Sunshine Club

History

Year	Info
2003	Helene J. Uchida starts teaching English to oncologists at Kyushu Cancer Center and becomes interested in teaching English as a volunteer after hearing one student, a pediatric oncologist, talk about his young patients.
2004	Uchida starts volunteering in the pediatric ward of Kyushu Cancer Center with the help of Brooke Jones, an Australian high school exchange student attending Kyushu Girl’s High School. Uchida continues to volunteer and initiates a Christmas party for children. She is accompanied by fellow volunteer, Brooke Jones, and by Kyushu University International students (Santa, who hands out presents, and a violinist, who performs for the children). She christens her volunteer activity as “The Sunshine Club” because she wants her visits to bring sunshine to the children; she wants them to forget that they are sick during her visits.
2005	Volunteer activities continue and Uchida asks American companies (Hero Arts, Carson Dellosa, Scholastic) for Christmas donations. Visits hospital Christmas with Santa (a Little America teacher) and brings many gifts for the children and adult patients.
2006	Volunteering continues and more companies donate (Costco Japan, TOMY, Oxford University Press, Pearson Education, RIC Publications, Iwasaki Shoten). Uchida solicits the help of her university students, neighbors and Little America mothers to help sort and wrap presents. Visits the hospital with Santa and three helpers to hand out the presents. Uchida’s Daily Yomiuri “Primary Advice” column (June issue) describes the pleasure or teaching English at Kyushu Cancer Center and ignites interest in many readers nationwide.
2007	Volunteer activities expand with the recruit of Graham Cattermole (from England) to help share the teaching English load and Japanese volunteers to do picture book reading. Again, volunteers gather to sort and wrap the presents. Christmas donations increase to include presents from MacMillan Language House, Mattel, and Benetton. Because of the increase in donations, The Sunshine Club is able to make a Christmas visit to the pediatric ward of Kyushu University Hospital and give presents to about 90 patients there.
2008	A team of three volunteers visits Kyushu Cancer Center each month: Helene J. Uchida, Graeme Cattermole & Hidemi Nishi. Volunteers for wrapping have become a tradition as are the visits with Santa and his helpers to Kyushu Cancer Center and Kyudai Hospital.
2009	Volunteering continues. In September, Helene J. Uchida is awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for her six years of volunteer work from Dr. Takeshi Okamura, the Director of Kyushu Cancer Center. In December, the president of Costco Japan, Ken Theriault, gives a 500,000 yen donation to Kyushu Cancer Center for in support for the children’s spring camp project. Compass Publishing and UIQLO join our expanding list of gift-donors for the Christmas visit. Volunteer wrappers gather for organizing the presents, and Santa and his helpers visit Kyushu Cancer Center and Kyudai Hospital to spread good will and cheer. The Sunshine Club has become a catalyst in creating support for children in hospitals in Fukuoka. Uchida tries to encourage TEMI teachers to do the same in their communities.
2010	All activities continue. The Sunshine Club expands its English classes program to Kyudai Hospital with the help of Kyudai University’s international graduate students, CIRs from Fukuoka Prefecture and non Japanese in the community. The Sunshine Club meets with the president of Children’s Hospital and agrees to visit the children with Santa in December and starts teaching English to elementary, junior high and high school students in May, 2010.








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