A day in the life of YouMeWe NPO: Tuesday
Tuesday
DAA Salon: Video making
We returned to St. Francis the next day with all of our camera/video equipment, ready to begin the video editing experience.
When we arrived, the children were eager to check out all of the cameras and explore their own filming abilities. After spending the first couple of minutes taking test shots of items around the room, the children then got settled and we divided up teams so that there was an intern/volunteer for every three children or so.
Each team had a couple different areas around the home and their neighborhood to film - the goal being to have the kids film areas of interest and describe them in the video. These were all areas that the children were familiar with and it was great to see them show off their favorite spots to the camera and connect with the volunteers.
Some of the kids had a blast catching critters in the backyard. Another group paid a visit to a very cute dog.
After an hour or so, all of the groups met back up and had some time to reconnect and let the kids share with each other the videos that they took. Meanwhile, the volunteers and interns worked to get all of the content uploaded and reorganize the materials.
A day in the life of YouMeWe: Monday
Monday
Minecraft
In the morning we have our Monday Kickoff Meeting. Every Monday we have a kickoff meeting where the team joins from all over the world to talk about our TOP 3 Focus items for the week and then Clubhouse on Wednesdays for all volunteers and team members to join to hear of upcoming events. Friday Close is when we discuss our Top 3 Wins; what went wrong, what to improve, and what to keep doing more of.
6:30 pm
We visited St.Francis. Things are not always as smooth as we hope. We were continuing with the effort to get the kids Minecraft accounts. This was being done remotely by our Ambassador Arata who was going through step by step how to set up an email account in Gmail which was required in order to set up a Microsoft account for Minecraft.
The email accounts all showed up in English so we had 10 kids and 6 volunteers quickly moving to change the settings from English to Japanese.
The shared screen was not as vivid as we needed it to be so Arata had to change his background so we could see what he was showing us.
Then when we started on the next step, a code was being sent to the first account so we had to go back to that account and for those falling behind, they were really falling behind at this point.
Then the students became restless as ten-year-old boys and girls tend to be.
As they started to run around, we were going computer by computer to check the settings.
Just as we reached a critical point, two of the brothers had been fighting, one ran for his life out of the room and the other lay on the ground holding his head. So, quickly I go from tech person to dad and check if he is bleeding. Put my hand through his hair and out of his eyes and then realize he is bleeding from his gums. His tooth had been hit.
Into the sink area washing his mouth out, telling him to hold the paper towel on the gums until it stops bleeding. The tooth does not appear loose.
Just then another boy has a nosebleed. The heat or whatever they have been up to is causing havoc.
I tell him to put the towel up to his nose and put his head back and sit down.
In the end, everyone had accounts set up but the original email accounts set up for them have to be taken down as a matter of urgency as the kids are not allowed to have their own email accounts in case they try to reach their parents from whom they are estranged.
We go home after one hour and 30 minutes which feels like 8 hours. Minecraft is on the back burner until we finish with the video project starting tomorrow where the kids are using the audio and visual equipment we purchased for video making and editing. They are making a video about St.Francis from their perspective and will edit and show it in September with all of their art projects from the summer to the teachers, nuns, and supporters.
Goodnight.
Open Positions
YouMeWe is an organization driven by a deep sense of purpose, committed to creating positive change and leaving a lasting impact on the next generation. With a range of open positions, including Fund Activist Office, Chief Digital Officer, Operations Manager, Volunteer Success Coordinator, Fundraising Manager, Project Manager, Home Coordinator, and Branding and Marketing specialists, there is a place for diverse passions to contribute to a life-changing organization. Join YouMeWe and be part of empowering Japanese youth in group homes and foster care and creating a brighter future for these children and young adults. Take the first step by applying for one of these open positions at YouMeWe today!
Chief Digital Officer:
Amplify our impact by implementing the use of technology in homes that may be hesitant due to risks to the children's security
Examples: Microsoft Jiritsu and Digital Citizens
Operations Manager:
Optimize processes and ensure seamless operations as an Operations Manager. Your problem-solving skills will contribute to our overall efficiency.
Volunteer Success Coordinator:
Empower and support our invaluable volunteers as the Volunteer Success Coordinator. Recruit, train, and motivate volunteers to drive project success.
Fund Activist Office:
Organizing activities for gathering donations from individuals, companies, and foundations.
Fundraising:
Gathering donations as well as visiting donors periodically to tell them how their donations were spent on behalf of digital citizens.
Project Manager:
Supervise all digital citizens group programs and be responsible for handling of volunteers as a full-time employee.
Homes Coordinator:
Coordinate with home staff to create a schedule for visits and events
Maintain communication with homes and work to expand our outreach
Branding and Marketing Specialist:
Strategize how to establish contact with homes by establishing the Digital Citizens brand via our mission statement, slogan, and visual identity
Produce promotional material to reinforce focus to establish the reliability of the program
Monitor and delegate updates of the website and social media
New Intern Grace Carson
Hi Everyone! My name is Grace Carson, and I am currently a rising senior at the University Of Oregon. I am majoring in Human Physiology and Anatomy with a minor in Chemistry and Sociology. I have plans to become a Physicians Associate after obtaining my undergraduate degree and hope to begin my career at Planned Parenthood. I am very passionate about helping the next generation become excited about science and technology. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with children in foster care as well as the amazing team here at YouMeWe!
New Intern Ingrid Lam
Hi everyone! My name is Ingrid Lam and I study Psychology at Durham University with a placement year doing social research in the UK Civil Service. So far, It has been very fulfilling working with YouMeWe on the basis of my Laidlaw Scholarship in Research and Leadership and I look forward to helping more in any way I can to benefit underprivileged children in the local community!
Thank you Salesforce!
We would like to give a special thanks to Salesforce for gifting us with handmade alphabet packets from their recent volunteer event with Love Letters for Literacy, a global nonprofit that strives to remove barriers to literacy and educational success for lower-income children.
We will distribute the literacy packets to the homes, providing an opportunity for the children to learn the letters of the alphabet in a fun and easy way!
Here at YouMeWe, we have a mission to support local students from institutionalized homes by giving them access to resources and opportunities that will help them reach their full potential. One of the core skills we focus on is Communication, which we currently teach through language lessons, writing programs, and cultural exchange. We are excited to continue developing this core skill by teaching kids the alphabet from a young age!
New Intern Charla Rosenberg
Hi everybody! My name is Charla Rosenberg, and I’m a current student at the University of Washington in Seattle, working towards a degree in Political Science. I have plans to join the Peace Corps for education and attend Law School after graduating next year. I am incredibly passionate about youth development and look forward to interning with YouMeWe to help ensure a bright future filled with many opportunities for children in the community.
Introducing YouMeWe's Volunteer Orientation!
We are excited to announce that we will be holding a volunteer orientation/training day for our incoming and current volunteers. This event will be required for our incoming volunteers and for our current volunteers, this is a great opportunity to refresh on our policies and skills that we teach in our lessons. The orientation will be held on the 8th of July (Sat.) from 13:00-15:00 (JST) at the Creative MOV Lounge in Shibuya Hikarie Building on the 8th floor. There will also be an online option for this event if you are unable to attend in person. For incoming volunteers and those interested, please RSVP via this link and add the event to your Google calendar. This way we can view attendance for the orientation and prepare accordingly. We thank you for your continued interest in volunteering and look forward to seeing you at our orientation next month!
New Intern Sachika Nagaoka
Hi my name is Sachika and I am a student at the American School in Japan. I’m super excited to work as an intern at YouWeMe because of my passion for helping others, especially those who are less fortunate than I am. I believe that by interning at YouMeWe it will help me gain a bigger understanding of the world and be able to become more open minded and connect with kids that I usually don’t get the chance to meet. I’m extremely thankful for this opportunity and I hope to create a change while I’m interning.
こんにちは、私の名前は幸香です。アメリカンスクール・イン・ジャパンの学生です。私は、他者、特に自分より恵まれない人を助けることに情熱を持っているので、YouWeMeでインターンとして働くことにとても興奮しています。YouMeWeでインターンをすることで、世界をより深く理解することができ、よりオープンマインドになり、普段会う機会のない子供たちとつながることができると信じています。この機会に感謝し、インターン中に変化を起こせたらと思います。
LifeConnection: Amazon Japan with Matsubaen Futsal Tournament
We spent the day having a Futsal tournament with the kids and Ambassadors of Matsubaen along with Amazonians from Amazon Japan. We then reminisced over the years we have seen the kids grow up.
New Intern Yuri Suzuki
Hi! My name is Yuri Suzuki and I’m a student at the University of Southern California studying Business Administration and East Asian Languages and Cultures: Japanese. I’m currently pursuing a career in global marketing and business development. As someone who is passionate about the intersection of business and social impact, I’m very excited to contribute to YouMeWe’s mission of providing support and resources to underprivileged students in the local community. I’m grateful for this opportunity and look forward to working with the rest of the team!
初めまして、鈴木優里と申します。南カリフォルニア大学でビジネスと日本語を勉強している大学3年生です。現在、グローバルマーケティングとビジネス開発のキャリアを目指しています。マーケティングやビジネスの力で社会にどのような良い影響を与えることができるかに興味を持っています。社会正義は非常に重要なことだと考えているので、YouMeWeと共に、児童養護施設の学生をサポートできることを光栄に思います。よろしくお願いします！
The heART of Tokyo.
Today we had a long waited event as part of our Life Connection project. As much as YouMeWe is focused on connecting children with the world of technology, we also want to use technology to connect the world with the children. At Christmas Village, with the language interpreters connecting stylists and beauticians from the USA living in Japan. All interpreting went silent as the laughter took over, when fingers went from making the Girl Scouts three finger sign and salute between an American den mother and Japanese scout student to make heart hand gestures with their hands to express thanks for the love and kindness shared today. Young ladies entered the room with pictures of how they would love their hair to look. Others had consulted with friends on what would be the best look for them. Little boys found the clippers and scissors ticklish and the timid young ladies snuck into the room and paraded out confident and happy. This is what we call “Empower Village” where people will look back and May forget the words that were translated but never forget how they were made to feel for the day. Loved and special. Thank you
From volunteer: I was so overwhelmed after leaving. Not that I felt bad for the kids, because they were amazingly happy and blessed. But it was the connections made …. The children at this home are beautiful and the work that the NPO does confirms why we all need to support and love each other. I plan to connect with @Michael Perry Clemons to do more. My heart and mind has now accessed a jewel in Japan. Thank you for the opportunity.
New Intern Sarah Jozwik
I'm Sarah Jozwik and I am currently a 4th-year student at Michigan State University studying Comparative Cultures & Politics as well as Japanese. As a student of public policy, I am very excited to work with YouMeWe as an intern because I now have the opportunity to directly help underprivileged children through YouMeWe's important cause. I believe working with YouMeWe is a great chance for me to develop not only my professional goals but to contribute meaningfully to society.
初めまして。セーラ・ジョズウィックと申します。私はミシガン州立大学の4年生で、比較文化・政治と日本語を勉強しています。公共政策を学ぶ学生として、YouMeWeの重要な活動を通じて,恵まれない子供たちを直接支援する機会を得ることができ、インターンとして働くことにとても楽しみにしています。YouMeWeで働くことは、自分の仕事上の目標を達成するだけでなく、社会に貢献するための素晴らしい機会だと思っています。よろしくお願いします。
Collaboratory with KidsDoor
キッズドアは、このたびNPO法人YOUMEWE様よりパソコンMacBookAir10セットをご寄付いただきました。
5月31日、NPO法人YOUMEWEのマイケル・ペリー・クレモンズ理事長と青柳芳樹様のお二人がパソコンMacBookAir10セットをキッズドアにお持ち下さり、ご寄付くださいました。
NPO法人YOUMEWE様は１０年以上に渡って、児童養護施設を中心に子ども達の学習や情操教育、将来の就職支援に携わってこられています。
「すべての子どもに夢や希望を」というキッズドアの理念に強く共感していただき、今後、二つの団体で子どもの未来をもっと明るいものとしていくため協働していこうと確認し合いました。
Foster Care in Japan
There are several categories of Foster Care in Japan.
There are those called Family Homes which can take from 5 to 6 children. Depending on size of accommodation and other approvals. Foster Care families can have 1-2 children.
Out of 427 Family homes approved, only 1,688 children are housed by them.
For Foster Care families, 11,853 are approved of which only 3,774 actively have 4,621 children.
Special Needs homes 715 homes approved with 171 active holding 206 children
Government homes 5,619 homes approved with 353 approved holding 384 children
Special Circumstances homes 610 approved with 565 holding 808 children.
Chubu Children's Fund
Message from the 2023 Walkathon Committee Chair
Dear Sponsors and Supporters,
Thank you for your support of the 32nd Annual Chubu Walkathon. Your generosity will create change in the people's lives supported by the many charities to which we provide funding and from sponsorship and donations collected during the event.
We support a variety of organizations that work with children and adults, related to health issues, vocational support, education support and more.
We had great success yesterday with wonderful weather and many of us created great memories with our friends and families.
YouMeWe joined the Nagoya Walkathon after visiting Youkikai about the Social Impact Bond we are planning to help them scale to do their training for abusive parents in order to be reunited with their families.
We then stopped by Wakamatsu Ryo where H-chan (aged 10) completed the game she has been programming for a year. A ten-level game getting more and more challenging at each level.
Last stop, volunteering at the Chubu Walkathon. This was the 32nd year. YouMeWe has scholars who have also received scholarships from the Chubu Children’s Fund as well as laptops when they graduated high school as all are now enrolled in college.
Part of their scholarship program is to volunteer for related events while they are in school. It was great to see all the young adults and check in with them on how they are getting on.
Thank you CyberLink !
Dear Cyber Link, We are writing to express our sincere gratitude for the licenses you have provided us to use your software PowerDirector 365.
Your generous support has been invaluable to our organization, and we appreciate the opportunity to leverage your cutting-edge technology to enhance our business operations.
The software you have provided us with has already proven to be an invaluable asset to our team ! We are particularly impressed with its user-friendly interface and powerful features, which have made a significant difference in the efficiency and effectiveness of our work.
Once again thank you so much !
If you want to learn more about CyberLink, please do not hesitate to visit their website: https://jp.cyberlink.com/
Thank you Robert Walters
We thank you for your continued support. Robert Walters is very generous not just funding, but with their time. We had a wonderful event where their team members came out to Funabashi and met the beneficiaries of their generosity.
The Ambassadors at YouMeWe are paid staff to make volunteer opportunities happen. They have all been assigned a home, a skill and a donor partner which they look after and nurture. This way the children we met in elementary school as adults are now reaching back to the next generations as things become full circle.
While most are getting their degrees, others are being placed with employers looking to help them become the best version of themselves.
Little by Little Campaign
We were able to raise funds through the Little by Little campaign with your help to keep doing what we do.
