Brent Stirling (Fukushima-ken, Fukushima-shi, 2006-10)
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Ottawa based JET alum Brent Stirling (Fukushima-ken, Fukushima-shi, 2006-10) is one of only 2 Canadians out of 20 JET alumni selected to return to the Tohoku region to volunteer, engage and share their experience for the benefit of others, according to an article in the Ottawa Citizen.
(Note: This post previously repeated the error in the Ottawa Citizen article that Brent was the only Canadian participating. But it turns out that Toronto-based Tanya Gardecky (Miyagi-ken, Shiogama-shi) will also be participating.)
Stirling, who writes on his blog ForYourBrentertainment and was actively involved in the creation of Quakebook following the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, submitted a proposal which was accepted by the program established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Japan Tourism Agency to bring 20 Tohoku-area JET alums back to Tohoku to play a role in helping their communities and then spread word of their experience afterwards.
Read the full Ottawa Citizen article here: “Months of blogging leads to trip to Japan: Kanata teacher will help with disaster relief in the country he writes about”
Tsunami: JET alum Harvard professor Ian Miller’s NY Times article
Academic, Article/Journalism, Earthquake Tsunami, Japan Local, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Writers 
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Harvard history professor Ian Miller (Miyagi-ken, Miyako-shi)
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Thanks to a recent conversation with Peter Kelley, President of the National Association of Japan-America Societies, I just learned of this New York Times article by Harvard history professor and JET alum Ian Miller (Miyagi-ken, Miyako-shi) which ran March 19, 2011.
Bitter Legacy, Injured Coast
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/opinion/20miller.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1
By IAN JARED MILLER
Cambridge, Mass.
THE rugged Sanriku Coast of northeastern Japan is among the most beautiful places in the country. The white stone islands outside the port town of Miyako are magnificent. The Buddhist monk Reikyo could think of nothing but paradise when he first saw them in the 17th century. “It is the shore of the pure land,” he is said to have uttered in wonder, citing the common name for nirvana.
Reikyo’s name for the place stuck. Jodogahama, or Pure Land Beach, is the main gateway to the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park, a crenellated seashore of spectacular rock pillars, sheer cliffs, deep inlets and narrow river valleys that covers 100 miles of rural coastline. It is a region much like Down East Maine, full of small, tight-knit communities of hardworking people who earn their livelihoods from tourism and fishing. Sushi chefs around the country prize Sanriku abalone, cuttlefish and sea urchin.
Today that coast is at the center of one of the worst disasters in Japanese history. Despite the investment of billions of yen in disaster mitigation technology and the institution of robust building codes, entire villages have been swept out to sea. In some places little remains but piles of anonymous debris and concrete foundations.
I taught school in Miyako for more than two years in the 1990s, and it was while hiking in the mountains above one of those picturesque fishing villages that I came across my first material reminder of the intricate relationship between the area’s breathtaking geography, its people — generous and direct — and powerful seismic forces.
On a hot summer day a group of middle-school boys set out to introduce me to their town, a hamlet just north of Pure Land Beach. While I started up the steep mountainside the children bounced ahead of me, teasing me that I moved slowly for someone so tall. “Are you as tall as Michael Jordan, Miller-sensei?” yelled one boy as he shot past me up the trail.
“Not quite,” I told him, pausing on a spot of level ground to look out over the neat collection of tile roofs and gardens that filled the back of a narrow, high-walled bay.
“What is this?” I asked, pointing to a mossy stone marker that occupied the rest of the brief plateau. A chorus of young voices told me that it was the high-water mark for the area’s biggest tsunami: more than 50 feet above the valley floor.
“When was that?” I asked, but the boys couldn’t say. Read More
JETwit needs your help identifying any earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster relief projects or efforts that have been started, organized, managed or otherwise undertaken by JETs or JET alumni.
What else is missing from this list?
View Japan Relief Efforts in a larger map
View Japan Relief Efforts in a larger map
The ones we’re aware of to date (8/12/11) are:
1. Smile Kids Japan (founded by Mike Maher-King (Fukui-ken, 2006-11) collaborating with Tokyo-based NPO Living Dreams to form the Smiles & Dreams Tohoku Kids’ Project (among other efforts).
2. The Fruitree Project, started by Paul Yoo (Akita-ken), which has now evolved into Volunteer AKITA and has led to the Big CLEAN which has already brought volunteers to help cleaning efforts in Kessenuma.
3. I’ve heard that Fukushima JETs have been organizing efforts to clean up the beaches, but I don’t have any details. Can anyone provide more info?
4. Hearts For Haragama (http://hearts4haragama.wordpress.com). Billy McMichael (CIR Fukushima) is one of the 7 founders of project aimed at raising funds for the Haragama Youchien kindergarten in Soma, Fukushima. (Thanks to former JETAA DC President Michelle Spezzacatena for passing this on.)
5. “Kat Geeraert, an ALT in Soma (Fukushima), is doing an amazing job with her foundation “Friends of Soma.” http://www.somafriends.com/ (Thanks to Catherine Lefrancois (JHS ALT in Fukushima-ken, Fukushima-shi) for passing this on.)
6. AJET is playing a significant role in facilitating and coordinating volunteer efforts for current JETs and has also been collaborating with other good organizations/efforts such as Peace Boat, Foreign Buyers Club and 5toSurvive. (Thanks to Cailin Arena (Osaka) for passing this on.)
7. “Save Miyagi was founded by Canon Purdy (Miyagi-ken, 2008-10) to help out students in Minamisanriku. Canon is currently back in Japan, working with officials to see where the money will be used.” (Thanks to Jen Wang (Miyagi-ken) for passing on the info.)
8. Hotdogs and Hugs is an aid organization formed by Saga-ken JETs. Among other things, they organized a volunteer group that traveled all the way from Saga (western Kyushu) up to Tohoku, collecting donations and fundraising along the way. (Thanks to Ling Tran (Saga-ken, Yoshinogari-shi, 2009-11) for passing on the info.)
9. Osaka AJET: “We have done extensive food drives and collections through our schools we work in, those goods, money, supplies have then been coordinated with Kozmoz International (A small not-for profit in Kyoto) and we have taken the needed items to Tohoku ourselves. We will be doing another drive across Osaka, hopefully in dozens of schools where JETs are placed from the start of this second term.” (Thanks to Matthew Cook, who serves as both AJET Chair and is a member of Osaka AJET, for sharing this info.)
10. The MUD Project: It turns out that Colin Renie (CIR Yamagata-ken, 2007-10) has been running a volunteer project that has enabled many JETs to volunteer in Tohoku with particular emphasis on Minamisanriku as well as other areas of Miyagi and Iwate. Lots of good info, photos and updates on the project’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mudproject
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What else is missing from this list?
Please post to the comments section or e-mail jetwit [at] jetwit.com with more info.
Yoroshiku!
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This editorial in support of the JET Programme by Hitoshi Tanaka appeared originally in Japanese in The Mainichi Daily News. Thanks to Jim Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94), Executive Director of the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA), for sharing the article. And special thanks to Laura Kamutaka (CIR Miyagi-ken, Shiogama-shi, 2005-07) for translating it into English.
Don’t Cut Funding of Grassroots Exchange: Earthquake reveals and affirms overseas bond
http://www.jri.co.jp/MediaLibrary/file/report/tanaka/pdf/5570.pdf
Tanaka Hitoshi, Chairman, Institute for International Strategy, Japan Research Institute
The Tohoku earthquake swallowed many lives and left many missing. The unimaginable hardship of the disaster victims weighs heavily on our hearts, and many of us have a strong desire to help with this tragic situation. People who want to take action beyond making a charitable donation. People who want to work together with the disaster victims in any capacity, no matter how small the achievement. Some of those around me set up a nonprofit called Hope for Tomorrow to assist high school students affected by the earthquake, of which I’ve become a representative.
”Hope for Tomorrow” is designed to not only assist the students advancement but to help develop their language skills as well. There’s a reason for this. One of the tsunami victims was Taylor Anderson, an Assistant Language Teacher in Ishinomaki City of Miyagi Prefecture who taught English at both elementary and junior high schools. After the earthquake, the 24-year-old Virginia, US native worked to ensure her students’ safety and, in doing so, lost her life. In honor of her memory, Anderson’s parents have been collecting US donations with the intention of sending them to Japan to help restore school in Ishinomaki.
Anderson was in Japan through the JET Program, a Japanese government program that invites international youth to help Japanese students with foreign language instruction. After 24 years of existence, the program currently boasts over 4,000 participants from 36 countries, with over half coming from the United States. Most participants stay in Japan from two to three years, teach elementary to high school-level Japanese students, and maintain a strong bond with Japan even after returning to their home countries.
Ten years ago when I served as the Consulate General in San Francisco, I spoke with both JET participants who were about to leave for Japan and those that had recently returned. I remember those that returned all spoke passionately of their experiences and had great affection for Japan.
Even the JET participants’ response to the earthquake is remarkable. The JET Alumni Association has chapters across the country working to fundraise for relief efforts. There are those such as Stuart Harris, a JET participant in Iwate prefecture in 1989 who assembled a team of doctors right after the earthquake to provide relief to Japan. JET participants currently in Japan have also collected donations and vigorously volunteered to the relief effort.
Of course, it isn’t only the JET participants that have shown compassion towards Japan. A friend of mine who married an American found a network of people on Facebook, leading them to New York’s Union Square to collect donations less than a week after the earthquake. Passersby would donate cash and in no time more than $10,000 had been raised. We need to protect these precious bonds that transcend national lines.
Unfortunately, this kind of grassroots exchange has been decreasing each year. The number of JET participants has gone from 6,000 participants 10 years ago to 4,000. The Democratic Party of Japan has included the JET program in its budget cuts. From a financial standpoint alone, it seems counterintuitive to shrink a program that yields such positive results.
It is easy to see the Japan-US ties mainly through the relationship between the two governments. But that’s not true. Grassroots exchange is what sustains the important bond between the two countries and is something we must never forget.
Japanese students from Taylor Anderson and Monty Dickson’s towns in to visit U.S. as “envoys”
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Thanks to Andy Anderson, father of Taylor Anderson, for forwarding this article from The Mainichi Daily News:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110712p2g00m0dm004000c.html
16 students from quake-hit prefectures to visit U.S. as ‘envoys’
FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Kyodo) — A total of 16 junior and senior high school students from the three prefectures severely affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami will visit the United States next month at the invitation of the U.S. government to serve as teen envoys delivering the voices of those affected by the disaster, according to prefectural officials and other sources.
Ten of the 16 were selected from junior high schools in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture and Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, where two Americans, Montgomery Dickson, 26, of Alaska and Taylor Anderson, 24, of Virginia, fell victim to the tsunami while serving as assistant language teachers, they said.
From Fukushima Prefecture, which hosts Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a group of six senior high school students will join. The six boys and girls currently attend school as evacuees and include members of a baseball team.
A consul in charge of the three prefectures and other areas at the U.S. Consulate General in Sapporo said the program is intended to encourage Japanese youth and will be an opportunity for American students to learn about the disaster from them and understand why it is necessary to give support.
Under the plan, the 16 will stay in Pennsylvania and other locales for two weeks starting Aug. 10, with the United States covering travel and accommodation expenses.
Their itinerary includes practicing baseball and softball with American teens and meeting with Cal Ripken Jr., who played in a record 2,632 consecutive major league games.
Dickson was teaching until the day of the disaster, according to sources including the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, which dispatches assistant language teachers under the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. Dickson was at the city’s education board when the tsunami struck and was swept away with its building, they said.
Anderson stayed with her elementary school pupils until their guardians came to pick them up before heading home on a bicycle, they said. It is believed she was struck by the tsunami on her way, they said.
The trip participants include five female junior high school students who were taught English by Anderson.
“This is an exchange project to honor the two who died while on their way to accomplish their goals, and we are grateful to the U.S. government,” said an official at the council. “We hope that the students will have exchanges with many people in the United States,” the official said.
(Mainichi Japan) July 12, 2011
JET alumni to revisit Tohoku to help boost tourism
Earthquake Tsunami, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Travel/Tourism, Volunteer Comments Off on JET alumni to revisit Tohoku to help boost tourism
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Via Mainichi Daily News:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110729p2g00m0dm010000c.html
JET alumni to revisit Tohoku to help boost tourism
(photo caption: Greg Lekich and other volunteers are pictured in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture, on April 20. (Photo courtesy of Greg.))
TOKYO (Kyodo) — About 20 former English teachers and international relations coordinators at local government offices will revisit places in northeastern Japan, where they used to work, on a Japanese government program aimed at boosting tourism affected by the March 11 quake and tsunami, Japanese officials said Thursday.
As the first batch of the program participants, 14 alumni of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program from Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States will make a weeklong visit to places of their former assignments in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures from Monday, they said.
The participants are required to write about their experiences and impressions of the current situation in the Tohoku region in their contributions to the media, including social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, the officials said.
The program will last for two months and the Japanese government is shouldering travel expenses for the JET alumni.
(Mainichi Japan) July 29, 2011
JET alum Rob Cornilles considers second shot at Congress following David Wu resignation
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This article in the Beaverton Valley Times about the David Wu sex scandal and resignation mentions JET alum Rob Cornilles as one of the Republicans who may run for the vacancy. Rob lost to Wu in the last election with 42% of the vote.
http://www.beavertonvalleytimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=131181238478965800
Japan Times: JETs fresh from the U.S. eager to help nation recover from March 11
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Via the Japan Times:
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
JETs fresh from the U.S. eager to help nation recover from March 11
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110727a5.html#.Ti8SL3nLQFg.twitter
By TAKAHIRO FUKADA
Staff writer
Young Americans who will teach English at schools here on an international exchange and teaching program said Tuesday they want to help Japan recover from the March catastrophe.
According to the U.S. Embassy and an organizer of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, around 700 are coming from the U.S. this summer. About 400 of them arrived Sunday.
In total, some 1,600 JETs from 27 nations will come to Japan this summer.
Many of the young Americans attended an orientation session held by the U.S. Embassy at a Tokyo hotel Tuesday evening.
Asked whether she was afraid of any natural calamity and the nuclear disaster, Anni Pullagura, 23, from Georgia said “no, not at all.”
“This is the best time to show that Americans support the Japanese people,” she said after attending the session.
Meghan Koester, 23, from the state of Washington, also said she isn’t scared.
“I’m very excited to help Japan recover from this,” she said. “The world recognizes Japan’s efforts for recovery and we really support it. We want to help.”
During the orientation, U.S. Ambassador John Roos welcomed and thanked the new teachers for coming to Japan and representing their home country “at really, a very incredible, important time.”
He stressed the importance of enhancing grassroots relations between the two nations.
“Each of you going out in all of the different areas of Japan will continue to work with the Japanese as they continue to confront the aftermath of March 11,” Roos said. “So, your role is particularly important at this time.”
JETAA Northern California helps community group with fundraising efforts
Cultural Outreach, Earthquake Tsunami, Fundraising, JETAA Chapters, JETs in the News, Return on JET-vestment, Volunteer Comments Off on JETAA Northern California helps community group with fundraising efforts
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Thanks to Mike Shu, JETAA USA Country Representative and JETAA Northern California member, for forwarding this great article from the Nichi Bei online magazine titled “Helping Northern Japan Recover: A community effort raises $3.5 million for disaster-hit areas” about the Japan Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCNC) and its fund raising efforts which have generated $3.5 million for disaster relief in Japan.
It’s worth noting that JETAA Northern California members were involved with the JCCNC’s fund-raising efforts as volunteers and that a JET alum is actually on their fund staff. Additionally, the article includes quotes from a JET–Miyagi CIR Takeno (Chiyo) Suzuki.
Here’s the link to the article: http://www.nichibei.org/2011/07/helping-northern-japan-recover-a-community-effort-raises-3-5-million-for-disaster-hit-regions/
Thanks to Matt Gillam of CLAIR NY for forwarding this on.
ペットボトルのボートで琵琶湖を横断したダスティ・ウイットマンさん（右）とロキシィ・ボロウスカさん＝大津市今堅田３丁目の真野浜
Apparently two Shiga JETs covered the two kilometers between Moriyama and Otsu in a little over an hour to raise approximately300,000 yen. Based on the katakana, I believe their names are Dusty Wittman and Roxy Borowska. (Thanks to Katie Jardine for the name correction!)
2011年7月16日21時46分
ペットボトル船で琵琶湖横断 震災孤児への募金呼びかけ
東日本大震災で親を失った震災孤児への募金を呼びかけようと、滋賀県内の高校に勤務する外国語指導助手（ＡＬＴ）の２人が１６日、ペットボトル８１５本を使った長さ約２メートルのボートで琵琶湖を横断した。
挑戦したのは米国出身のダスティ・ウイットマンさん（３０）と英国出身のロキシィ・ボロウスカさん（２６）。守山市から対岸の大津市まで約２キロを １時間 余りで横断した。米国では募金を求める「本気度」をパフォーマンスで示すことが多いといい、ＡＬＴの仲間や高校生らとペットボトルを集めて準備。２人は 「大好きな日本の子どものため、思いを行動で示したかった」と話す。
２人は３日から募金サイト（http://ilovenihon.com/）などで義援金を募り、国内外から約３０万円が寄せられているという。ボロウスカさんは「地元の人も一緒に盛り上げてくれてうれしかった。今後も支援を訴えていきたい」と話す。
JET Memorial Invitation Program for High School Students ready to head to Japan
Cultural Outreach, Earthquake Tsunami, JETs in the News, Return on JET-vestment, Travel/Tourism, Video Comments Off on JET Memorial Invitation Program for High School Students ready to head to Japan
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Thanks to Andy Anderson, father of Taylor Anderson, for sharing information and the video link below. FYI, JETAA USA had the honor of Mr. Anderson attending the National Conference this past weekend in Washington, D.C. and speaking to the conference attendees (2 representatives from each JETAA chapter in the U.S.)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced an exchange program on June 24, 2011 (press release here) to send 32 American students to Japan as a way of commemorating the work of Taylor Anderson and Monty Dickson. Those students, who come from all over the U.S., have been selected and are now in San Francisco getting ready to depart for Japan.
The majority of the 10 day program takes place in Japan and includes a pre-departure orientation and a wrap-up meeting and farewell dinner in San Francisco. During their stay in Japan, the participants will have an option of participating in a day trip to visit the Tohoku area.
KTVU (San Francisco) did a story on the student group as they gathered in San Francisco for a pre-departure orientation before heading to Japan. Here’s the link to the video: http://www.ktvu.com/video/28580191/index.html
Minasan ganbatte kudasai!
Note: If anyone can figure out how to get the embed code for the video, e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com so we can post it here.
Update 7/21/2011: Here’s a Japanese article about the event, forwarded by Andy Anderson:
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/world/news/110718/amr11071818190005-n1.htm
2011年07月18日
日米の懸け橋へ努力
日本研修に向け米高校生
【サンフランシスコ共同】東日本大震災で犠牲になった米国人の英語教師２人の業績をたたえ、創設された日本研修事業に参加する米国の高校生３２人の壮行会が１７日、サンフランシスコの日本総領事館で行われた。代表のトーマス・クドさんは「帰ったら、この体験と日本語を生かしたい」と話し、日米の懸け橋となるために努力することを誓った。猪俣弘司（いのまた・ひろし）総領事は、大震災で亡くなった外国青年招致事業（ＪＥＴプログラム）の英語教師テーラー・アンダーソンさんとモンゴメリー・ディクソンさんの死を悼み、「研修を成功させるかどうかは皆さん次第」と激励した。米側のデボラ・ダニエルズさんは「同じ高校生がどんな風に（大震災で）被災し、どんなことを考えて毎日暮らしているのか知りたい」と話した。一行は今月１９～２８日、大阪の地元高校生との交流や、ホームステイを体験。京都訪問のほか、希望者による岩手視察も予定されている。
New Bruce Feiler column in the New York Times
Article/Journalism, Books, Celebrity, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Writers Comments Off on New Bruce Feiler column in the New York Times
Attached is a new New York Times column (“The Life (and Death) of the Party: Mastering the Art of Dinner Party Conversation“) by JET alum Bruce Feiler (Tottori-ken, 1989-90), author of Learning to Bow, The Council of Dads, and several books on the Middle East including Walking the Bible, Abraham and Where God Was Born.
To read prior columns, please click here.
Bruce’s new book GENERATION FREEDOM: The Middle East Uprisings and the Remaking of the Modern World has just been published. You can see some of his recent media appearances by visiting www.brucefeiler.com.
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This Life
The Life (and Death) of the Party
By BRUCE FEILER
Published: July 8, 2011
I CALL it my insufferability test. It came about like this: A number of years ago, I was seated at a dinner party next to the celebrated C.E.O. of an American brewery. I was the lesser player here, so I began asking him questions about his beer. Fifteen minutes passed, then 30. He didn’t ask me a single question.
As dessert approached, I began slumping in my chair from trying to come up with query after query about organic hops and fluctuating wheat futures. Finally, I started dropping in teasers from the year I spent as a circus clown. “My friend the human cannonball …”; “That reminds me of the time I once got into a cage with nine tigers.” Surely these would pique his curiosity. Needless to say, I never told a story about the circus that night.
To me that encounter was a warning shot. I was like a rookie pitcher being plastered in his opening outing in the big leagues. If I hoped to avoid similar dinner party fiascoes in the future, I had to raise my game. So what is the best formula for handling a loudmouth, know-it-all, bore or clam?
With summer entertaining season upon us, it seemed like a good time to brush up on my techniques, and perhaps pick up some new tricks. So with the help of some veterans of the tablecloth trenches, here are some tips for navigating dinner party pitfalls.
EAT AND GREET In ancient Rome, senators hired nomenclatorsto follow them around and introduce them to people. These days, each of us has to be his own nomenclator. A good host often performs this role. “A lot of dinners I throw often have a specific point to them,” said Sunny Bates, a former Silicon Alley headhunter turned networking guru. “I make everyone go around and say who they are, where they’re from and what they most need.” Other starter questions I’ve seen work: “If you could change one thing about the human body, what would it be?” and “What about you, physically, is perfect?” Knowing something about all the other guests is more than good manners; it can also come in handy if you’re seated next to a dud and need to seek relief in someone a few seats away. If I’m at an event with no host at the table, I’ll go so far as to walk around and briefly introduce myself to the other guests. Think of a dinner party as being like a crime scene: plan your escape route. Read More
JET ROI: “The JET Program’s Finest Hour”
Article/Journalism, Blogs, Earthquake Tsunami, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Uncategorized, Volunteer Comments Off on JET ROI: “The JET Program’s Finest Hour”
David Jacobson, a former Monbusho Scholar who now works for Seattle-based Chin Music Press (founded by former Monbusho English Fellow Bruce Rutledge), has just posted a really terrific piece titled “The JET Program’s Finest Hour“ about the role of JET and JET alumni in response to the Tohoku Earthquake Disaster. David did a particularly effective job of documenting the topic and pulling information together in a way that had not been done to date. And it demonstrates a very clear “Return on JET-vestment.”
Here’s the link: http://chinmusicpress.com/blog.php?action=display&entryID=13
David comments that the JET Program’s “support this spring, in the aftermath of the devastating March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, may have marked the program’s finest hour.” And his research helps document information such as:
“Within hours after the disaster, Eric Butler, a former JET who lives in Calgary, Alberta, created a Facebook page, Foreigners from Miyagi. He intended it as a place to discuss how to help the quake victims, but within days it attracted nearly 700 users, many in Japan, and morphed into a forum for those seeking the whereabouts of JETs or others in disaster areas.”
The article also acknowledged and put JETwit’s role in perspective in the larger context:
“Editor (and JET alumnus) Steven Horowitz began a similar effort providing up-to-the minute updates on JETwit, a blog that has evolved into the de facto central information source for the JET alumni community. But he also saw his role as helping JET alums become involved in the relief effort, listing opportunities for volunteers, translators, even offering practical advice for those in Japan. And he recommended that JETs get the word out: “Make yourself available to talk to schools, churches, companies, other organizations. Engage your grad school or college alumni offices. Wear a button that says, ‘Ask Me About Japan.’”
JET alum Josh Zimmerman crafts a name for himself in ABC News article
JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Writers Comments Off on JET alum Josh Zimmerman crafts a name for himself in ABC News article
Thanks to Gail Meadows (Hiroshima-ken, 2007-10), former Editor of the Hiroshima JET online newsletter The Wide Island View and current resident of metro Detroit for sharing this item about her former Wide Island View Co-Editor Josh Zimmerman (Hiroshima-ken).
According to an ABC News article titled “From Whittling to Knitting: How Modern Men Craft,”
Joshua Zimmerman’s creative outlet is tinkering with small electrical projects. The 28-year-old, fourth-grade teacher in Milwaukee makes Altoid tin USB chargers and flashlights, and small robots from toothbrush heads and solar battery chargers. His creations usually can be made with a few bucks and a few parts, often from recycling old electronics.
He simplifies ideas he finds online, assembles them in kits, and sells them from his online shop, Brown Dog Gadgets, and at Etsy. He also posts the instructions for all of his projects, most of which take under an hour for a novice and require a little metal soldering.
Here’s a description of the Altoids Solar iPhone/iPod/iPad Charger direct from Josh’s Brown Dog Gadgets website:
After weeks of sweat, blood, and soldering burns we’ve finally done it. We’ve made a solar charger for all the iProducts out there! Now you can charge up your iPhone, iPod, and even the iPad via the wonder of solar.
What separates this from our Solar Altoids USB Charger is that you can actually charge up those iProducts, which you’ll also find separates us from most solar USB chargers out there.
The charger works by recharging two high capacity rechargeable AA batteries through the included 4V solar cell. When you need to charge up your iPhone or iPod just plug it in via the three foot retractable cable. Then relax, because you deserve it
Features:
4V Solar Cell
2X High Capacity Rechargeable AAs (Between 2500-3000 mah)
3 Foot retractable charging cable.
Your choice of a fun Altoids tin.
Has been tested on and works with any iPod Classic, iPod Nano, iPhone, and iPad. We honestly went to a store and tried it out on all of the display models. We’re just happy that it works with our iPhone 4!
***iPods and iPhones will not directly charge up from the solar panel. You need to first charge up the internal AA batteries to a certain level before an iPod or iPhone will actually charge from it.
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Hey Josh, any chance we could order some with the JETwit logo? :-)
MSNBC story and article feature volunteerAKITA and other JET volunteers
Earthquake Tsunami, Interview/Profile, Japan Local, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Video, Volunteer Comments Off on MSNBC story and article feature volunteerAKITA and other JET volunteers
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Just saw this MSNBC video and article by NBC News correspondent Ian Williams that mentions JET and volunteerAKITA founder Paul Yoo as well as several other volunteers who seem to be JETs along with the good work being done by All Hands Volunteers. The article was posted to the Pacific Northwest JETAA Facebook group today.
“Young Americans take center stage in Japan tsunami cleanup”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43637669/
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