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Impact we have over people

Sometimes we realize that a positive comment or an affirmative action from the past has had a lasting impact on our lives.


I saw a familiar face in TELL's newsletter:

Jason was one of the directors at TELL when I explored different volunteer opportunities in 2009. In 2013, I had the privilege of working with him closely. He engaged the team to build a vision for the organization. He had to make some tough decisions.

On March 11, 2011, right after the disaster, rather than focusing on his family in Tokyo, he carried volunteers on his bike, one by one, to a safe location where they could spend the night without walking for kilometers to their homes. I know because I was one of those who would otherwise had to walk for 25+ kms.


His impact on me was profound:

  • He truly accepted me and understood the many ways I sometimes felt like a minority.

  • He stood by TELL's values of inclusivity and unconditional positive regard. I saw firsthand what it meant to "walk the talk."

  • He had a great "can-do" attitude and always tried to approach things from a practical perspective.

  • He was passionate but as calm as he could be. Being a director at a non-profit could be hard, but he was there for all of us.

  • I was mostly in tears when I watched his funeral live on Zoom in the summer of 2021. There was so much love there. We don't have to do something big to be remembered. Doing what are supposed to be doing is good enough.

He touched so many lives. I hope he is remembered for being the person he was: a humble hero of his community.

Thank you, Jason.

(Screen capture of Jason on a TEDx event: A Case for Active Listening: Jason Chare at TEDxTokyoTeachers)


P.S.

For those of you who don't know about TELL, it is a great non-profit that primarily focuses on the mental health needs of Japan's international community.

You can read more about TELL and support it here:




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