On September 29, 2012, a group of 10 NYP volunteers helped the JCCCNC (Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California) staff its annual fundraiser, Looking Forward, Giving Back. With each ticket costing $175 a head, this event is the largest fundraiser for the center. Over 200 guests showed up, including Kristi Yamaguchi and Consul General Hiroshi Inomata, to enjoy an evening of good food, fun, and performances. Of course, all volunteers got in for free to enjoy the evening’s program.
The NYP group was divided into three duties–setup, food running, and bartending. Erika showed up early to help out with the event’s setup mainly to handle food, and three other individuals–Winna, Garrett, and Zeb–served guests food and drink during the actual event. The main concentration of NYP volunteers–Haruka, Atsushi, Justin, Kim, David, and Jenn–went into the bars, where they served guests water, soda, sake, shochu, and various mixed drinks. One of the bars was stationed in the auction room as a means to set people’s bidding spirits ablaze, while the other was in the main gym room. We worked with Robert Sakai, who provided all of the beverages for the evening.
Overall, we helped raise several hundred dollars in drink sales and tips. Drinks were priced as low as $3, and we poured generous amounts because people were already paying a lot to attend the event. We served all sorts of people, from the event attendees to the event runners and kitchen chefs. All volunteers had a great time, and some even managed to win prizes from drawings. Club Kobe Beefcake will definitely be back next year.