Celebrating 30 Years

Mar 25

Chubu Walkathon reaches a milestone in giving back to the community

The Chubu Walkathon will hit another big milestone this year as we celebrate three decades of coming together as a community to support local charities. It is truly gratifying to think of the many people dotted around the world who hold fond memories of what the Walkathon has grown into over the years.

Reflection of the Times

The Walkathon kicked off in 1992
It enjoyed a steady increase in people and funds raised during the 2000s
The Lehman shock affected the event in 2009
The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11 was the background for increased donations in 2011.
The Walkathon donated a car, a bus, and various funds to organizations doing reconstruction work in Tohoku.
Celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2016 and raised an astounding ¥25 million, setting the stage for the creation of the Chubu Children’s Fund.
In 2020, the Walkathon shifted to become one of the first online events in the Covid-19 era
In 2021, help us celebrate 30 years of Walkathon!

Of course, there are the fun memories of the event itself—walking in beautiful Nagoya-area parks, enjoying time with family and friends, playing games, sampling delicious local food, and enjoying great entertainment. But even though it was always enjoyable (even in the rain!), it was more than just fun. It represented true community spirit and the sense of knowing we were contributing to this wonderful place we call home.

Last year, we did a quick pivot from the usual format and, thanks to a lot of effort from the committee, we pulled off one of the first major online events held in this brave new world. Despite being virtual, the 2020 Walkathon was successful and resulted in us distributing roughly the equivalent of the donations collected in 2019, thanks in large part to loyal sponsors and very little overhead. Perhaps our biggest achievement as a committee was not giving up and making sure the show went on.

Further Transformation

This year will be a bigger challenge. In the months since the 2020 Walkathon, any number of virtual events have been held. The model is no longer new and, it’s safe to say, no longer all that interesting. But we find that we need to be ever more vigilant in keeping participants safe while having fun and generating that much-needed community spirit. Only then can we successfully support the charities for which we fight. In fact, it is arguably more important that we up our goals after a year of everyone scaling back. We are hearing from all the charities we support that times are hard.

To do this, we are proposing a hybrid event that will combine the online platform for entertainment and charity showcases with an organized Walk Rally that will revisit some of the parks where past Walkathons have been held. It will literally be a stroll down memory lane! We intend to offer prizes for those who walk the farthest, and we are planning localized, socially distanced events at several points along the rally. We even hope to up our tech game and check in with roving reporters during the course of the event. Familiar elements, such as our Walkathon T-shirt designed annually by a Nagoya International School student, will still be featured. And I’m sure our mascot, Walkie, will make an appearance around town, too!

Success Stories

Despite the planning challenges, we are buoyed by reports and stories that are coming in from the organizations that received funds raised in 2020. It is really heartwarming to know that something as simple as new bedding is making a difference in the lives of children living in a home for kids with disabilities.

It is also gratifying to know that we are on course to support three more orphans wanting to study beyond high school through the Chubu Children’s Fund. One wants to play soccer and study sports business, one wants to be an audio technician for concerts and movies, and one wants to study social welfare so they can work at a children’s home themselves one day. These inspiring stories are just a sample of the anecdotes that keep us motivated to do more. You can read more at chubuwalkathon.com.

But we can’t expand our impact without the help of more people. It is getting harder and harder to depend on our small pool of loyal sponsors—especially under the current climate, in which people are scaling back. Our solution is to cast our net wider and bring more into the tent, as we aim for our goal of ¥10 million.

There is strength in numbers, and we are looking for companies and individuals to give what they can this year—no matter where and who they are. Chubu is the heart of Japan. Let’s keep that heart beating by supporting good people doing great things in our community.