JCYC Alumni Spotlight

Grace Horikiri recalls how San Francisco’s Japantown gave her the opportunity to be part of the Japanese American community from an early age. Growing up, the San Francisco native attended Morning Star School and Kinmon Gakuen (Golden Gate Japanese School) along with the other Japanese American Bay Area youth. The Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC) was a huge part of Grace’s adolescent life. It was and still is a place close to her heart and where she has made many life-long friends.

Participating as a JCYC daycamper and as a counselor years later, taking part in teen group activities, as well as being an early participant of the Mayor's Office of Employment & Training for Youths, and serving as a previous JCYC board member, have all shaped Grace to be the person she is today. JCYC was not only a social hang out place but a vital training ground for what she would do in the future.

Grace’s mentors (Jeff Mori, Michelle Hamada and Laura Uyeda among others) opened her eyes to what it means to give back to the community and how the youths can partake in its future. JCYC introduced Grace to other wonderful people and organizations, and gave her yet another opportunity to volunteer and be active. For example, Steve Nakajo, Dave Ishida, skins of early Kimochi years when the nutrition program was housed at Konko Church, was a great learning experience. Grant Tomioka, Boku Kodama, Tim Yoshida all of whom were active in the Committee Against Nihonmachi Evictions (CANE) was another. And even though Grace was a bit young to fully understand, she and her peers marched alongside their big brothers and sisters, in awe of them who were speaking out on behalf of their community.

What Grace is most proud of is how her Japantown friends (her soul brothers and sisters) are still involved in the community. Linda Ishii, Richard Jue (Jue Bop), Richie (Hash) Hashimoto, Johnny Nagano, Jane Hashimoto, Candace Kika and Chris Hirano have continued to support the community as well as the larger Asian/Pacific communities. Also the daycamp children who were under Grace’s care in the summer have all grown up to be wonderful individuals who actively participate in the Japantown community (Emily Murase, Keith Onishi, Grace Fujimoto, Todd Nakagawa to name a few). During that time, Jon Osaki was also a daycamp participant and to see him now lead JCYC as Executive Director is something which makes Grace feel very proud.

Today, Grace is the president of the Nihonmachi Street Fair (NSF), an annual event put together by a group of volunteers comprised of Asian activists along with their community-minded family and friends, to bring together Asian artisans, local musical/cultural performers and together celebrate Asian cultures, but more importantly share and educate others about diversity.

Grace pulls from her experiences at JCYC to encourage people of all-ages to volunteer and be active in their communities. Her hope is that as Steve Nakajo, Ron and Kenny Kanzaki have passed down the torch to her and Pat Fong to lead the NSF, they can keep that flame burning and hand it safely to the next generation.

If you are a former participant of any JCYC program, we would love to hear from you! Please contact Sakura Suzuki at (415) 202-7910 or send an email to ssuzuki@jcyc.org. Please also visit the Alumni section of JCYC’s website to let us know where you are and what you have been up to

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