Kansha Connection: Volunteer Appreciation!

By:  Kaitlyn Ho, GVJCI Programs & Events Intern

For over 70 years, GVJCI has been hosting our annual summer Matsuri fundraiser, which not only ties together the Japanese American community in the South Bay but also raises the money necessary to provide for the numerous activities and events throughout the year.. This year, our theme is “Celebrating Community Traditions'', and what better way to do that than to celebrate the hard work of our community behind the scenes! Matsuri wouldn’t be possible without its lovely volunteers, who put so much of their time and effort into making this event as special as we all remember and know it to be. 

​For many, volunteering has been a way to reconnect with the community. One volunteer, Eric Nakamura, has been a shining example of this. Eric’s brother-in-law and niece grew up in Gardena and have been involved in the Japanese American community here, which is how he’s found out about volunteering at GVJCI. He’s been volunteering at the GVJCI for around a month, working once a week to help prepare for the White Elephant booth by organizing with donors, sorting and storing through the various donations, while also helping with various other tasks. He found fellow volunteers and GVJCI members “very friendly…they really joke around so it’s really nice, it’s a nice community”. Eric is also most looking forward to how the inner workings will come together for Matsuri this year. 
Another new volunteer who shares the same sentiment is Alexandra Matsuda. Coming from Peru, she hasn’t had much connection to the Japanese American community, but had a lot of connection to Japanese Peruvians back home and wanted to compare and experience the differences in culture. Volunteering has been hard work, including deep cleaning of all kitchen utensils and pots, and creating big batches of somen dressing and teriyaki sauce. While the work she and the other volunteers have been putting in has been intensive, Alex talks about how both staff and fellow volunteers keep it lighthearted: “The environment is really nice, everyone’s really chill with each other…people can work and chill at the same time, there’s no pressure”. 

Pictured (left to right): Volunteers Ben Nishimoto, Eric Nakamura, Joni Iwasaki, Stephanie Tasaki, and Alexandra Matsuda.

But for some, volunteering at the GVJCI is more about staying connected to the community, such as Nora Koga and Ellie Shigeta. Both have been living in Gardena for a long time, taking classes at the GVJCI, attending Obons at Gardena Buddhist Church, and staying connected through their families. They’ve both been volunteering for roughly 15 years, first starting with manually putting in donated books in catalogs in the GVJCI library space, then organizing the quarterly newsletter, and for the last few years they’ve been working on organizing the donations for the Matsuri White Elephant sale. Nora also reminisced about selling homemade cookies at previous White Elephants, saying “that’s how long I’ve been volunteering”! 
    The thing to most look forward to, according to these longtime volunteers, is seeing and meeting new volunteers. Ellie talks about how nice it is to meet all these different kinds of people coming from different countries, different parts of LA, different ethnicities and ages, all coming together to support such a big community event. While the dedication and time these volunteers have put in for the GVJCI deserve praise, it’s also a call for younger volunteers to also aid their community. But this year for Matsuri, we had many new faces, and would like to once again give thanks to everyone who gave a helping hand. From all of us here at the GVJCI, we hope you enjoy the 2024 Matsuri and see you next year!