10/04 – 12/06: UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center is pleased to announce that the 2024-2025 Aratani CARE Award applications will be accepted between Friday, October 4 and Friday, December 6, 2024, 5 pm.

Awards will be announced in January 2025.  Information about the funding and how to apply is available at the Aratani CARE web site: http://www.aratanicare.org/

The George and Sakaye Aratani “Community Advancement Research Endowment” or Aratani CARE Awards are given to projects that will benefit and advance the Japanese American community.  Projects that strengthen ties between the Japanese American community and UCLA students, staff, and faculty will receive particular consideration.  Award recipients must list and acknowledge UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center and the George and Sakaye Aratani CARE Award as co-sponsors on all PR and programs.

Non-profit organizations and qualified individuals are invited to apply for awards that generally range from, but are not limited to, $1,000 to $5,000.  Recent past awardees include:

1. Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute, “Day of Remembrance 2024 – Terminal Island: Lost But Not Forgotten” program.
2. Aiko Dzikowski, “Japanese American Princess: A Linguistic Anthropological Approach to Race, Gender, and Transnationalism within the Nikkei Community,” a research project.
3. East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center, “Camp Chibikko – Youth Cultural Camps” to offer Japanese cultural learning opportunities.
4. Greater Los Angeles JACL, “Southern California Intercollegiate Nikkei Council’s Nikkei Professionals” event for Japanese American students looking to enter the workforce.
5. The Japanese American Association of New York, “Japanese American Experience during World War II in New York and the Upper East Coast” project to conduct research for a digital exhibition.
6. Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, “DŌ (THE WAY): Traditional Japanese Arts for Young Adults” program to teach ikebana, tea ceremony, calligraphy, and origami.
7. Japanese American Museum of San Jose, Nihongo Team, “The Ono Letters Project – Letters from the Incarceration Camps” will transcribe and translate WWII letters exchanged by two brothers.
8. Sachiko and Dom Magwili, book and lyrics, and Dan Taguchi, composer, “One Puka Puka Christmas,” a holiday musical show about three JA soldiers during World War II.
9. Nichi Bei Foundation, “Nikkei Angel Island Pilgrimage” to rediscover the nearly forgotten legacy of the Japanese American experience at the Angel Island Immigration Station, on October 5, 2024.
10. Preserve Orange County, “Nomination of Historic Wintersburg to National Register,” to designate it as a site of historical importance in Orange County.
11. Janice D. Tanaka, “June Okida Kuramoto Legacy Event” to celebrate the life and career of the renowned koto player and teacher through a multimedia program at JANM’s Democracy Center.
12. Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition, “Only the Oaks Remain – World War II Tuna Canyon Detention Station” book project about the internment of Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants.
13. UCLA Kyodo Taiko, “UCLA Kyodo Taiko 25^th Annual Spring Concert,” a campus event open to all who are interested in exploring Japanese American culture through the art of Japanese drumming.
14. UCLA Nikkei Student Union, “Nikkei Student Union’s 38^th Annual Cultural Night,” a production that explores JA social and cultural themes through drama, odori, taiko, and modern dance.
15. Visual Communications LLC, “Tule Lake Segregation Center and Renunciation” screening of Sharon Yamato’s documentary about civil rights attorney Wayne Collins and symposium at JANM.
16. Visual Communications Media, “Stand Up for Justice: A Legacy of Friendship,” a screening and discussion program in Los Angeles to honor John Esaki’s 2004 film about Ralph Lazo.
17. William Way LGBT Community Center, “KIYOSHI,” a documentary that anchors a project about Philadelphia-based JA author, civil rights, anti-war, gay liberation, and HIV/AIDS activist Kiyoshi Kuromiya.
18. World War II Camp Wall, “WWII Camp Wall Educational Display Panel Design” to accompany the national monument in Torrance, CA.

Specific questions about the Aratani CARE Award that are not covered on the web site may be sent to the Aratani CARE Team’s e-mail address: <aratanicare@aasc.ucla.edu>