Blog
Interview with Mirai no Mori sponsor, Jarman International KK. regarding the Jarman International Charity Golf Cup
Supporting Mirai no Mori via golf for good
Did you know that you can support Mirai no Mori through Golf? We would like to introduce the charity golf cup event hosted monthly by Jarman International! This event takes place once each month at Eastwood Country club located at Utsunomiya, Tochigi prefecture. There is also an ongoing “virtual” version of the Cup so you can go anytime during the month, send Jarman your score card and enter to win the troohy and 100,000 yen cash prize.
Participation on the group day is 18,900 yen of which 3000 yen goes to a specified monthly charity as well as towards the permanent 100,000 yen donation to Mirai no Mori.
Here is how you can enjoy golf, delicious dumplings famous in the area, and more!
A flow of the Golf Cup
Following is an interview with Ms. Ruth Marie Jarman, President and founder of Jarman International KK about the Charity Golf Cup!
What is the reason for selecting Eastwood Country Club in Tochigi Prefecture as the venue? Is there anything fascinating about the location in particular?
Jarman International is a company where we connect international interest with wonderful Japanese content. As Japan’s population and birth rate are declining, there are fewer and fewer Japanese customers in a lot of stores and industries. The only market that is growing in Japan has become one that targets internationals who call Japan their home, come here for work or come as visitors.
Currently, there are approximately 3 million internationals living in Japan, and we expect that the number of people coming to Japan to work and/or visit will continue to increase. We had the opportunity to work with Eastwood Country Club to help promote and open up golf in Japan to international visitors and residents. We are happy to welcome many internationals to Eastwood Country Club, and many of them would not have been able to access this club due to language issues, location, etc. This is perfect as an “inclusive” golf event to bring different people together as well as open up golf to players at all levels. The course also features the delicious food and beautiful natural attractions in Tochigi Prefecture.
What kind of people participate in this event?
We have a great gender, age and experience mix. During the month we usually welcome between 20 to 30 players but we hope to increase this to 50 in the near future. Those who join us are people from a variety of professions and a lot of them are business owners. Since we have the virtual option in place, some of our players who work on the weekends, still join the competition by coming out on a weekday to this lovely course.
How did you come about organizing this event?
We have always had a goal of giving 10% of company revenue to charity. 10 years ago, I started the company and wanted to make sure we kept a policy of giving back to the community. As we grew, I always made it a priority to offer a percentage of revenue on a monthly basis even if things were tight. I think this is one reason why we have had success. I truly believe that the more you give the more support you will receive. We really like to focus on helping children and I believe that Mirai no Mori’s vision is perfectly in line with our goals for supporting children in Japan.
What are your future goals for this event?
I want to continue to open up golf courses around Japan to the international community. Eastwood is a perfect model of how golf for good can be implemented by a Japanese golf course and produce a truly win-win result. If we can, we would apply the “virtual” cup idea across the country so that anyone could select a course to play at AND participate in this virtual event. It is a great way to feel connected even if you are not there on a specific group day.
Anything non-golfers can to do support?
We welcome all kinds of prizes for the event! For example, past participants were pleased with JR East’s limited edition golf ball set. Winners also really enjoy special Nihon shu or wine as prizes. A popular donation last month was a special Otani Shohei hat from California inscribed with the “Jarman Cup” logo. We make sure to post tabout prizes and goods on our social media platforms to give our supporters as much exposure as possible. We are also always looking for a Headline Sponsor each month. This organization gets incredible social media promotion from the entire Jarman machine and gets to support an amazing event and cause.
Finally, is there anything you would like to say to the readers of this blog?
I would like you not to think that it is difficult to be helpful to others. I believe that there are many things that we can do to help others through our daily activities. I would like to encourage people to look for various opportunities and start doing small things from where they are. There are so many huge problems that can be solved if each and every one of us start at our personal level, reach out and simply lend a hand or change a habit. Our golf event is one way to have fun, get healthy and help the world.
Through the interview with Ruth, who has been making efforts to connect internationals to Japan and to charity activities, we were able to strongly feel her aspirations and her passion for connecting people with each other. Through this event, which is unique in that it allows us to enjoy ourselves while also being of service to others, we were able to sense the beauty and importance of using our creativity for the benefit of society.
How about participating in golf this autumn? We are encouraging you to take part in this year’s Golf Cup as a way of supporting the charity for Mirai no Mori!
The current schedule of the Golf Cup is as follows:
- Saturday, December 10th
- Saturday, January 28th
- Saturday, February 25th
- Saturday, March 25th
- Saturday, April 22nd
- Saturday, May 27
For details on how to participate, please refer to the following URL
Events – EastWood Country Club (eastwoodgolfcountryclub.com)
Or follow them on facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/eastwoodcountryclubjapan
This blog was written by Kio and Ryoko, Mirai no Mori interns. Thank you for reading to the end.