Let's Talk Story Club

LOS ANGELES – The Let’s Talk Story Club, a nonprofit dedicated to helping seniors of Japanese ancestry combat loneliness and cognitive decline by preserving their life stories, presented a $1,000 check to the Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC). The donation, made at the GFBNEC’s downtown museum, will support the organization’s ongoing mission to educate the public on the valor of Japanese American soldiers of WWII and their contributions to democracy.

“The Nisei soldiers’ stories of selfless sacrifice inspired us to find ways to keep the important stories of our older generation alive,” said Audrey Shiono, Co-founder and President, The Let’s Talk Story Club. “Our nonprofit pairs youth volunteers with seniors to share and preserve their memories in life story books. In Hawaii, we call it ‘talk story’—and through this tradition, we are building intergenerational bonds.”

“On behalf of the Go For Broke National Education Center, I would like to thank you for your generous gift,” said Mitchell T. Maki, President and CEO of GFBNEC. “Your contribution makes it possible for us to continue our mission to educate and inspire new generations to embody the Nisei veterans’ core values of courage, sacrifice, equality, humility and patriotism.”

To raise the donation, The Let’s Talk Story Club hosted its first book sale on September 29 at Project Kokoro’s Kazoku-No-Hi “Ohana” Family Day held at the Orange County Buddhist Church. The nonprofit also holds free community workshops where families and volunteers spend an afternoon “talking story” with seniors and preserving their memories in life story books. Additionally, A.P. Japanese class students from South High School in Torrance, Calif., volunteer to create memory books with seniors as part of their coursework.

The Let’s Talk Story book is available for purchase on the Go For Broke National Education Center’s online store for $25.00. The book includes culturally specific questions and prompts to evoke recollections from seniors of Japanese ancestry and is beautifully illustrated by the late Nisei WWII veteran and artist Ben Suechika. 100% of profits are donated back to GFBNEC to support their mission to educate and inspire character and equality through the virtue and valor of our World War II American veterans of Japanese ancestry.

###

On September 29, The Let’s Talk Story Club hosted a successful book sale at the Orange County Buddhist Church’s Kazoku-No-Hi “Ohana” Family Day. It was wonderful to see so many families who are part of the Japanese American community come out for this special event.

I had the pleasure of delivering the kickoff presentation, sharing about our mission to support seniors of Japanese ancestry. It was especially nice to meet leaders from other nonprofit organizations serving the Japanese American community including Keiro, Little Tokyo Service Center, Kizuna and Zentoku Foundation. Thank you to Diana Ono for inviting us to this special event. And thank you to our Let’s Talk Story Club volunteers Kara Niho, Maddy Nguyen, and Kari Kuriyama. 

By: Audrey Shiono

We were so honored when Let’s Talk Story Club was invited to attend the Go For Broke National Education Center’s 23rd Annual Evening of Aloha Gala! The event took place on September 14 at the beautiful Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, and it was such an incredible experience to be part of. The theme, Living the Nisei Veteran’s Dream, paid tribute to the heroic legacy of Japanese American soldiers who served during World War II.

It was inspiring to see so many notable guests gathered to support this important cause. ABC7 News Anchor David Ono was the host, and Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama, the lead actor from the Hamilton national tour, moved the audience with her rendition of the National Anthem and a beautiful performance of “The Impossible Dream.” The dinner was amazing, prepared by the famous Chef Roy Yamaguchi and King’s Hawaiian Bakery.

One of the most memorable parts of the evening was the roll call of veterans. We were so lucky to see members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team: Tokuji “Toke” Yoshihashi, Hachiro “Hutch” Mayewaki, and Yoshio “Yosh” Nakamura, as well as Cadet Nurse Mary Tamura. Hearing their names called and seeing them honored made the evening even more meaningful.

A huge thank you to Dr. Mitchell Maki, President of the GFBNEC, for giving Let’s Talk Story this opportunity. And we are beyond grateful to Apryll Nakamura, whose support for our club has been incredible—she even donated a digital advertisement to help spread the word about our work! This experience was one we will never forget, and we are so grateful to have been a part of it.

Throughout the summer, students from the AP Japanese class at South High School in Torrance, California volunteered with the Let’s Talk Story Club.

As part of their coursework, they practiced their Japanese language skills by completing Let’s Talk Story books with their grandparents (of Japanese ancestry). Here’s what the students said about their experiences:

“We were excited to learn that our grandpa played football, while our grandma was a varsity cheerleader.”

“My grandpa just kept talking and talking.”

Overall, our volunteers were truly able to “see” the cognitive benefits of the Let’s Talk Story sessions. 

The Let’s Talk Story Club is excited to be a part of Orange County Buddhist Church’s Kazoku-No-Hi Family Day on September 29th. The event will take place from 12 to 3 p.m. in the OCBC gym. Our book will be available for purchase there, and 100% of the profits will go to Go For Broke National Education Center. We hope to see you there!

By: Taisho and Audrey

Dear Ben, 

We first saw your paintings of the beaches of Maui and Mount Fuji at the Go-For-Broke National Education Center. We knew they’d be perfect for our memory book illustrations.

Then we visited you at your senior home to present the book and document your own life story. We’ll never forget your tales fighting for the U.S. against Japan–your mother country–while your family was incarcerated at an internment camp. It struck us: some stories must never be forgotten. You validated that all the work to create our nonprofit was worth it.

Because of you, over 250 more seniors’ fascinating stories have now been documented. We’ve received thank-yous from volunteers across California, Hawaii, Japan and Mexico. We were even on Good Day LA news!

We will continue to preserve life stories like yours. We want to thank you. You’ve taught us that stories give us a sense of identity, connect us to our roots, and deepen our perspectives on past injustices. 

Your friends, 

Taisho and Audrey

Today, we held our first community event, a Senior Memory Collection Workshop with the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (JCI). Families and volunteers spent a wonderful afternoon “talking story” with seniors of Japanese ancestry, and preserving their stories in memory books. 

With live Hawaiian music and ono snacks generously donated from local restaurants, the room soon became filled with the sounds of storytelling: bright laughter, solemn reminiscing, and wise words echoed everywhere. Student volunteers from South High School’s AP Japanese class even got to practice their language skills with the seniors.

72-year-old Mr. Sakata attended the workshop with his young granddaughter. As a child, he explained, he hated eating shrimp. At this, the granddaughter laughed and exclaimed, “Grandpa, I hate shrimp too!” They quickly discovered their likes and dislikes run in the family!

Overall, we were excited to see the local community come together to provide companionship and social interaction with the elderly. This experience opened my eyes to the potential of the Let’s Talk Story Club to impact more seniors communities in the future.

The Let’s Talk Story Club is so excited to partner with the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute for a Senior Memory Collection Workshop on January 13, from 2 – 5 p.m.

Two of our volunteers, siblings Avery and Lucas, filled out a Let’s Talk Story book with their grandmother. The experience allowed them to not only learn more about her, but it also helped them realize their own opportunities in life.

After completing the book, Avery said, “I realized how different it was for her growing up and how grateful I am for what I have.” Her brother Lucas also expressed similar gratitude for their grandmother and said, “Getting to know more about my grandma and her experiences made me realize how fortunate I am.”

A Let’s Talk Story book is a great way to get to know a senior while also finding more out about yourself.

This weekend, we were invited to speak at the Go For Broke National Education Center’s (GFBNEC) Fall Luncheon about Let’s Talk Story and our mission. We are incredibly thankful for the opportunity to share the Let’s Talk Story book with many GFBNEC members whose own families served on the 442nd Regimental Combat Team or the U.S. Military Intelligence Service.

At the luncheon, we were fortunate to meet two of the veterans themselves.

Yosh Nakamura, 442nd Regimental Combat Team veteran and Gila River Internment Camp survivor.

Tokuji Yoshihashi, 100th Infantry Battalion and Gila River Internment Camp survivor.

We want to give a special thank you to Mitchell Maki, president of GFBNEC, for inviting us to this event.