Overview of Our Project

Thank you very much for visiting our page. We are the Tochigi YMCA.

Our vision is working towards building communities in which people will respect, build up and bring out the best qualities in one another. This “positive net” goes beyond the mere act of just caring, supporting or helping. Our idea of helping is empowering everyone within the “Positive Net”.  Based on a global network, YMCA has the ability to create a “Positive Net” with high public awareness which no-one can duplicate. 

One of the activities we are focused on is the ICEP (International program (International Campers Exchange Program).

Junior High school students will stay in Utsunomiya through this program with BCC YMCA in the USA.

Focus is not put on traveling to a specific destination, but rather about self-discovery and building connections with a local culture. This program incorporates the following components: leadership development, youth-to-youth interaction, community service, and educational/cultural travel.

Unfortunately, ICEP, which has been running for over ten years, has been on hold due to the global pandemic since 2020.

We are happy to announce that ISAP will restart once again from 2023. However, since the program has not taken place in the past three years, we have lost the hosting organizations and homes. As the circumstances have changed dramatically during the last three years, we had to let go of our facility to accommodate participants.

If it becomes possible to renovate the building to near Sakuranbo kindergarten, we will be able to accommodate the campers once again.

Furthermore, this renovation will allow us never to struggle with finding accommodation for the campers in the future.

In addition, since the accommodation is located right next to Sakuranbo kindergarten, it will create a great opportunity for the children to easily interact with the junior high school students from abroad.

While we will begin with a basic renovation, it is crucial to make several individual rooms to cater for the safety of campers even under the pandemic. We would also like to make this building into a space where people from different cultural backgrounds are able to communicate with locals. In addition, we want this place to be accessible and welcoming to people with disabilities.

We would like to ask for your generosity and begin this crowdfunding project so that we will be able to achieve our goal of  building a safe place for everyone.

 

In the future we’d like to expand this accommodation space into  a multicultural community space for the local area. In order to achieve this, we welcome participation through the sharing of ideas and suggestions, in addition to monetary support.

 

Your opinions as to how this facility could be used will be greatly valued. This building will represent YMCA's values of "to find what you wish to do, connect with others, improve oneself and be a place where you feel safe."
Having to promote this undertaking through crowdfunding, we are hoping to increase participation in our motto of "to find, to connect and to improve".

Accommodating junior high school students from the USA will not only enhance their self-discovery, but it enables the children at YMCA, as well as members of the community to gain valuable experiences.

 

Sadly, the global pandemic did not only spread a virus, but it also created racial prejudice against foreign citizens. Now that the pandemic is coming to an end, although things seem to have gone back to normal, we feel that there are even greater needs for understanding and accepting diversity.
YMCA will commit itself to provide opportunities for the locals to mingle with people from abroad as well as the foreign citizens which will lead to creating an ideal multicultural society.