It is hard to believe that the first half of the year 2021 has already come and gone. It has not been an easy start, but hopefully things will slowly come back to some kind of normalcy in the next 6 months. As reported previously, Japanese Social Services largely relies on donations for its operational costs. […]
By Yuka Sato-Atiyota It has already been a year since we started using the word “pandemic”. I am strongly hoping everyone is staying safe despite the extraordinary challenges and hardships imposed by this situation. First, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for your support to the 2020 Holiday Drive. I am very happy to inform you that it was a huge success this year again! Please see “Big Thanks from Holiday Drive […]
David Ikeda Dear members, volunteers, staff and board, it has been great honor and pleasure to serve as president of Japanese Social Services for these past five years. Together we have faced many challenges to deliver professional social services and counseling to our community. When Mr. Maekawa asked me to take on the job for […]
By David Ikeda I know these continue to be extremely challenging times for everyone. Personally speaking my sense of time has become somewhat off. Indeed, I actually begin each day by having to ask what day it is. It doesn’t help that as I write this message in May, it is actually snowing outside my […]
By David Ikeda To all members of the JSS community, I know these are extremely challenging times and that we must do our part to help slow the spread of the Covid 19 Virus. We will remain open and are committed to helping the vulnerable people in our community. However there will be severe restrictions […]
We have finished a busy summer here at JSS. Since the July issue of the newsletter, we have welcomed another new board member, Tomoko Fukushima, hosted our Volunteer Appreciation Lunch, and begun one of our most important annual fundraising campaigns, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I do not say “important” lightly. JSS relies on financial […]
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: Updates from David Ikeda David Ikeda, JSS President Happy Canada Day! Spring seems to have come late this year. The High Park sakura which usually bloom in April instead flowered in mid-May and the cool rainy weather seemed to continue into what should be summer. We have been very busy here in the […]
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: Updates from David Ikeda David Ikeda, JSS President As I write this message it is mid-February and like most I am anxious for winter to end. And what strange winters we are having, with record Arctic like cold periods followed by record warm ones the following week, and then back again to the […]
David Ikeda, JSS President As a special way of expressing my thanks, I wanted to make sure that the following was not lost in the middle of my usual President’s Message. I want to express my gratitude, and indeed the gratitude of the entire JSS organization to Mrs. Junko Yamamoto for her many years of […]
David Ikeda, JSS President This fall has been a special time for us at JSS. In September, we held our first Board meeting after the summer break. We also held our annual Volunteer Appreciation party to thank all of the community members who take time out of their lives to help our organization and the […]
David Ikeda, JSS President Happy Canada Day from JSS! It has been a busy spring season for us here at JSS. On June 10, we participated in our largest annual fundraiser, the Toronto Challenge. For us, the “T” in Toronto stands for Toke, as in JSS Board Member, Toke Suyama. It is Toke’s Challenge. […]
By David Ikeda. Our counsellors reported that they have become busy recently with several cases involving dementia and Alzheimer’s. Given our community’s aging population, a rise in the number of cases involving seniors with either of these illnesses is to be expected. The cases take a lot of time but as I have said before these cases like so many others are why we are here.
By David Ikeda, JSS President It is with extreme sadness that I have to report the passing of one of Japanese Social Services’ (JSS) greatest supporters and friends. Ms. Junko Lui (nee Hori), long-time treasurer, board member and volunteer, passed away on Saturday, August 8, 2015. Surrounded by members of her family at St. Michael’s […]
By David Ikeda The older I get it seems that time goes by increasingly faster and faster. Indeed, time is moving so fast that the topics I am writing about for this message that will be occurring in the future for me now will have already passed before the article is published. At the time […]
