Kayla Watanabe
The Pacific Citizen’s Spring Campaign is officially in full swing! As a P.C. editorial board member, I’m here to encourage you to give to our annual fundraising efforts.
First, a little about myself. I was born and raised in Utah, and I recently graduated from Utah State University. My family has been involved with JACL ever since I can remember, and in recent years, I’ve expanded my personal involvement thanks to the leadership opportunities my district and local chapter have extended to me.
I joined the P.C. Editorial Board last year and have enjoyed getting to know my fellow board members and the amazing staff here at the P.C. In addition, I’ve also caught a glimpse of the challenges our newspaper faces because of the financial hardships of this organization.
The P.C. is an integral part of who we are as a Japanese American community. It truly shares our stories, promotes our businesses and connects us in a way that isn’t easily replicated. Not only does the P.C. need to stay — it needs to grow!
Here’s a personal anecdote to emphasize why the P.C. is important to me.
In Salt Lake City, our already-condensed Japan Town is being encroached on further by surrounding development projects. This threatens the vitality of many long-standing community events such as the Buddhist Temple’s Obon Festival, the Japanese Church of Christ’s Aki Matsuri Festival and Utah’s annual Nihon Matsuri Festival.
Although these series of development events have rattled our local JA community, it has hardly been felt by the community at large. Why? Because people don’t know about it. The hard truth is that often times, the only people who tell our stories are us.
Today’s world is swirling with a vast influx of news and information. With so much going on, our presence as a JA community is crucial, now more than ever.
We need the Pacific Citizen because it amplifies our visibility as a unified community.
So, here’s my call to action: Support our community and support the growth of the P.C. by giving today. Please donate by using the coupon printed at the bottom of this page or else visit the P.C.’s website (pacificcitizen.org) to give through the site. You can even call the P.C. and a staff person will help you directly. Every bit helps — from maintaining the printed paper, office equipment, software, archives and much more. Give to not only sustain our beloved newspaper but also ensure that the value of our voices and presence aren’t forgotten. Our history — yesterday, today and tomorrow — is our legacy.
Best,
Kayla Watanabe, P.C. editorial board m,ember, IDC
