The fifth FIT For Charity Run took place on November 29 2009, at Tokyo’s National Kasumigaoka Stadium. In 2009 and once again broke records for participation, as 5 183 individuals from 97 financial services and related foreign and domestic organisations came together to raise approximately JPY 59.4 million for six local charities.

We will be offering participants the chance to take part in the following events: 10km run, 4km fun run, 2km walk, 4×100m inter-company relay and kids sprint. 

Those working in the financial industry or in financial-related sectors and their families and friends can participate in the event. Participation requires companies to register and to manage applications from its employees.

Details of the program and the application process will be announced in mid 2010.

The fifth FIT For Charity Run held on 29 November 2009 raised a total of JPY 58,907,845. The after-expense donation totaled JPY54,629,385 and was equally divided among the six local non-profit organisations supported.

Because all members of the FIT For Charity Organising Committee are unpaid volunteers, and because almost all of the elements needed to stage the FIT event are donated by companies and their employees, the community organisations supported by FIT receive 100% of all donations and participation fees, and over 90% of the total funds collected (93% in 2009).

The FIT for Charity Run 2009 organising committee members gathered on 25 February 2010 at Thomson Reuters Market KK offices, to present a donation of JPY 9,104,898 to each of the six community organisations.

The organisations will spend the donations as follows.

Florence

Operates a community-based day care center for sick children, thereby helping to create a society where parents can work and raise children simultaneously.

The donation is used to:

• Provide support to single parent families so they can ask for child care services at affordable prices, and
• Build a public relations system intended for individual users to collect donations.

The expected impact is to:

• Support 40 single parent families with sick children for 2 years, and
• Provide an environment where a single parent family can achieve their careers and raise their children at the same time.

Japan Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

Trains hearing dogs and service dogs to facilitate, at zero charge, the deaf and the physically disabled to participate in society. Chooses training dogs out of abandoned dogs or dogs without owners.

The donation is used to:

• Train and lease up to 4 hearing dogs including support for the users in Tokyo,
• Create promotional materials,
• Purchase computer equipment for Tokyo office,
• Enhance the Volunteer & Supporter Management System, and
• Organise 10 promotional events in Tokyo.

The expected impact is:

• Opportunity to train more new dogs and lease them to the people with hearing difficulties free of charge
• Providing better services to the existing hearing dog users by more efficient management of supporters and volunteers
• Wider and better promotion of hearing dogs in Japan
• Enhanced and strengthened activity base in Tokyo by improving the Tokyo office infrastructure

Kibo-no-Ie

Provides a home for children who have no parents or who do not have a safe place to live, due to abuse or other reasons. Supports these children to become self-reliant

The donation was used as follows:

• Financial support of the children living in Kibo-no-Ie to receive higher education
• Providing a yearly JPY500,000 support for four consecutive years to graduates from Kibono-Ie who are currently going to collage/university/vocational schools

The expected impact is to:

• Offer higher education to children from Kibo-no-Ie , and
• Motivate younger children to aim for higher education and follow the footsteps of others.

Nonohana-no-Ie

Operates an orphanage/childcare centre, which hosts a total of 46 local and foreign children. The home needs to install air-conditioners in some rooms, which currently do not have any, and to set up an additional kitchen as well.

The donation was used to:

• Renovate washrooms and other areas in the orphanage/child care center,a nd
• Install extra kitchen facilities and air conditioning in the bedrooms.

The expected impact is:

• Providing traumatized children with comfortable and safe housing in a family-like environment by providing smaller dining areas instead of a large dining room as well as separate bathrooms for boys and girls with hot water

Place Tokyo

Positive Living and Community Empowerment Tokyo

Aims to foster a community environment for people living with HIV/AIDS by providing direct support, educational activities on prevention, research and training

The donation was used as follows:.

• Project for Improving Organizational Environment – more efficient services by moving offices
• Project for Human Resource Development – strengthening HR Development and improving training programs to meet increasing demands
• Project for Creating Educational Materials – new materials expressing the reality of HIV/AIDS in order to appeal to a wider group of people.

The expected impact is:

• Increasing the living environment for people living with HIV/AIDS

The Tyler Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Supports Japanese children with cancer and their families. Innovative programs empower through education, counseling, activities and sibling support (in hospital and at our Shine On! House), and promote medical excellence.

The donation was used as follows:

Shine On! Therapy Dog Program

• Salary for nurse/handler
• Maintenance for Bailey, the therapy dog – vet, food, toys, etc.
• Bailey “goods” for patients – photo books, Bailey dolls, etc.

The expected impact is:

• Hiring and training a new clinical psychologist at the National Center for Child Health and Development to replace the psychologist moving to Osaka in April

The FIT For Charity Organising Committee thanks all the 2009 sponsors, supporters, donors, volunteers and participants for their help. Without them the above achievements and support of the chosen non-profit organisations wouldn’t have been possible.

• Florence
• Japan Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
• Kibo-no-Ie
• Nonohana-no-Ie
• Place Tokyo
• The Tyler Foundation for Childhood Cancer

We will be offering participants the chance to take part in the following events: 10km run, 4km fun run, 2km walk, 4×100m inter-company relay and kids sprint.

Those working in the financial industry or in financial-related sectors and their families and friends can participate in the event. Participation requires a firm to register and to manage applications from its employees.

Read more

http://www.j-wave.co.jp/blog/tokyounited_sys/together/

• The Big Issue Japan Foundation
• Carillon Children Center
• Center for Education and Support for Women
• Dialog in the Dark Japan
• Japan Transplant Support Association
• Meals on Wheels
• National Association of Crime Victims and Surviving Families
• Tsukuba Aijien Children’s Care Home
• Vivace
• Women’s Support Network “Saya-Saya”