Category: Volunteer Program

A visitor shops at the Kokoro Craft Show.

See’s Some Holiday Cheer and Support Our Volunteers!

Helen Yoshida Leave a comment

Every fall, our volunteers host a See’s Candies fundraiser that supports the Kokoro Craft Show Committee and the volunteers’ activity fund. This fund helps pay for volunteer-led programs, including Together events and field trips to the Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles, the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, the Chinese American Museum, and a walking tour of Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo.

On January 5, 2025, JANM will begin renovating its Pavilion and launching JANM on the Go. During this time, the volunteers’ activity fund will be essential to keeping our volunteers connected to JANM and to one another.

Please share this fundraiser with your friends and family, and order some sweet gifts for the holidays! This fundraiser is open until Friday, December 6, 2024.

SHOP NOW
box of chocolates with a skiing reindeer on the lid

Please note that the price of See’s Candies online is the same as it is in stores. The Kokoro Committee and JANM will receive a percentage of each order. Your order will be delivered directly to your home or to the home of your family or friends.

If you need assistance with your orders, please call See’s Candies customer service at 877-599-7337 and mention that you are supporting the Kokoro Craft Show at JANM. Customer service is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. PT.

Volunteers walk in the Huntington.
Volunteers gather in front of the Shoya House at the Huntington.
Volunteers take a tour of the Shoya House at the Huntington.
Volunteers share a laugh at the Huntington.
Volunteers take a walking tour of Little Tokyo.
Little Tokyo fire tower.

Image Gallery: JANM volunteers take a field trip to the Shoya House at the Huntington. Mike Okamura, a JANM volunteer and the president of the Little Tokyo Historical Society, leads volunteers on a walking tour of Little Tokyo (photos by Tomoko Takasugi).

A live taiko performance at the Kokoro Craft Show.
Visitors waiting in line to enter the Kokoro Craft Show.
Kimono fabric bags at the Kokoro Craft Show.
A Kokoro Craft Show vendor.
Pottery at the Kokoro Craft Show.

Image Gallery: Shoppers enjoy the Kokoro Craft Show and a performance from Bombu Taiko. Photos by Ben Furuta.

Image Gallery: JANM volunteers enjoy Together events at the Museum (photos by Joe Akira and Ben Furuta) as well as a field trip to the Chinese American Museum followed by lunch in nearby Olvera Street.

Taiko members making mochitsuki.

Got Photography Skills? Volunteer with Us!

Helen Yoshida Leave a comment

Do you love capturing the world in unique and creative ways? Do you have a passion and talent for photography? If you have your own equipment and are available on weekends and evenings, we’d love to hear from you!

We’re expanding our crew of volunteer photographers to capture our exhibitions, public programs, and more at JANM. Volunteer photographers work with the Marketing and Communications department to shoot photographs that document and illustrate JANM’s events, initiatives, and mission to promote the understanding and appreciation of America’s diversity through the Japanese American experience.

Volunteers’ photographs are featured on our website and blog; highlighted in institutional reports, presentations, and outreach materials; used across social media; and archived at JANM. Their work conveys the powerful stories of the Museum and its mission to the public on a global stage.

Come join us and be part of an active network of volunteers!

JANM Volunteer Richard Watanabe captures the excitement of mochitsuki at the 2024 Oshogatsu Family Festival. Photo by Doug Mukai.

JANM Volunteer Nobuyuki Okada snaps photographs of visitors stamping the Ireichō. Photo by Doug Mukai.

Volunteer Opportunity: Photography

Reports to: Marketing and Communications

We’re looking for photographers who:

  • Have experience photographing events, exhibitions, people, and/or buildings at a quality level
  • Own photography equipment and a computer
  • Can select, edit, and digitally transfer photographs
  • Can attend at least one on-site event a month, usually on weekends or evenings
  • Are comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with visitors, staff, and volunteers
  • Have keen visual and compositional judgment
  • Are professional and flexible in meeting needs and circumstances of events
  • Can be appropriately dressed for the occasion
  • Can communicate with staff about their schedule in advance

Physical demands include:

  • Standing (10%)
  • Walking, including stairs (80%)
  • Sitting (10%)
  • Lifting (up to 5 pounds)

Sound like you? Submit your volunteer program application! Once we receive your application we will schedule a phone call with you to discuss volunteering at JANM and request a sample of 3–5 photographs.