Masaru Nakagawa, an employee volunteer of IBM Japan, reported

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Adrian Lambert
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1 From Chubu; Nagoya region Children's smiles are the same all over the world! IBM On Demand Community Volunteer Team has shared the fun of science with children in different countries at an international charity event. Masaru Nakagawa, an employee volunteer of IBM Japan, reported ACCJ Nagoya Walkathon 2010, an international charity festival, was held on May 23, Sunday, 2010 in Tsuruma Park, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, in which "IBM On Demand Community Volunteer Team" took active part, and conducted a full act of "Hilarious Honker", one of the most popular "TryScience" programs, to share the fun with children with various nationalities through "live" science experiments. About ACCJ Nagoya Walkathon 2010 ACCJ Nagoya Walkathon is the annual international charity event, which has been run by ACCJ Chubu, NIS (Nagoya International School), and the Japanese and international communities in Nagoya. It has just turned 19 times this year in an effort to raise funds to support the vital work being conducted by local NPOs and charitable organizations, and to provide good levels of opportunity for the purpose of international exchange between the Japanese and international communities, where people will do "walk-a-thon" in a park together, enjoy music bands playing all along in a stage and international foods available in a street, and people can come along with their children and pick up whatever kids activities you may find interesting. Preparing for the event

2 How did we get involved with ACCJ Nagoya Walkathon 2010? As I spent and studied in Nagoya when I was a student, I've been having a sort of strong tie and attachment to the community in Chubu and Nagoya region, and I have always wanted to do something to give support to the local communities, if a chance is given, with the volunteers from IBM Chubu and Nagoya in the region. In addition, since I was engaged with business volunteer activity in IBM Corporate Service Corps program last year where I served to clients in Malaysia, then I have been much more keen on bringing back to the community in my country what I then experienced and learned through the global and international collaboration in the program. Therefore, I started to talk with Steve Burson, one of my best friends since university, and who is also the Co-Chair of ACCJ Nagoya Walkathon this year, and asked if IBM could participate in the event as a volunteer to help it out. He just gave me an unqualified yes to my request, and we agreed to do it together. With the Co-Chair's endorsement, I then tapped into the IBM side, Kodaka-san; the director in Social Program Promotion in IBM Chubu region, Yokota-san and Fujii-san from IBM Japan CSR department. Eventually as many as 18 people from each of IBM office in Nagoya, Toyota, Hakozaki, and Makuhari, respectively, got together to be a band of volunteers as "IBM On Demand Community Volunteer Team" to take part in the event. Nagoya Walkathon site Doing "TryScience" in the event! We know that there is a "Kids Area" available in the event with plenty of kids' programs and activities going on. In our team discussion, we have come up with the idea that we would do "TryScience", which is a straightforward, basic, easy-to-learn, and fun-to-do type of educational program of science for kids, which is produced by IBM in collaboration with New York Hall of Science. Out of the series of experiments you can find in "TryScience" program, we decided to take the "How do probes get to the outer space?" for the event, which has been proved to be the most popular ones

working spaces to do than with "How do probes get to the outer space?" one.

3 to children. It turned out, however, due to the unfortunate rain condition all the day, that we had to change the program to "Hilarious Honker", in which you can also have lots of fun with less restriction of working spaces to do than with "How do probes get to the outer space?" one. Children making honkers Filled with grins and smiles of children Although, at the beginning, there were only a few people and children who dropped in at our booth, we soon started to find people passing by were getting interested in our "performance", more and more children and parents came over and got seated in our tent, then listened to our instructors, and got absorbed in crafting "Hilarious Honker" together. In the end, really plenty of family, children and parents who were engrossed with an open aired "science experiments" in our booth: How surprised children got when they found and learned the "Honker" made of a paper cup gave out tremendously huge sound as if they could have never imagined! How curious they were when they saw a rippling texture pattern gradually showing up on a wrapped bowl with salt on it as air vibrates it! We found their grins and smiles burst when they heard the voices clearly coming through a paper-cup phone as mom's and dad's speak to other peers! An excellent and jubilant expression they cast to us, which really made us feel quite deserved and satisfied. Children's smiles are just universal. Experimenting a "Hilarious Honker"

IBM On Demand Community Volunteer Team; we have got the IBM Values in common Even though it was not until we had a morning brief on the day that all the members eventually saw each other in person,

4 IBM On Demand Community Volunteer Team; we have got the IBM Values in common Even though it was not until we had a morning brief on the day that all the members eventually saw each other in person, we had already come in a good shape as one team, and everyone understands each other's role and knows what he/she should do themselves; those who just went on to streets in the rain to call attention for passengers, who carried on to take the "TryScience" lecturers' role, and who even went ahead and conducted an international session of the "TryScience" on the spot, who gave great hands in logistics with our booth, such as setting up a tent, moving in and out materials needed and doing cleanups afterwards, who led and supported the team in preparation and planning by sharing wonderful idea and approach about how we would actually implement "TryScience" in the event. I would really like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, who are so professional, highly sophisticated, and warm hearted people, and I believe that's what it means to be an "IBMer". As to our team, some of members are actually from foreign countries themselves, and several were also engaged in international business volunteer activities in the IBM CSC program. I truly believe this opportunity has been a significant milestone for us all to have been able to share and unify the experiences that everyone carries with. Nagoya Walkathon volunteers Building a "Smarter Planet" for everyone, and what we are planning to do next Right after the event was over, I received an from Steve Burson, Bryce Conlan; the Chair of ACCJ Nagoya Walkathon, and Abigail Lloyd; the chief staff of the Kids Area, mentioning that IBM's tent was a great success being filled with plenty of children and parents having fun playing with paper-cup "Honkers", and they would really like us to participate in the event next year as well. It was just beyond my expression to get such remarks from the chief members of the events, and I was just as satisfied that we have been able to contribute to their success with our value

5 "TryScience" as I was with children having fun with our program. Although it was really a first time for us as an "IBM On Demand Community Volunteer Team" to take part in such an international charity event since we have never done in such a way before, we have become more certain and confident than ever that we now know we can bring our values and beneficial results to those people and communities we are related to. We are willing to carry on our volunteer activity in the future. As, in this summer and fall 2010, an international charity event is being planned in Tokyo, and in Osaka, respectively by ACCJ, we, as an "IBM On Demand Community Volunteer Team", are focused upon the ACCJ Tokyo Walkathon to come across international exchange with our programs. We would love to help build a smarter planet by the value that each one of IBMer can come up with; Making our society we live on smarter, and making children of our future leaders smarter. IBM booth at Nagoya Walkathon IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at Copyright and trademark information at

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