PRESS KIT
EAST SAN GABRIEL VALLEY JAPANESE COMMUNITY CENTER
Bridging Culture, Family and Community
WHO WE ARE
The East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center (ESGVJCC) is a not for profit organization dedicated to foster and preserve the cultural heritage unique to Japanese American ancestry; and to serve the community through social services, artistic, recreational, and educational programs
FACT SHEET
ESGVJCC Programs and Services
MARTIAL ARTS
Aikido, Judo, Karate, Kendo, Shinkendo, Tai Chi
VISUAL/PERFORMING ARTS
Bonsai, Pine Tree Trimming
Ikebana (Flower Arrangement)
Japanese Classical Dance,
Kimi Komi Doll Making
Kishin Daiko (Japanese Drumming
RECREATIONAL
Line Dancing, Hula Dance, Ballroom Dance, Yoga, Sabers/Saberettes Youth Basketball
SENIORS
Senior Wellness Program
ESGV DISKovery Center - Computer Lab
Keepers of the Flame Oral History Project
EDUCATION
Camp Chibikko
Gakuen, Japanese Language Courses
Saturday Japanese Immersion Preschool
Kokoro no Sato Infant Care Center
Kokoro no Sato After School Program
Student Exchange Program
KEY PEOPLE
TIM ITATANI
President, Board of Directors
Tim Itatani has been involved in community and non profit organizations for over 45 years. His involvement began as a basketball youth coach for CYC and SOC organizations as teenager. Tim was also Eagle Scout with Nishi Hongwanji Church Troop 738 and named Boy of Year with Bella Visita Optomist Organization. He was a Member of Manzanar Renion Committee in 1980 and the only committee member that was not old enough to experience camp life. Tim is also a city commissioner from 1985 for over 25 years of service for the City of Montebello. Tim served from 1979 to 2004 as a Board of Director of the Nisei Week Foundation and carried the title of President of Nisei Week Foundation in 1988, 1999 through 2002. Tim also was integral in creating the Nisei Week logo in 1979, which is still in use today. Tim also created the Nisei Week Foundation in 1998. From 2010 to 2014, Tim served as a Board of Director of the ESGVJCC. Then returned in 2017 to the present as a Board of Director ESGVJCC. Tim is serving his second year as President of the ESGVJCC Board of Directors.
PRESS RELEASES
AKIMATSURI FALL FESTIVAL
2020 Annual Akimatsuri Fall Festival to Bring a Taste of Japan to the Community
Presented by the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center on Saturday, October 3, 2020 from 2:00-8:00 PM
WEST COVINA, CA – The Annual Akimatsuri Fall Festival kicks-off the fall season. This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, October 3rd from 2:00- 8:00 PM at the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center (ESGVJCC) located at 1203 West Puente Avenue in West Covina. The event is free and open to the public.
The Akimatsuri Fall Festival is an opportunity for the ESGVJCC to welcome residents of the local community as well as visitors from the greater community to gather with the common enjoyment, interest and desire of experiencing Japanese flavors, sights and sounds. This is a chance to learn about Japanese culture, sample a variety of Japanese and Japanese-American cuisines such as gyoza, curry rice, spam musubi, enjoy traditional music and dance performances, watch a judo demonstration, shop a wide variety of countless merchants, and be entertained by Japanese Taiko drums. These cultural performances will begin at 2:30 pm with the last performance will be at 6:00 pm. For a complete schedule, please visit our website, esgvjcc.org. There will also be a special presentation by the West Covina City Council. Following entertainment, there will be ondo dancing in the parking lot led by Nippon Minyo Kenkyukai Hoshun-kai at 6:30pm.
All proceeds from the festival will benefit the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center, a non-profit organization. For the past 69 years, the ESGVJCC has served as a bridge connecting culture, family, and community. Our organization has been bridging generations through unique Japanese programs as well as community and cultural events while providing a safe environment for our families to learn and grow.
Join the festivities on Saturday, October 3rd at 2pm. For additional festival information, please contact the Community Center office at 626-960-2566 or email mkozono@esgvjcc.org
CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
2020 Annual West Covina Cherry Blossom Festival to Bring Japanese Culture to the Community
Presented by the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center and the City of West Covina on Saturday, March 21, 2020 from 12:00PM-6:00 PM
WEST COVINA, CA – The Annual West Covina Cherry Blossom Festival kicks-off Spring and celebrates the Cherry Blossom season. This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, March 21, 2020, at the West Covina Civic Center located at 1444 W. Garvey Ave. S.., between Sunset Ave. and S. Vincent Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
The Cherry Blossom Festival is an opportunity for the city to welcome residents of the local community as well as visitors from the greater community to gather with the common enjoyment, interest and desire of experiencing Japanese flavors, sights and sounds. This is a chance to learn about Japanese culture, enjoy traditional music and dance performances, watch a judo demonstration, shop a wide variety of countless merchants, and be entertained by Japanese Taiko drums. These cultural performances will begin at 12:30 pm with the last performance will be at 5:00 pm. For a complete schedule, please visit our website, esgvjcc.org.
For the past nineteen years, the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center and the City of West Covina have partnered on various projects and programs, including the promotion and preservation of the cultural heritage unique to Japanese-American members of our community. The East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center and the City of West Covina also sponsor the City’s Sister City Program with the city of Ohtawara, Japan. Funds raised from the Cherry Blossom Festival will assist the Sister City Student Exchange Program to occur next summer, as well as the various social, artistic, recreational and educational programs offered at the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center. For additional information, call the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center at (626) 960-2566 or the City of West Covina at (626) 939-8430.
FAMILY HEALTH FAIR
2020 Family Health Fair of West Covina
Presented by the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center and LA County Board of Supervisors Hilda Solis.
WEST COVINA, CA – Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Hilda Solis and East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center (ESGVJCC) will present its ninth annual Family Health Fair on Saturday, November 7, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to bring health education and awareness to our entire community. The event will be held at the ESGVJCC located at 1203 W. Puente Avenue in West Covina and will feature cooking demonstrations, an extensive resource fair, various health screenings, and our popular active living demonstrations. This free event will focus on preventative health care and wellness for families.
Focusing on the positive effects of exercise and mental well being, the Health Fair will have live demonstrations of yoga, taichi, taiko (Japanese drumming), and martial arts classes held at the ESGVJCC weekly.
This event will also feature a resource fair with over 30 booths offering health education as well as free screenings such as vision, dental, hearing, BMI, glucose screening, blood pressure, chiropractic and more.
The Family Health Fair also features a Japanese cooking demonstration where attendees can learn to make simple, healthy dishes at home. There is limited space for the demonstrations so reservations must be made with the office of the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center. Reservations and additional information about the schedule of events for the day can be obtained by calling the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center at 626.960.2566.
Please join us for this event that bridges culture, family, and community. Together, we can enrich the health and wellness of our community.
The East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to foster and preserve the cultural heritage unique to Japanese-American ancestry; and to serve the community through social services, artistic, recreational and educational programs. For interest in programs and services offered by the ESGVJCC please visit esgvjcc.org.
# # #
SERVICES
Bridging Culture, Family and Community
INFANT CARE CENTER
Providing quality child care to families of all backgrounds
In Japanese, Kokoro means heart and Sato means village or hometown. Kokoro no Sato is a Japanese-based child care program that provides learning opportunities meant to stimulate children’s minds to their full potential. At Kokoro no Sato we believe that the earliest years in a child’s life are the most impressionable and formative. Through guidance and individual attention it is our goal to provide each child with a secure foundation of values that will instill a strong sense of self-worth and purpose.
At Kokoro no Sato we prioritize the nurturing of every child’s heart within a safe and comfortable environment which will truly allow them to thrive. We strive to nurture your child's ideas and imagination, recognize their individuality, and respect each personality.
A popular proverb states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” At Kokoro no Sato it is our belief that a child’s upbringing is a communal effort between family, community, and school. Each child that enters Kokoro no Sato brings with them life experiences and personal cultural heritage. The development of partnerships between families and the Kokoro no Sato Infant Care Center is fundamental to the growth of the individual child. At Kokoro no Sato we strive to create and promote these partnerships with families in order to create a strong sense of community.
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
Providing a culturally rich learning environment
The Kokoro no Sato After School Program is a culturally relevant after school program designed to offer learning opportunities for children from kindergarten to the 5th grade with activities that relate to the Japanese American culture, history, language, and heritage. The ESGVJCC is all about preserving and fostering the heritage unique to the Japanese American ancestry and our after school program will carry on that tradition by passing it onto the children of our community.
The Kokoro no Sato After School Program creates a safe, healthy, and stimulating place for school-age children and their development while providing help with homework, sports, lifetime movement, computer activities, Japanese language lessons, cultural activities, snacks, and much more. Though the program is culturally relevant to the Japanese American culture, we welcome children of all backgrounds. The Kokoro no Sato After School Program is a fun and quality multifaceted development environment for children.
SENIOR WELLNESS PROGRAM
Provides a space for the seniors in the community to gather weekly to engage in various group activities that engages the body, mind, and heart.
Our goal is to provide San Gabriel Valley Japanese and Japanese American seniors an opportunity to reduce social isolation through a twice a week comprehensive program that increases the physical, intellectual and social well-being of our seniors. The grant funds will be utilitzed towards staffing for the program, providing transportation to our seniors and the lunch program.
CAMP CHIBIKKO
Japanese Culture Youth Summer Camp
Hands-on sushi-making
Camp Chibikko launched in 2012 by the ESGVJCC Gakuen-Japanese Language School, was a week-long day camp for 11 children ages 5 to 9 where students had an opportunity to experience Japanese culture and learn basic Japanese expressions. In 2013, the Japanese Language School reached out to the ESGVJCC staff for support and through this effort, Camp Chibikko was expanded to include 24 children ages 5 to 12 and changed its focus to bringing cultural awareness to the younger generations through fun lessons and activities. Last year, Camp Chibikko expanded to two weeks and served 75 campers.
This program is one way we hope to fulfill our mission to “foster and preserve the cultural heritage unique to Japanese American ancestry.” The students learned about Japanese culture through arts, crafts, songs, and stories. The craft activities, songs, lunches, and stories were centered on different themes, which included sushi making, Obon festival, and traditional Japanese summer activities.
In addition to the arts and crafts, students participated in many Japanese and Japanese-American hobbies such as taiko drumming, martial arts, ondo dancing, and even a basketball clinic. Camp Chibikko hopes to replicate the success of last year which according to 2012 Camp Director Tim Mathos, “was a real success [that] could be seen by the daily smiles on the children’s faces.”
Tye-dye your own hachimaki (headband)
This year, we hope to expand further by offering a separate junior high school component of Camp Chibikko. The junior high school students will learn how to create short films based on a Japanese value that all the children will be learning about. The Japanese values that the films will center on are nebaru (to see things through all the way to the end), enryo (to show restraint), shinsetsu (kindness), omoiyari (to think of others before yourself). After working on their films every morning of camp, we aim to develop their leadership skills in the afternoons by giving the Junior High School students the opportunity to work hands on with the K-5 campers while shadowing the camp counselors.This year’s theme for Camp Chibikko is going to give the campers of the unique experience of celebrating Japanese winter traditions. Since 2014, we have been incorporating field trips in our program which have included excursions to the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles and Tanaka Farms in Irvine. This year, we will take our students to Little Tokyo for a scavenger hunt and tour as well as one of Southern California beaches to fly the kites they make during camp. Our hope is to continue to make this an exciting, relevant, and meaningful experience for all those who attend.
2018 ESGVJCC ANNUAL REPORT
Helping The Community
This is your Service Description. Use this space to explain this service in more detail.
"a wonderful place ... that enhance(s) the lives of residents and strengthens our community.”
LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis
PRESS COVERAGE
We work hard to get our efforts noticed by the media and are so proud when this goal comes to fruition. A well informed community is an empowered one as well, so take a look at some of the latest coverage we’ve received below and help spread the word about all the amazing developments at East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center.
MEDIA KIT
Please feel free to use this images when referring to the ESGVJCC
