The Japan chapter of Association of the United States Army donated ¥70,000 May 10 to Bott Memorial Home, a children’s foster care home in Machida City.

AUSA-Japan raised the funds, equivalent to $700, by sponsoring a Nichibei Golf Tournament at the Camp Zama golf course, where nearly 150 players donated money for the 44 children, ages 2 to18, living at Bott Memorial Home.

At second right, Col. Tommy Hennessee, deputy commander of U.S. Army Japan, offers a donation check Wednesday to Syusuke Ishida, director of Bott Memorial Home, a children’s home in Machida. Also pictured is Paul Wilson, president of Association of United States Army - Japan and Noriko Kobayashi, host nation relations specialist for G5, U.S. Army Japan.(U.S. Army photo by Esther Dacanay)

"Typically, AUSA-Japan uses golf tournaments as a venue to raise scholarship funds for military dependents,” said Paul Wilson, president of AUSA-Japan, “but this time around, Col. Hennessee had this great idea of offering the funds to a local orphanage.”

After researching various organizations in the region, AUSA-Japan decided to offer the funds to Bott Memorial Home.

"I’d like for us to be able to give a larger sum of money to a different orphanage in the area each quarter,” said Col. Tommy Hennessee, deputy commander of U.S. Army Japan, who gave the donation check to the home on behalf of AUSA-Japan. “This is definitely something we feel good about doing.”

Bott Memorial Home was originally founded by Dr. G.E. Bott, a Canadian missionary who first arrived in Japan in 1921 at the age of 29 and was active in various social programs for 21 years.

After World War II, Bott returned to Japan and continued to work with Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia, where he helped give food, clothing and medical supplies to areas needing humanitarian relief.

Bott also worked with Christian Children’s Fund, which helped establish children’s foster care homes using family unit cottage-style homes instead of institutionalized centers.

However, Bott died in 1952, shortly before the opening of the children’s home which he helped sponsor. In Bott’s memory, CCF named the home after him.

CCF established nearly 90 children’s homes in Japan, giving homes to mainly war orphans until 1975, according to Syusuke Ishida, director of Bott Memorial Home.

"The children here stay in 8-person family units with a house mom, a house dad, brothers and sisters, like a real family,” said Ishida. “They also attend local public schools and most of them stay here until they are old enough and ready to be on their own.”

Bott Memorial Home also has a sister center, Margarita House, which is a children’s facility in Machida, meant for short-term stay when the children are not able to stay at home due to family emergencies.

"We are honored to be in your presence,” said Hennessee as he offered the AUSA donation check to Ishida. “We think you and people like you are doing great things.”