The core of the Go For Broke National Education Center is the remarkable stories of the Japanese American World War II veterans. Their stories touch us, amaze us and remind us to appreciate our rights as Americans, rights we too often take for granted.

The Go For Broke National Education Center began a planning process in summer 2009 to answer several tough questions: How do we make this story relevant to all Americans? How do we reach audiences outside of the Japanese American community? And how do we sustain our organization to ensure that the Nisei soldiers' story is meaningful 20 years from now?

After a lengthy process, the GFBNEC board of directors adopted a five-year strategic plan to serve as our roadmap to becoming a thriving and sustainable national organization. The core of this plan is how stories of the Japanese American WWII soldiers are shared with the American public. The strategic plan contemplates an expansion of our educational programs locally and nationally, and develops an infrastructure to support it. Additional plan components include the importance of identifying new audiences, maintaining current and seeking out new strategic partnerships, and examining operating costs and future sustainability. The board will take a proactive role in guiding the organization through this transition period and in defining the specifics of the strategic plan as we move forward.

We shared the highlights of the strategic plan with some of our core supporters at a volunteer town hall held on March 30. We are committed to keeping you up-to-date on our progress as we undertake this significant transition. Please continue to read the eTorch, published bimonthly, to stay informed. We also encourage you to post suggestions and comments on our bulletin at www.goforbroke.org/forums.

We invite you to join us on this important journey to ensure that the legacy of the Japanese American WWII soldiers remains a living and vital part of America for generations to come.

Sincerely,
Christine Sato-Yamazaki

Fred Ida was up early that Sunday of Dec.7, 1941. The University of Hawaii student lived in the tower above the Dreier Manor in Moiliili where he managed the St. Louis Alumnae Association clubhouse. Foremost on his mind that morning was the large sum of money sitting in the club safe. After a big game the night before between Hawaii and Fresno State, the bar had done a brisk business and Ida needed to see those proceeds safely deposited in the bank.

Gardena, California resident George Kobayashi, a Military Intelligence Service (MIS) linguist in occupied Japan, gave Go For Broke National Education Center's Hanashi Oral History Program its 1,000th unique veteran interview in mid-March. GFBNEC is working with the US Army Center for Military History to collect and transcribe 30 oral histories a year for a scholarly, objective and professional history of Nisei or second-generation Japanese American linguists who served in Japan from 1945 – 1952, during the US military's post-World War II occupation. This is the second year of the three-year program that began in September 2008.

In September and October 2009 the Go For Broke National Education Center conducted its first Teen Leadership Development Program sessions with 12th grade students from Los Angeles High School and James Lick High School in San Jose. Funded by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a program of the California State Library, 57 students participated in this bi-coastal effort, 27 in LA and 30 in San Jose.

Machinima is a movie that is created using video game technology. Short for "machine cinema" or "machine animation," machinima movies have become increasingly popular, especially among younger filmmakers. Go For Broke National Education Center has taken this medium to the classroom by integrating machinima technology into educational curriculum. Targeting high school students and providing an innovative and engaging instructional tool, machinima creatively utilizes GFBNEC's oral history archive to teach history

Since August 2009 the National Veterans Network, an organization comprised of 20 veterans organizations nationwide that includes the Go For Broke National Education Center, has been working in earnest to secure enough Senate support to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team. House bill H.R.347, introduced by Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), passed without objections in May 2009. The companion bill, S.1055, was introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and currently has 43 votes (as of 3/25/10) but needs an additional 24 votes to pass. Additionally, sponsors of the bill are considering an amendment that the National Veterans Network has been working on to include the Military Intelligence Service.

World War II Japanese American veterans' organizations from throughout the United States will convene at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo June 3-5, 2010 for the 3rd National Veterans Network (NVN) meeting, an invite-only event. The meeting will be hosted by Go For Broke National Education Center.

Need a gift idea for your mom, grandmother or favorite aunt? The Go For Broke National Education Center's (GFBNEC) latest recipe book makes a great Mother's Day present. The 20th Anniversary Veterans' Cookbook is the organization's third book that boasts 350 recipes, and a 150-photo historical retrospective of WWII Nisei veterans and GFBNEC's 20-year history.

2009 Lexus Opportunity Draw winner Sharon Jen from Kaneohe, Hawaii stands with her 2010 Lexus HS 250h, the world's first luxury hybrid. Because she was not in attendance at Evening of Aloha, Congressman Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) tried to call her to inform her of winning the car. Jen purchased $100 worth of tickets because the drawing was going to be held on her husband's birthday and thought it would be a lucky day! And it definitely was her lucky day – as she always dreamed of having a Lexus. A loyal Toyota owner, Jen said of the HS 250h, "I love this car."

Go For Broke National Education Center is working with National Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Houston JACL, and the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation to stop the revision of the Texas social studies curriculum standards. The revised standards would, as the New York Times wrote, "counter the idea that the internment of Japanese was motivated by racism" by lumping roughly 11,000 German Americans and 3,000-4,000 Italian Americans who were individually tried and interned during World War II together with the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were rounded up and imprisoned without benefit of trials.