Tonari Gumi was buzzing with excitement on Saturday, March 21st, as a full house of enthusiastic gardeners gathered for our workshop. The instructor for this workshop was Makiko Suzuki, Chair of Tonari Gumi’s Board of Directors, who is also the leader of the Tonari Gumi Garden Club.

The workshop explored the roots of Japanese cuisine and its cultural background, while also introducing the history of Japanese immigrants in Canada including the impact of wartime internment and the postwar period.

Tonari Gumi has served the post-war Japanese Canadian community for over fifty years, providing a range of services and programs. While initially operating as an informal group, in the last decade and following the publication of “Our Edible Roots: The Japanese Canadian Kitchen Garden,” the Garden Club has become a significant source of Japanese vegetables for the TG lunch program.

The Spring Vegetable Workshop gave the Gardening Club the chance to share our experiences growing Japanese vegetables and to provide information on what plants in our area can be foraged. Participants received practical advice as well as seedlings and seeds to help them start their own gardens. In addition to getting a copy of the new West Coast Seed (WCS) Catalogue, three lucky participants each received a WCS donated gardening hand tool. An additional 3 participants received potted yomogi and fuki plants.

The event concluded with a flavorful lunch prepared by Endo-san (formerly of Kibune Sushi) and our dedicated kitchen volunteers, featuring dishes such as chirashi sushi, nira gyoza, shungiku gomae, simmered foraged warabi, myoga mochi, myoga, and yokan mochi cake.

According to the feedback forms, participants responded positively to the workshop and expressed interest in a Japanese Summer Vegetable workshop, as well as foraging and cooking events and other Japanese cultural activities.

TG Café Kitchen – A Taste of Traditional Japanese Cooking

On March 6th, the TG Café Kitchen was filled with wonderful aromas and lively activity thanks to Yoshiko Saito and our dedicated kitchen volunteers.

Yoshiko kindly joined the team to teach them how to prepare two traditional Japanese dishes: Chirashi Zushi and Furofuki Daikon. The process began on Wednesday with shopping for the special ingredients needed for the recipes. On Thursday, Yoshiko and the volunteers gathered to start the preparations.

Early Friday morning, everyone met again in the kitchen to cook together. Throughout the morning, Yoshiko patiently shared her knowledge and techniques with the volunteers, who were eager to learn authentic Japanese home-style cooking. The kitchen was full of conversation, teamwork, and learning.

In the end, the dishes turned out beautifully—both delicious and visually appealing. Everyone truly appreciated Yoshiko’s guidance, as well as the volunteers’ enthusiasm and hard work. Thank you to Yoshiko and our amazing kitchen volunteers for making the TG Café Kitchen such a warm and delicious place!

Work Experience Highlight: Jane

From January to March, Jane joined Tonari Gumi through a work experience placement. She supported program preparation and office tasks, and communicated smoothly in English, Chinese, and Japanese. When an English conversation class was cancelled, she stepped in and led a Chinese conversation class, showing great flexibility. We truly appreciate her support and wish her all the best in her next steps.

Introducing UBC Community Service-Learning Students

From January to March, we were happy to welcome Elizabeth and Eunice from the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Community Service-Learning Program. As part of the Meals on Wheels program, they supported our activities by delivering lunch boxes to seniors and assisting with meal preparation. They always approached their work with a bright and positive attitude, and their presence brought energy and encouragement to all of us. All our staff and volunteers sincerely appreciate their contributions.

Elizabeth and Eunice, thank you very much for your support. We look forward to seeing your continued success in the future. Tonari Gumi has welcomed many students from the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and we are planning to welcome new students again in September 2026.

TG Members’ Birthday Party – March 26, 2026

On March 26, we celebrated members born in January, February, and March with a cheerful birthday party. Participants enjoyed a light lunch prepared by our kitchen volunteers, followed by birthday introductions and a group “Happy Birthday” song, with the oldest participant blowing out the candles.

Amber’s piano and singing performance added a lovely touch to the event. Guests also enjoyed a homemade cake prepared by a donor, along with a fun bingo game and a door prize draw.

Thank you to all the volunteers for making this event so special.

Renovation Update: April

After nearly two months of renovation, metal studs have been installed and the space is almost ready for drywall. We appreciate your patience with the noise and dust during this time. With both plumbing and electrical work making good progress, the project remains on schedule.

March Outing: River Rock Casino

On Tuesday, March 24, we enjoyed a wonderful outing to River Rock Casino in Richmond followed by dim sum at Empire Seafood Restaurant.

With 20 participants from across the Lower Mainland, many experienced a casino for the first time and had fun trying (and figuring out!) the slot machines. We then shared a delicious dim sum meal, sampling a variety of dishes and leaving happily full. Our monthly outings will continue—stay tuned for updates, and we hope to see you again next month!

Volunteer Music Instructors Wanted (Ukulele & Handbells)

Tonari Gumi is currently looking for volunteer music instructors to join our seniors’ programs, including instructors for the ukulele and handbells.

Through music, we aim to create enjoyable and meaningful moments for our participants. These programs are not only about learning instruments, but also about building connections, sharing laughter, and spending time together in a warm and welcoming environment.

We are looking for individuals who enjoy working with seniors and feel comfortable leading a small group. Experience with ukulele or handbells, or basic teaching skills, would be appreciated. Most importantly, we value a friendly and welcoming approach.

If you are interested in sharing your love of music with our community, we would love to hear from you.

Contact：Rie

Email: programs@tonarigumi.ca

Volunteer Noodle Gathering – April 6

Join us at Tonari Gumi on April 6, 12:30–3:30 pm for a casual volunteer gathering! Drop by anytime during this period and leave when you like. Chat with staff and fellow volunteers over coffee, tea, and light meals such as soba or udon.

During the gathering, we will also share information about volunteer opportunities, upcoming events, and the Powell Street Festival, as well as introduce our regular volunteer roles. If you’re interested in getting involved on an ongoing basis, we would love to have you join us!

Pre-registration is required so we can prepare the noodles and refreshments. Please let us know if you can join us.

RieCall: 604-687-2172 ext. 106Email: programs@tonarigumi.ca

Community Services Resource Information

Community Volunteer Income Tax Program

Tonari Gumi once again participated in the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) in partnership with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). This program supports low-income seniors by helping them file their income tax returns free of charge.

This year, three dedicated tax filing volunteers worked very hard throughout the month and successfully completed close to 40 tax returns for our clients. Their time, knowledge, and commitment made it possible for many seniors in our community to file their taxes on time and continue receiving important government benefits such as GIS, GST credit, and other income-tested supports.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to our volunteers for their continued dedication and support. If you are interested in supporting this program by volunteering to help our seniors file their taxes, please contact Tonari Gumi vie email: services@tonarigumi.ca.

Community Services is planning to hold a workshop later this year to provide various tax filing related information for seniors. The workshop details will be available in Fall 2026: https://www.tonarigumi.ca/services/life-seminar

You may qualify to use the CVITP Service

If you wish to file your taxes through the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP), you can find a free tax clinic near you through the CRA website:

CRA – Find a free tax clinic:https://www.canada.ca/taxes-help

These clinics are available during tax season and are intended for individuals with simple tax situations and modest incomes. The deadline for filing 2025 personal income taxes is April 30, 2026.

Fraud Prevention for Seniors

Unfortunately, fraud and scams targeting seniors are increasing across Canada, including phone scams, CRA scams, bank scams, and online scams. Japanese-speaking seniors may be especially vulnerable due to language barriers and lack of familiarity with Canadian services and systems.

In May 2026, Tonari Gumi will host a seminar presented by Seniors First BC titled “Frauds and Scams – Recognize, Reject, Report” (TBC). Due to limited space during ongoing renovations, the seminar will be offered in a hybrid format (in-person and online).

Seminar details will be posted on the Tonari Gumi website:

https://www.tonarigumi.ca/services/life-seminar

If You Believe You Have Been a Victim of Fraud

Please contact the following organizations for help:

• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: 1-888-495-8501

• Local Police (non-emergency): 604-717-3321 (Vancouver)

• Your bank (report immediately)

• Service Canada / CRA (if your SIN or tax information was involved)

Reporting fraud is important to prevent further damage and to protect others in the community. If you are unsure whether something is a scam, do not send money. Speak with a trusted family member, friend, or a community organization before taking any action.

Peer Support Certificate Course

With funding support from United Way and the Frank H. Hori Charitable Foundation, Tonari Gumi continues to offer FREE Online Certificate Courses for individuals who are interested in becoming Community Services volunteers. These courses are provided by experienced instructors from the Jewish Seniors Alliance BC, an organization with over 20 years of experience in senior peer support and training. https://jsabc.ca/

Currently available courses:

• Starting April 27: Friendly Visitation Volunteer Course(18 hours online + 1 in-person session)

• Starting May 5: Senior Peer Support Volunteer Course(48 hours online + 1 in-person session)

Both courses provide training on listening skills and how to offer comfort, companionship, and emotional support to older adults who may feel isolated or disconnected.

For more information, please visit our website:

https://www.tonarigumi.ca/services/peer-support

AGM 2026 Annual General Meeting

https://www.tonarigumi.ca/agm

TG Golf

https://www.tonarigumi.ca/tg-golf-2026

https://www.tonarigumi.ca/tg-golf-2026

May Social Club: Bus Trip to Tashme / Sunshine Valley

https://www.tonarigumi.ca/events/social-club

Messages from the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society

BC Heritage Sites May Openings:

Tashme, Gabriola Island, Salt Spring Island

The BC Heritage Sites program makes the "invisible visible." By funding interpretive projects, signage, and restorations at historic sites across British Columbia, including sites of internment, the JCLS ensures that ancestral places of the pre-war and wartime community are no longer under-recognized. We acknowledge the debt owed to our elders for the sacrifices they endured. For survivors and descendants, these sites provide a tangible connection to a heritage that was nearly lost to the "second uprooting” – the postwar exile that pushed the community east of the Rockies or to Japan.

The BC Heritage Sites program ensures that the stories of the issei, nisei, and sansei – who established roots in this province despite systemic racism – are kept alive.

Three site openings will take place in May 2026:

1. Tashme / Sunshine Valley – May 3 (1pm – 5 pm): Opening of the Tashme Research & Archive Centre and restored Tashme Kindergarten Schoolhouse

2. Gabriola Island – May 23 (Time TBC): Community celebration for “Omoide – Memories, Recollections, Reminiscences.”

3. Salt Spring Island – May 31 (1:15pm – 3:30 pm): Unveiling of new interpretive panels at Heiwa Garden as part of the Japanese Canadian Memorial Story Project.

For the full story and details, visit https://jclegacies.com/bc-heritage-sites-may-openings/

Sedai Youth Creator Lab: Accepting Applications from Ontario Youth

Are you enthusiastic about preserving stories for future generations? Do you adore sharing stories that reflect human experience and connection? Does making history and culture accessible excite you? The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) is seeking storytellers, historians, creators, and researchers.

Applications are open for youth (18 – 29 yrs) interested in Japanese Canadian history and culture to apply to be one of six (6) participants in the Sedai Youth Creator Lab.

Participants will work in pairs and be trained to conduct oral histories with people of Japanese descent living in Canada. They will be responsible for activating these oral histories into short documentaries, with support from mentors, professional filmmakers, and JCCC staff.

Please visit https://jclegacies.com/sedai-youth-creator-labaccepting-applications-from-ontario-youth for details

Why Teaching Japanese Canadian History Matters Today

Japanese Canadian Legacies is built on five funded pillars: Community & Culture, Seniors Health & Wellness, Monument, Education, and Heritage Preservation, with a focus on honouring our elders, past and present. While many initiatives provide direct support and recognition to Survivors, Education serves as an important connection between community and the broader public, who generally know little if anything of this history and the lessons it holds.

A new website, JapaneseCanadianHistory.com, is not confined to the classroom but invites everyone to engage with this history, including the uprooting, incarceration, and permanent dispossession of 22,000 Japanese Canadians in the 1940s. The site holds valuable lessons, particularly regarding what can happen when fear and ignorance are allowed to dictate government policy and public opinion.

Pre-made lesson packages within JapaneseCanadianHistory.com allow educators to show students how there is a linkage between “othering” a community, and the eventual total loss of that community’s homes and rights.

Patterns of Injustice, a new lesson plan built for high school teachers and students by Andrea Phillpott, looks at the common patterns of injustice observed within Japanese Canadian history, how these patterns can be observed in today’s world, and what we can do to confront injustice in the present and future. In a world where young people often feel powerless, this history provides a roadmap for how to stand up against systemic injustice.

Visit https://jclegacies.com/why-teaching-japanese-canadian-history-matters-today/ for the full story or email education@jclegacies.com to book a workshop or for more information.

Closing Out the Survivors Fund with Gratitude

"I will be 104 years old this August. My sincere appreciation for my cheque." – JCSHWF recipient

"Thanks so much for all your time and effort to make this happen, and the follow-up as well. This is a great thing you are doing to provide some level of closure for those Canadian citizens who were unjustly treated." – JCSHWF recipient

The Japanese Canadian Legacies Society (JCLS) is pleased to announce the successful completion and wrap-up of the Japanese Canadian Survivors Health and Wellness Fund. Seniors Health & Wellness is one of the five key funded pillars of JC Legacies and this fund speaks to the heart of our mandate: honouring our elders for their sacrifices and their guidance. By ensuring that thousands of Survivors across Canada and around the world received the recognition, respect, and tangible support they deserve, we not only honour their resilience but create a legacy of care and dignity for the generations that follow.

We extend our deepest gratitude and kansha (感謝) to the dedicated founding board members of the Japanese Canadian Survivors Health and Wellness Fund Society (JCSHWFS) representing seniors organizations across the country, led by President Cathy Makihara, Vice-President and Treasurer David Iwaasa, and Secretary Kelvin Higo, with directors Ruth Coles, Susan Matsumoto, Marlene Mori, Ann Ashley, and Shelley-Ann Yamashita.

The team worked under incredible pressure from the community with a simple and clear mandate: to provide individual health and wellness support grants to Japanese Canadian Survivors. Operating under the umbrella of JCLS, the Society’s mission was to identify, reach, and serve living Survivors by distributing $28 million in health funding. JCLS acknowledges the staff, outreach workers, and volunteers of the JCSHWFS for their hard work and tireless dedication serving the community in this vital area.

Supporting Survivors

In total, over 5,000 seniors were served, with the grants providing essential relief for out-of-pocket health expenses, equipment, and wellness needs, honouring the resilience of a generation that persevered with grace through difficult years. This important work received critical support on a national scale.

Japanese Canadian Survivors Health and Wellness Fund Society Board of Directors

Leadership: Joanne Miyazaki.

From west to east: Holly Sakaki, Afzal Barmania, Elizabeth Miyanaga, Yumi Deyell, Chihiro Honma, Maureen Hatanaka, Tomoyo Udagawa, Momona Ishihara, Roger Teshima, Susan Huntley, Pamela Okano, Caroline Yamashita, Katherine Arima, Mark Uyeda, Elissa Kunihiro, Erica Shin, Erin Oikawa, Abagail Kataoka, Donald Watanabe.

Message from the JCSHWFS Board and Team

Across Canada, over 40 regional Japanese Canadian organizations and groups generously provided office and event space, and communicated to their members on behalf of the Society. Some provided staff to assist at events. Over 146 in-person events were conducted. Our team met with 3,800 Survivors at scheduled events. Some Survivors meet with outreach workers in a wide range of settings: in their homes, nearby public spaces like malls, restaurants or libraries, or in virtual online meetings. Some outreach workers taught Survivors new skills in order to participate in online meetings.

The Board is grateful of the efforts of the intergenerational staff team, supported by regional volunteers. Over 87 volunteers from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Japan assisted, some on multiple occasions. Survivors were treated with compassion and respect during the validation process, which for some raised traumatic experiences of the past. Staff reported that ‘while many entered the project with a strong knowledge about the history of the displacement and the forced exile of our JC community, some of the individual stories that the Survivors relayed were heart-wrenching. The on-going trauma is real and will last a lifetime for these Survivors.’

As we prepare to shut down the Society, some modest residual funds are being disbursed to a limited number of regional Canadian JC partners to provide health and wellness support for Japanese Canadian Survivors. Organizations will be selected based on supporting the JCSHWF, catchment area of Survivors, and existing programs and services available. The funding will be used primarily to support Japanese Canadian Survivors Health & Wellness, with at least 80% going to programming for Survivors and a maximum of 20% used for administration.

As the Society prepares to close its doors, we acknowledge the patience of our Survivors and their families. Thank you for your courage, your perseverance, and your heart. It’s time to say goodbye. With respect, gratitude and deep appreciation, please take care and be well – ogenkide.

– Japanese Canadian Survivors Health and Wellness Fund Society

Thank you for your Support!

The Japanese Community Volunteers Association, “Tonari Gumi” gratefully acknowledges and thanks the following people for their generous donations in February 2026. Although we tried our best to include all of your donations, there is a chance we have missed your name. Please contact us and we will make the correction.

Monetary Donations

Shizuka Tsuzuki, Irene Yano, The Mitsui Canada Foundation, Yuriko & Umeo Uyeda, Atsuko Shuto, Leslie Kelen, Frank Nakashima, Anonymous (2)

In memory of Yukio Anthony Nasu

Roberta Nasu

In memory of Marth (Honda), Shig Uyeyama, Atsumi Hashimoto, Stacy Maeda & Wayne Oye

Chuck Tasaka

In memory of my mother Tomi Nishimura

Shawn Nishimura

Monetary Donations (Canada Helps)

Erica Yamashita

MONTHLY GIVING Monetary Donations (Canada Helps)

Takashi Sato, Thomas Kiyoshi Campbell, Tsutae Suzuki, Anonymous

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Japanese Spring Vegetables Workshop