NEWS

APU Hands, which provided support through the distribution of food and other goods 14 times since May 2020 to a total of 6155 individuals, concluded its activities in March 2021.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who provided support because you wanted to somehow make it possible for APU's students to continue their studies. Thank you very much for your generous heartwarming support. We are deeply grateful to all of you—individuals, organizations, and businesses—who supported us in these times.

The warm support we received from all of you encouraged the students and gave the students themselves the opportunity to feel gratitude for being able to continue to learn. The circumstances now are a little different from last March when the entire world was struck by anxiety and fear. However, the situation surrounding part-time work remains unstable, and we have not yet been able to brush away our anxieties for the future. Life continues to be difficult and terribly lonely for those students, both domestic and international, who are living away from home. One’s time as a student is short. If there are students close to you who are living away from their parents, we would appreciate it if you would also give them your care in the future. Eleven months was brief, but being able to build ties with all of you through the support you provided to students is something we value dearly. Thank you. We would be grateful if you could continue to watch over APU in the future, too.

And to all the students. Society is still in turmoil from the coronavirus pandemic. For people, when they are sad, and particularly when things don't go as they expect or times are painful, they feel that time passes more slowly than when they are happy. We believe that for each of you individually, the future will change depending on how you view our pandemic present and face it. When you leave APU to join the larger world, you will encounter a variety of adversities and difficulties every day. How will you overcome these situations when they confront you? How will you make it through? Currently, you are being tested. One of the things we have learned at APU is the belief that times of adversity are opportunities. Be sure to view these difficulties constructively and try to use your ingenuity. At this university, since the day it opened, together with faculty and staff and the students have repeatedly used their ingenuity. This is our strength. The wisdom each of you has devised will be your strength, and it will strongly and powerfully support you.
However, when you feel distressed or hopeless, please send us a message. You are never alone. Together we can figure out what can be done. Please never forget that you are not alone.

APU Hands Representatives: LEE Jae Goo, EHARA Mayumi, and OKADA Yoshinobu
APU Hands Facebook

１．Contributions and in-kind donations * As of March 31

Amount donated: ￥7,594,450 (325 donations)
No. of in-kind donations: 162

２．Activity log

<2020>
May 2 - 5
First distribution, Part 1: 260 students
May 7 - 10
First distribution, Part 2: 180 students
May 17
Second distribution: 359 students
May 31
Third distribution: 630 students
May 25
Decided to stop accepting donations of meat and fish due to health concerns stemming from rising temperatures
June 2
Opened the “Stay with APU” Facebook page to collect messages of encouragement for the students
June 14
Fourth distribution: 569 students
June 28
Fifth distribution: 433 students
(After this, we began spending a whole week on deliveries to avoid the Three Cs.)
July 13 - 17
Sixth distribution: 327 students
August 3 - 7
Seventh distribution: 371 students
September 7 - 11
Eighth distribution: 292 students
October 5 - 9
Ninth distribution: 354 students
November 9 - 13
Tenth distribution: 450 students
December 7 - 11
Eleventh distribution: 435 students
November 25 - December 16
Distribution to new students moving into AP House: 131 students

<2021>
January 12 - 15
Twelfth distribution: 462 students
February 15 - 19
Thirteenth distribution: 542 students
March 8 - 12
Fourteenth distribution: 421 students