We have the best volunteers!

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

Last November we visited The Salvation Army for the first time.  At that time, we were feeling depressed due to the Winter season and our business was slow due to a poor Japanese economy.  It was a very bad time for us; however, after we started volunteering for the Christmas Kettle, everything changed. 

Through our kettle experience, we found that it was really fun to meet people on the coast – the volunteer staff was especially kind and reliable. We were also very surprised to hear “Thank you” from many people that donated while we hosted our kettle. They kindly donated money, so it should have been our response to say, “Thank you” but, they said “Thank you” to us with a smile. We were so happy to volunteer during the Christmas season, it was a gift.

After that experience we continued to volunteer at Camp Sunrise in Gibsons and now we are attending the local farmers’ market as a food vendor, my wife Tara is a baker.  We would like to say Thank you to Miriam and Tim, our Unit Leaders at Sunshine Coast Community Ministries and to the rest of the staff who provide us with such great volunteer opportunities.  Also, we are really happy to get our nickname from Miriam, Teriyaki = Tara & Aki – which is really easy to remember for people.  This name will be our asset for our whole life. Thank you.

-Tara & Aki

If you’re searching for a unique volunteer opportunity, give us a call because we’d love to hear from you and are looking for more kettle hosts as Christmas approaches.  604.299.3908