended the final day of DAA and helped close the camp with a unique and memorable experience for the kids and the volunteers. Thank you for you volunteering, Touchy!
Pizza Party with Amazon!
Yesterday, we were able to hold a pizza party at a home thanks to the help from volunteers from Amazon, YFF, and YMW. The kids enjoyed a presentation by the Amazon volunteers about the various countries they came from and then drew pictures of what they learned. The younger kids got to make accessories with beads and play with nanoblocks. Afterwards, we all had pizza and fried chicken together and finished off the night with some ice cream! Thank you to everyone who attended and made this event a huge success!
Thank you Gensler!
We would like to thank Gensler for their support in YouMeWe's cause!
Here below you can find some words about the firm:
“At Gensler, the value of our work stems from its positive impact on the human experience. We are a dynamic and collaborative design firm uniting creativity, research, and innovation to solve complex problems for our clients. Our work challenges conventional ideas about architecture and the built environment. We aren’t just designing buildings — we are reimagining cities and places that make a difference in people’s lives."
For more information check: https://www.gensler.com/about