Background

• According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, an estimated 30,000 children and young adults reside in approximately 600 social welfare facilities across the country.
• Most are in care due to parental problems such as neglect. It is estimated that 60-90% of children living in homes were subject to abuse by a parent or adult before entering the welfare system.
• With many facility residents suffering from issues related to low self-esteem, only a few are in tertiary education: 20-30%, against the national average of 70-80%. Disparity among facilities also exists and some children’s homes have never produced college graduates. The low rate of higher education leads to a vicious cycle of poverty and social disadvantage.
• 10-20% of children entering welfare facilities have a parent with foreign nationality or refugee status. Some children do not have Japanese nationality or residence registration, which complicates their situation and contributes to a sense of displacement in Japanese society.
• The rate of children with developmental problems is also increasing, which requires more time and professional skills from the already limited number of staff at care homes.

Project Partner

The Books For Smiles project is run by the BCCJ in partnership with NPO Bridge for Smile (http://www.b4s.jp/en/), a National Tax Agengy certified not-for-profit organisation, which teaches care-leavers how to build social skills, manage a budget, find accommodation and get a job.

NPO Bridge for Smile channels the BCCJ’s donations to young adults who have been identified as having high motivation to enter further education and / or employment, and ensures that all donations are being used effectively. Keiko Hayashi founder of NPO Bridge for Smile says: “Books for Smiles donations enable us to focus not solely on fundraising, but prioritise our core mission: supporting those leaving care to establish independent living and working arrangements”.

Books For Smiles recipients across Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, as well as Iwate and Fukushima in the Tohoku region – are expected to become trailblazers for other children at their homes who have limited access to adult role models.

BCCJ Books For Smiles project のパートナー　「NPO認定法人ブリッジフォースマイル」について　http://www.b4s.jp/

ブックフォースマイル の仕組みについて http://www.bookforsmile.jp/

BCCJ Books For Smiles project の収益金は全て　「カナエールプログラム」（奨学金支援プログラム）に寄付されます。ＮＰＯ認定法人ブリッジフォースマイル の行っているプログラムひとつカナエールプログラムについて　http://www.canayell.jp/

How does it work?

Cash raised from the sale of books donated by BCCJ member firms and supporters helps disadvantaged youngsters into vocational training so that they can gain a professional certificate, increasing their chances of securing employment and becoming economically independent. For example, for JPY600,000 support could be given to help a student attend nursing school for one year; tuition for a three-year diploma course costs JPY1.8m. One of the Books For Smiles recipients says, “Thanks to the donations, I do not have to work part-time all night anymore and can now go back home and study early.”

Since Books For Smiles began at the end of 2012, more than 50 BCCJ member companies and individuals have pledged support. Companies have also contributed resourceful ideas and boosted the project by: matching book donations with cash from employees, hosting fundraising events (party, book rally at a restaurant / gallery exhibition and walkathon), and donating gift vouchers that have been dormant in companies for a while.

The bigger picture

Japanese society – aging rapidly and with an unprecedentedly low birth rate – is facing a shrinking domestic labour force; a problem that to a large extent is shared by the UK. It is more and more difficult to find young labour, and yet a significant number of young adults in Japan are not engaged as productive members of the community – largely because of the treatment they have experienced at an early stage of their lives.

As an active and engaged part of the community in Japan, the BCCJ believes it is mutually beneficial to support those disadvantaged youths and support their development in becoming productive members of society.

By involving as many BCCJ member firms and supporters as possible – especially those with limited access to social responsibility opportunities – Books For Smiles leverages our networks to reinforce the position of British business as stable and committed partner to the local community in Japan.

Thank you very much in advance for your support.

Taking part in the programme is simple!

Please go to the Charibon website (information/contact in Japanese only)

Because of COVID-19, they’ve stopped accepting Email requests.

集荷依頼はCharibon からお願いします。（日本語のみ）

新型コロナウイルスのためメールや電話での集荷依頼は受け付けておりません。

With over 50 organisations – including the British Embassy – having completed a book collection, we can confirm that we are now able to cover tuition fees for multiple care-leavers throughout the Tokyo region. And, the project has recently expanded to include care-leavers living in welfare facilities affected by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake.

***KEEP ON GIVING!***

For approximately JPY1.8m, a care-leaver can complete his / her studies over three years and obtain a certificate for employment.

The more donations we receive, the more care-leavers we can support . . .

Can you or your company donate books to help support care-leavers into vocational training and jobs?  Email [email protected]

Thank you VERY much to everyone who has supported and who continues to support this very impactful, multi-stakeholder initiative.

Special thanks

In line with its mission to help people make progress through learning, Pearson has generously donated over 200,000 books to the Books for Smiles initiative. This donation will generate JPY6.5m in funding, helping to support 4 care-leavers into vocational training and to receive a diploma that will enable them to enter the work-force after 3-4 years of education. DHL Supply Chain generously provided logistics support for this project.

Special thanks must also go to: Unilever Japan for kindly hosting “Drinks Night for Books for Smiles in June 2013; to Oakwood and Regus for consistently collecting books from guests and tenants at locations throughout Tokyo; to BT Japan for generously donating their CEO’s speech honorarium; and The British School in Tokyo for involving students, parents and staff in the project.

Grand Hyatt Tokyo holds an internship program for high school students from children’s homes and provides an environment in which they are immersed in their hotel business. This serves as a great opportunity for in-care children usually with limited access to the society outside of their schools and children’s homes (see thank you notes from an intern to GHT at the bottom of this page).