SAN FRANCISCO – Nihonmachi Little Friends (NLF) will celebrate the agency’s 39th anniversary with a Sushi Social on Friday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m. in its Tateuchi Auditorium at 1830 Sutter St. in San Francisco’s Japantown.
The event will feature updated renderings of the proposed new preschool building by HKIT Architects and special recognition of Warren Eijima and Mr. and Mrs. Sam Seiki, longtime NLF supporters.
Guests will also be treated to a musical performance by Kaori Nakano, Kaoru Mesa and her son, a first-grader and NLF alum, as well as an assortment of delectable sushi prepared by chef Masanobu “Massy” Sato and his associates.
Adrienne Pon, executive director of the city’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, will emcee the event.
NLF launched the current capital campaign in November 2012 to build an addition to its existing Sutter Street facility that will allow both programs to be housed in the same location, a permanent home for the entire preschool program. The capital campaign has since received strong support from the community; however, it still needs to raise the remaining $1.3 million of the $3.5 million required to construct the new addition.
With the approval of the San Francisco Planning Commission in mid-September, time is now of the essence as the project is scheduled to break ground in early 2015.
“The completion of the Plant A Seed Campaign is more critical than ever to NLF as well as the entire Japantown community and San Francisco as a whole,” said NLF Executive Director Cathy Inamasu. “NLF grew out of an unmet need in the community, and its sustainability will insure it will continue to meet the changing and often challenging needs of the children and families it serves.”
Designed by famed architect Julia Morgan, 1830 Sutter was built in 1932 as the Japanese YWCA, offering temporary housing and cultural and social activities for young women and girls. NLF completed its $2.2 million capital campaign to fund the purchase and renovation of the Sutter Street building in 2009. The building was entrusted to NLF as part of the settlement of a communit-supported lawsuit to save the building.
This new building project will ensure the continued preservation and retention of 1830 Sutter for greater community use.
“NLF is fortunate to be one of those organizations that the Eijimas and Seikis so generously support,” said NLF Board Chair Adrienne Shiozaki Woo. “As grandparents of NLF alums, they are an inspiration to others as they leave a legacy of support for, and investment in, the current and future generations of children and families who will benefit from the programs of NLF and the community.”
Suggested donation is $100 per person. To make reservations, contact NLF at (415) 922-8898 or nlfchildcare@gmail.com. All proceeds from the evening will benefit NLF’s programs and its Building Fund. This event is made possible with the support of Union Bank and Wells Fargo.