Report on Christmas Donations for 2017 Academic Year with Grateful Acknowledgement

Christmas donations for the 2017 academic year at Meiji Gakuin University amounted to 228,986 yen.
The donations were delivered to Christian schools and welfare facility organizations that Meiji Gakuin students, faculty, and alumni are involved with.

■ Kobokan Community Center in Sumida-ku, Tokyo
This is a social welfare corporation that engages mainly in assistance with child-rearing, operation of clubs for schoolchildren, providing social fostering and assistance in becoming independent for children who are unable to live with their families, and furthering exchanges between different generations, with a foundation in the Christian spirit.

■ Yokosuka Christian Community Center in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture
This is an organization founded in the Christian spirit that engages in community welfare projects of all kinds on the basic principles of "a society where children can be born and reared with a sense of security," "a society in which differences are accepted and people help each other," "a society that takes joy in achieving old age," and "a society that everyone participates in and creates together."

■ Kyofukai Japan Christian Women's Organization in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Since this organization was established in 1886, it has pursued its declared goals of protecting the rights of women and children and contributing to their welfare based on the Christian spirit.
The organization provides a place and opportunities for acting through women's rights programs to realize a society in which every individual is valued. Through women's welfare programs, it also works to assist women and children who have been overlooked by Japan's legislative system and social structures.

■ Asian Rural Institute in Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture
Founded in 1973, the Asian Rural Institute is a Christian training center that invites agricultural leaders from farming communities in Asian, African, and Pacific countries and provides agricultural training to people who are leaders with roots in their communities and who do agricultural work with the people there. The center practices organic agriculture, largely achieving self-sufficiency in food, and pursues a way of life that gives thought to sustainability and the environment. The work-camp program sponsored by the Christian Activities Office in the 2016–2017 academic year was held at the Asian Rural Institute.
We offer this report in deep gratitude for your heartfelt donations.

Professor Shinichi Oka, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, and Director, Christian Activities Office, Meiji Gakuin University
February 2018