Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Community Global Leader Blog Post: Jasmine Tsunoda
Happy First #GivingTuesdayJP 2023!
Today marks the first annual celebration of Giving Tuesday in the nation of Japan! While the GTJ team are not the very first to participate in #GivingTuesday within the country, it has been our honor and pleasure to spend the first half of the year spreading the word and letting everyone know that we officially are here!
Countless organizations, schools, government offices, and regular everyday people across the land have joined together to spread kindness in their everyday lives. So naturally, our goal for the first year has been reaching out to as many of those willing to join the cause and participate in the Global Day of giving.
It has not been easy as our team is still small (as volunteers and interns come and go), yet mighty (we got a lot done in a short amount of time), but we are confident that in the coming years, the transition into national advocacy will be a successful one.
In our journey, we have had a lot of what we would consider "start-up" successes, including, but not limited to:
* The launching of the Giving Tuesday Japan website in both English and Japanese. Check it out after you finish reading!
* Gaining 265 followers across all our social media accounts! Follow us!
* Partnering with various organizations and businesses who have helped tell others in their circle about the cause, which you can find some of our repeat volunteers here: Partners
* Promoting our Giving Tuesday Japan Spark Farming Campaign Awareness 2024 start here: Spark
* Helping to inform locals of various events, fundraisers, and parties across the country here: Events
* And giving in-depth information on various Japanese holidays/cultural events, social happenings, and news via our blog here: Blog
It has been a busy few couple of months with making sure that the people know we are here and we are legitimate (and here to stay), but above all, it has been extremely rewarding, and we can't wait to see what the future brings.
Future Goals?
So, what are our goals for 2024 and beyond? To launch a nationwide campaign every year in every prefecture in Japan. If you check our about page, you will see we have many different kinds of goals we are hoping to achieve in the years to come.
But each prefecture in Japan has its own unique culture, flavor, and community, and we want to tap into what makes this country so special by having the natives show it through their versions of giving.
Another one of our goals is to get each prefecture involved in creating a prefecture logo. So far, we have 11 out of 47 logos created!
Lastly, we hope to get volunteers in and outside of Japan, as there are many Japanese natives and organizations that have already reached out to us from beyond our island borders! More information on this to come soon so be sure to follow our blog and social media accounts!
Conclusion
As we reflect back on the last few months, we remind ourselves that we have only just begun, and the best is yet to come.
And a reminder to our readers: We can all play a part in the world that we want to create.
What if we told you, you are changing the world right now? Would you believe it?