{"id":258662,"date":"2024-08-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=258662"},"modified":"2024-08-19T07:20:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T07:20:02","slug":"38th-ada-volunteers-bond-with-residents-at-japanese-childrens-home-with-ice-cream-social","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=258662","title":{"rendered":"38th ADA volunteers bond with residents at Japanese children\u2019s home with ice cream social"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Soldiers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade serve ice cream to Sagamihara Minami Children\u2019s Home residents during an exchange event in Sagamihara, Japan, Aug. 14, 2024. The outreach event allowed the Soldiers to help the residents beat the summer heat while providing them an opportunity to interact with each other.
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\n Soldiers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade serve ice cream to Sagamihara Minami Children\u2019s Home residents during an exchange event in Sagamihara, Japan, Aug. 14, 2024. The outreach event allowed the Soldiers to help the residents beat the summer heat while providing them an opportunity to interact with each other.
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\n Staff Sgt. Brian Hanson, left, assigned to the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, helps add sprinkles to a cup of ice cream belonging to a resident at the Sagamihara Minami Children\u2019s Home during an exchange event in Sagamihara, Japan, Aug. 14, 2024. The outreach event allowed the Soldiers to help the residents beat the summer heat while providing them an opportunity to interact with each other.
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\n Soldiers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade serve ice cream to Sagamihara Minami Children\u2019s Home residents during an exchange event in Sagamihara, Japan, Aug. 14, 2024. The outreach event allowed the Soldiers to help the residents beat the summer heat while providing them an opportunity to interact with each other.
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\n Soldiers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade serve ice cream to Sagamihara Minami Children\u2019s Home residents during an exchange event in Sagamihara, Japan, Aug. 14, 2024. The outreach event allowed the Soldiers to help the residents beat the summer heat while providing them an opportunity to interact with each other.
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\n Priscilla Homan, right, a Sexual Harassment\/Assault Response and Prevention victim advocate for the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, plays tic-tac-toe with Sagamihara Minami Children\u2019s Home residents during an exchange event in Sagamihara, Japan, Aug. 14, 2024. The outreach event allowed the Soldiers to help the residents beat the summer heat while providing them an opportunity to interact with each other.
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SAGAMIHARA, Japan \u2013 More than a dozen Soldiers held an ice cream social at a local children\u2019s home here Wednesday to help residents beat the summer heat while providing them an opportunity to interact with each other.<\/p>\n

The event had volunteers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade serve about 30 children with cups of a variety of flavors of ice cream. The children could also add toppings like chocolate syrup and sprinkles to their frozen treats.<\/p>\n

Cpl. Jamilla Harris, the brigade\u2019s volunteer coordinator, organized the event inside the Sagamihara Minami Children\u2019s Home, which is near Camp Zama.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here to boost relations and boost morale within the local community,\u201d she said. \u201cWe love to come and engage with the children. We feel like it\u2019s the best way to make a change around us, and the kids just love treats as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ongoing partnership between the U.S. Army and the children\u2019s home aims to benefit both organizations. This year, the children were invited to Camp Zama for two separate events, including a mini-Olympics at the Youth Center and a dodgeball tournament at the Yano Fitness Center, where they competed alongside volunteers in friendly competitions.<\/p>\n

As lines of children waited to be served ice cream, the Soldiers greeted and chatted with them, filling the activity room in the children\u2019s home with laughter and youthful energy.<\/p>\n

Harris said it was the first time her unit had hosted such an event at the home, adding that it was a great way for the Soldiers to closely connect with the children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s different when you\u2019re in the schools and in the orphanages,\u201d she said of the opportunity for face-to-face visits. \u201cYou\u2019re actually seeing the children and getting a feeling of how they\u2019re growing up, what they experience, and what they like to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The simple but significant act of sharing a treat with the children helped spark conversations between the Soldiers and children, as many of them bonded over common interests. Some of the volunteers, for instance, showcased their drawing talents to the children that quickly captured their attention as they requested a drawing for themselves.<\/p>\n

Spc. Christian Lewis, a first-time volunteer at the children\u2019s home who recently arrived in Japan, decided to sign up for the event after hearing other volunteers speak about their previous positive experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event is an opportunity to be of service to the community in Japan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The visit was a welcome event for the children at the home, who are currently on their summer break, said Shinji Saeki, a staff member at the home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to increase fun activities and experiences for the children,\u201d Saeki said, \u201cso we really appreciate the volunteers coming out and spending time with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saeki said any interaction the children at the home can have, particularly with non-Japanese visitors like U.S. Soldiers, is beneficial for them. The visits allow them to learn about different cultures, careers and hobbies, he said.<\/p>\n

The mix of Japanese and English languages heard during the event reflected an international environment, with both parties making efforts to communicate with the other in their respective native languages.<\/p>\n

Many of the children and Soldiers shared a love of anime and spent time discussing different shows and characters. Other groups played games of mobile chess and tic-tac-toe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful thing to [be able to] come together,\u201d Harris said. \u201cIt makes me feel invigorated that I am actually making a change.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Editor\u2019s note: This article was written by Sakura Ala, who is working in the U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs Office as part of an annual summer internship program for Japanese college students.]\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Related links:<\/strong><\/p>\n

U.S. Army Garrison Japan news<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Japan official website<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Soldiers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade serve ice cream to Sagamihara Minami Children\u2019s Home residents during an exchange event in Sagamihara, Japan, Aug. 14, 2024. The outreach event allowed the Soldiers to help the residents beat the summer heat while providing them an opportunity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258664,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=258662"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258671,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258662\/revisions\/258671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/258664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=258662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=258662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=258662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}