We are pleased to announce our support of the Central California Nikkei Foundation (CCNF) in our first round of grants awarded this Fall, 2016. Our grant will be used for the purchase of a twelve passenger van for CCNF and the Vintage Gardens Assisted Living Community in Fresno.

The Central California Nikkei Foundation (CCNF) was formed in 1990 in response to a policy change by the national Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). The local chapter of the JACL had been operating the Nikkei Service Center (NSC), a nonprofit agency that provides activities and hot meals for seniors, but discontinued its formal involvement in order to focus on education & civil rights. The CCNF now supports the Nikkei Service Center in addition to the Vintage Gardens, which is a 78-unit assisted living community of predominantly Asian Americans (80%).

The new van will improve the transportation services for the Nikkei Service Center and Vintage Gardens. Currently the NSC’s Transportation & Hot Meals programs are served by a 2007 bus on contract from the Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission & supplemented with two ancient vans. Having a reliable form of transportation for the Nikkei Service Center will also enable CCNF to expand outreach to the many JA seniors in the rural communities such as Visalia, Dinuba, Reedley, Selma, Kingsburg & Madera.

The grant will also allow seniors of the Nikkei Service Center and the residents of Vintage Gardens an opportunity to travel to other parts of California. Previous outings have been to the Japanese American Museum of San Jose; annual oshogatsu shopping at Marukai; Umeya Rice Cracker Company & the historic Manzanar Internment Camp in Lone Pine, CA.

You can read more about CCNF and their programs on their website here.