Joyful Opportunity English Education

28/04/2026

Come support JOEE tomorrow in Tokyo - close to Hirō. Great music and dancing, plus a puppet performance -- I will need some free-spirited helpers! Join us April 29th at 6pm at the Havana 1950 Club. Party like a frog in the springtime!

Come to dance at the Cha-Cha-Charity on April 29th, 2026 at Havana 1950, a premium retro Cuban restaurant/bar located in Hirō. Money raised will be donated t...

18/03/2026

Please help!! The "Little by Little" GlobalGiving fundraiser has begun! Online donations up to $50 will be matched at 50% while funds last — $125,000 in matching is available, plus $6,000 in bonus prizes.
Remember: Little by Little runs until Friday, March 20, 2026, at 22:00:00 EDT.

Joyful Opportunity English Education is a non-profit foundation that brings lively lessons to children growing up in protective care homes (or orphanages) in Japan. Learning English from native speakers using puppets, songs and games gives these children a rare advantage in a world that presents ser...

02/12/2025

Giving Tuesday is underway! This year, GlobalGiving is providing $500,000 in matching funds and $16,000 in bonus prizes for participating organizations.
Here is the link to donate to JOEE: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/joee-to-japan-english-for-at-risk-children/

How matching works:
Online donations of up to $2,500 per unique donor per organization will be proportionally matched. Matching funds won’t run out, and the more we raise, the more of the matching pool the JOEE project receives.
Please consider donating to JOEE within the next 34 hours. The campaign ends on Dec. 3 at 12:00 EST.
Bless you for your kindness and generosity during this holiday season!
Warm regards,
Ruth

Photo is of “Sandy Claws” the lion with his young friends in an orphanage at Christmas:

02/10/2025

Join Hamlet the Pig in the pumpkin patch as we talk about the outside doesn't always match the inside. Goodness is part of the fruit of the Spirit, but sometimes a fruit, or a pumpkin (in particular) is not good all the way through. What happens when we find a rotten spot in a pumpkin, or in our own lives? How can anyone be completely good?...

Join Hamlet the Pig in the pumpkin patch as we talk about the outside doesn’t always match the inside. Goodness is part of the fruit of the Spirit, but sometimes a fruit, or a pumpkin (in par…

27/09/2025

We are selling pumpkins in advance of Halloween and Thanksgiving in order to raise funds for JOEE. Please send the following information to contacts who might be interested in getting a large pumpkin direct from my fields in Shinanomachi, Nagano. All of the money raised goes directly to help fund JOEE’s operations. Please share the info out through your email and social media connections!

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Pumpkins for JOEE!
It’s harvest time and the pumpkins are rolling in! Reserve your hard-to-find pumpkin for Halloween or harvest festivities now while supplies last. All of the money collected from this pumpkin drive goes directly to JOEE.jp which brings lively English lessons to children growing up in orphanages and care homes in Japan. (See https://joee.jp/ for more info.) Sign up online at the following link: https://forms.gle/8nMgiE9darcUP72D7
Pumpkins will be available for pick-up from October 6 to October 26 in Tokyo and in Shinanomachi, Nagano.
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Enter your name and email to sign up for a Halloween pumpkin. Every pumpkin sold is a donation to JOEE, bringing free English lessons to at-risk children growing up in orphanages in Japan. See our website for more details at JOEE.jp. Pumpkins can be picked up at a pre-arranged spot in Tokyo or in Sh...

11/09/2025

Donate today! Your gift will increase!

Joyful Opportunity English Education is a non-profit foundation that brings lively lessons to children growing up in protective care homes (or orphanages) in Japan. Learning English from native speakers using puppets, songs and games gives these children a rare advantage in a world that presents ser...