Last weekend I joined Rob Mangold and his IDRO crew on a relief trip to Kameoka, which was hit hard by the last typhoon to sweep through Kansai. After linking up with some regular volunteers at Kameoka's Volunteer Center, we drove out into golden fields where a landslide caused by heavy rain had filled up the drainage ditches. Our job was to dig them out. Here are some pictures … [Read more...]
IDRO JAPAN SALE – FINAL REPORT & THANKS!
Though we didn't quite get the crowds we had hoped for last weekend, we still managed to make a fair bit of money to help IDRO Japan continue its good work in northern Japan. Our combined takings for two days was 156,561 yen but we had a lot of stuff left over, some of which we took to a used clothing store and some to Bookoff. After Bookoff's contribution our current total … [Read more...]
TODAY’S SALE FOR IDRO JAPAN – FINAL FINAL UPDATE!
Important news: WE ARE NOT TAKING ANY MORE DONATED GOODS We received a lot of goods yesterday and it has become obvious we are not going to be able to sell it all by the end of today. This is our final sale, so unfortunately any goods brought to us today will be respectfully (and apologetically) declined. Today we are open from 10 ~ 3. Today all clothes, shoes, … [Read more...]
IDRO JAPAN GOLDEN WEEK CHARITY SALE – FINAL UPDATE!
Some people are still under the impression that our sale this weekend is in the same location as last year. Let me make this clear... IT'S NOT THE SAME PLACE!! Here again are the directions in case you didn't catch them in earlier postings: … [Read more...]
Ten Days in Tohoku
As regular readers will remember, in early March I spent ten days up in Miyagi prefecture volunteering with IDRO JAPAN. As the charity sale for IDRO approaches, I think it's time I finally sat down and wrote about the work I took part in up there, and put down some thoughts about my experiences. So here goes... The Importance of Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone First off, … [Read more...]
Thank You!
Thank you to all the good Kyoto people who have helped us promote our charity sale for Tohoku! Hover your cursor over each picture to see who they are... IDRO Japan's Golden Week Charity Sale for Tohoku will be held on the 5th & 6th of May near Demachiyanagi Station - check the links below for more information: Facebook event page: … [Read more...]
IDRO JAPAN GOLDEN WEEK CHARITY SALE – UPDATE!
So, we have a flyer! Isn't it gorgeous? Just click on it for a better view. Many thanks to Yutaka for designing this. If anyone should like to help distribute it :), in either colour or black & white just send me your email address and I can send you the pdfs. There's just over a week to go now of course so we need to get the word out quick! I can also confirm the … [Read more...]
イドロジャパン、ゴールデンウィークのチャリティーセールに!! よろしゅう、おこしやす!!
Click here for the English. シーラ・キャンベルとキャロライン・ライトとマイケルが今年も！ ゴールデンウィークにIDROJapanのチャリティーセールを開催いたします。 日時 5月5日（土）– 11:00 – 21:00 日時 5月6日（日）– 10:00 – 15:00 場所: 出町柳駅から歩いて５分の、 左京西部いきいき市民活動センター の会議室３。出町柳駅５番出口からの行き方地図はここ map をクリックしてください。 去年は、皆さんのおかげで、東日本震災支援のために、総額237.630円の基金を募ることができました。 今年もよろしくお願いします！ 売っているのは – 中古の… … [Read more...]
IDRO JAPAN GOLDEN WEEK CHARITY SALE!
日本語はこちら。 Put this one into your diaries, folks! Together with the lovely ladies, Sheila Campbell & Carolyn Wright, I will be hosting another charity sale for IDRO JAPAN* during the Golden Week weekend! Saturday May 5th - 11:00 - 21:00 Sunday May 6th - 10:00 - 15:00 Location: Five minutes from Demachiyanagi Station in Room 3 of the 左京西部いきいき市民活動センター (Sakyou Nishibu … [Read more...]
IDRO Japan Update – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Last night I sat in on a board meeting of IDRO Japan; our home-grown disaster relief champions. There were a number of items on the agenda, but the chief one was the up-coming three-week trip to Tohoku and the eight (Yes! EIGHT!!) different building and renovation projects IDRO Japan will be involved in. These include working on 3 remodels, a workshop, the Ibuki Project, and … [Read more...]
An Interview with Rob Mangold, the Founder of IDRO JAPAN
I arrived in Ishinomaki about 1pm yesterday. A lot has changed in the last two months. The city seems to be very busy, the area around the train station still has a lot of shuttered shops, but energy is high. Only a couple of quick stops before heading out to the peninsula. On the 21st of this month a temporary store opened on the Ogatsu peninsula. The first time people have … [Read more...]
IDRO JAPAN Interview Teaser in Kyoto Visitor’s Guide
This month's Kyoto Visitor's Guide contains a brief synopsis of my interview with Rob Mangold, the founder, organizer, and chief motivator behind local disaster relief organization IDRO JAPAN. Two months ago Rob and I sat down over beers and had a very long chat about life, Tohoku and everything. His story of how IDRO got started, how much they have achieved so far, and where … [Read more...]
The Last September Sale
We held our last September sale for IDRO Japan last Saturday. Many thanks to Mewby and Carolyn Wright, to Dylan Luers for handing out fliers, and to all who came and bought and made donations. Thanks also to Kurochiku for giving us temporary use of the space and letting us store our goods there for the time being. On the down side, the weather was against us again and turn out … [Read more...]
IDRO JAPAN’S LAST SEPTEMBER SALE – EVERYTHING MUST GO!!!
A big THANK YOU to all those who helped out last Saturday. Especially, Michael Chan and Mika Fukumitsu for handing out fliers in the blazing heat, and also to the mystery triathlete who slipped 10,000 in the donations box when I wasn't looking! Our final takings were 28,900 yen, an improvement on the previous week's 9,300, but obviously we hope to make much more than that. This … [Read more...]
