Named and created to honor the legacy of Intrax’s late founders, John Wilhelm And Takeshi Yokota, the Intrax Foundation launched WAY DAY as an annual day of giving. Each WAY Day, our teams will come together to reflect on the history and mission of Intrax as we make a positive impact in our local communities. Around the world, our offices and staff came together to volunteer in each of our local communities.
San Francisco, California 🇺🇸
On Thursday, May 2nd, Intrax SF staff volunteered to build playhouses at the warehouse of Habitat for Humanity for Greater SF. These playhouses will be donated to community organizations serving children in need throughout the San Francisco area. Team Intrax built 5 total playhouses during our First Annual Way Day.
Arriving by rideshare, car, and on foot; Intrax staff convened at Habitat for Humanity to participate in the event. Nearly the entire staff from Intrax San Francisco headquarters gathered. Intrax volunteers were divided into five teams, then each team was tasked with a unique theme for designing their playhouse:
- Team 1: Children around the World
- Team 2: The Hungry Caterpillar
- Team 3: Garden Gate with Flowers and Veggies
- Team 4: Firehouse/Fire Truck
- Team 5: Forest
After a safety briefing, where we also learned about Habitat for Humanity and the amazing work they do in communities, the teams got to work. Each team had two roofers and two designers, with the remaining team members assigned to work on construction and painting. The entire warehouse was buzzing with energy: drilling, hammering, talking, painting, laughing and the occasional “OMG”! Dust was flying, paints were being mixed, and playhouses started to take shape. The creativity and talent in our groups was impressive. Teamwork is the best way to describe the day. The designers had support from the drillers and the painters had help from the designers.
“I had a great experience building playhouses with Habitat for Humanity! Not only was I able to meet some new people from various teams, but it was fun to see each person’s different strengths and excitement contributed. This was a fun practice in creativity, teamwork, and collaboration while making a meaningful impact on our community.” - Camille (Intrax IT)
Sandi (Ayusa) reflected on the group service project saying, “The event was a fun way for us to connect, be creative, and give back to the community while honoring the founders of Intrax. Thank you for a great time!“
The teams were made up of cross-department staff. Although we work in the same office, we do not always have a chance to engage with others outside of our own team. Building the playhouses together certainly broke the barriers. The experience allowed for a unique opportunity to get to know our co-workers and to learn about their hidden talents and interests outside of work. Teams worked together and helped members finish tasks.
Brandon (Intrax Global Internships) said, “It was such a pleasure giving back to the community in a tangible way. The team had a great time, and we hope we can do it again in the future. We don’t often have the chance to collaborate with colleagues from other lines of business, so it was great to work together on the playhouses. Thank you for organizing a wonderful day of team building.”
“It was great learning about Habitat for Humanity’s mission and being a part of their initiatives. All the teams did such a great job on their playhouses! Our team had a fun time building/painting together and it was nice to work with colleagues from other departments. I really enjoyed giving back to our community and hope to be a part of more events in the future.“ - Meghan (Intrax Global Internships)
Teams worked feverishly to complete their tasks, ignoring the lunch call because they just “needed one more minute.” Finally, our dedicated group of volunteers were told “brushes and drills down now”! With Paint and dust in their hair, everyone sat outside in the warm sun and had a 30-minute lunch break but were anxious to get back to work.
After four busy hours, the playhouses were built to specification. Each team and their playhouse took center stage for rounds of cheers, awards, and applause. All the playhouses looked amazing and teams felt accomplished to have built them together with our own hands! TEAMWORK!
“Teamwork turned into a masterpiece! The energy crackled as each team raced to build and paint the most picture-perfect playhouse. It was a winning combo of team building and giving back, and the result left all participants and Intrax beaming with pride and Joy!” - Shailesh (Intrax IT)
The finished playhouses will go through final inspection before being handed over to the recipients. We sure hope they will enjoy the colorful and fun playhouses and wish the recipients years of joy.
"Our dedicated team of Intrax volunteers left the Habitat warehouse tired, but with fulfilled hearts. Most importantly, I’m honored to have worked alongside our team as we fostered new friendships together and felt a sense of accomplishment towards Intrax’s mission to connect and give back. John and Take would be proud," - Intrax President, Marcie Schneider.
To catch a glimpse of WAY Day in action, check out this video captured by our Intrax Media team. Thanks to all for making the day memorable and fun!
Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵
On Monday, May 13th, from 10:00 to 11:30, our team participated in a volunteering activity at Meitoku Kindergarten, located in the Minato-ku area of Tokyo, Japan. The kindergarten is under the same management with Zojoji Temple, a renowned Jōdo-shū Buddhist temple in Tokyo. During the session, our staff members took the lead in six different classes, engaging with students aged 3 to 5 years old. We organized various activities focused on English learning, including storytelling, singing and dancing, indoor plays, and English vocabulary lessons.
In line with our company’s mission of promoting cultural understanding and global communities, engaging in English lessons at the kindergarten level helps lay a foundation for language skills at an early age, facilitates global communication, and prepares children to being a part of an increasingly interconnected world. Despite most of our staff not having firsthand experience teaching in a kindergarten setting, it was heartening to witness the genuine interactions between our team members and the children. Here are some testimonials from our staff members sharing their thoughts and experiences about the activity:
"It was a wonderful experience volunteering at the kindergarten for the first time. Even though it was a bit tiring, just looking at the children’s faces smiling while dancing, and telling me they really like me, makes this experience worthwhile." - Ayu, Program Coordinator, Intrax Japan
"A fun experience, indeed, not only for the kids but also for us. I hope that the kids gained more interest in learning English, and maybe going abroad someday to experience the world." - Kurumi, Program Manager, Ayusa Japan
"Volunteering at the local kindergarten was truly a fun experience for everyone. It is nice to see that in small ways like this, we can see things in different perspectives." - Maho, Program Advisor, Ayusa Japan
Overall, the volunteering activity was a fulfilling experience for all of us. Through initiatives like these, we take small steps towards raising awareness about the interconnected world and provided us with the opportunity to give back to the local community and engage in genuine interactions with the future generation who will play pivotal roles on the global stage.
Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
Manchester, UK 🇬🇧
"It’s been a great day and has been amazing to give back to our local community, bringing us all together and working as a team." - UK Managing Director, Martin Lomax.
On Tuesday 17th May our team at FurtherTravel volunteered at Brunswick community centre located on the edge of Manchester city centre as we wanted to give back to our local community.
All team members from our Manchester based office grabbed tools, gloves and rain coats as we headed down to our local park to play our part in keeping the field and plants healthy. Our Managing Director Martin Lomax stated "It’s been a great day and has been amazing to give back to our local community, bringing us all together and working as a team."
From 8am until 1pm, we hatched, re-soiled and cleaned up the park in order to keep it fresh for the future and to encourage anyone in the Manchester area to use the space.
Brunswick Church has been operating since June 1974 and now in 2024 are celebrating 50 years of their amazing charity work. Not only does Brunswick Church help out with the fight against climate change, they also operate youth centres within the church that run weekly activities for our local community helping to bring everyone together.
We thank them for inviting us and are extremely grateful for the opportunity to volunteer. As a team it brought us together and it was clear we all felt we had made a difference.
Santiago, Chile 🇨🇱
For the WAY Day event in Chile, we chose the Soy Más Foundation for its work with women and their children. On Thursday, May 2, Intrax Chile staff visited the foundation and delivered donations of clothing, toys, diapers, and a monetary contribution.
The month of May also has a special significance in Chile for being the month of mothers and we want to take the opportunity to honor them on that day.
Soy Más Foundation does great and admirable work addressing the problem of teenage pregnancy in marginalized communities, defending the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable populations – especially boys, girls, and women – and vindicating the role of women in different areas of society.
Seoul, Korea 🇰🇷
On May 10, 2024, we celebrated WAY Day to honor the spirit of John and Take. After extensive research and discussions, the Intrax Korea team decided to create a coloring book for children in Cambodia. We felt this project aligned perfectly with our goals for this special day. It was a small gesture, but it allowed us to give back to the community and step away from our regular workload, providing a welcome relief from daily stress. This act of volunteerism was not only life-changing and transformational for the children we helped but also deeply rewarding for ourselves.
Background of the 'Coloring Book' Project
The Killing Fields: A Cambodian Genocide
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge, a Cambodian militant group, overthrew the Lon Nol regime and initiated a brutal campaign to build a utopia. Over the next four years, they killed more than two million people. Urban residents were forced to relocate to the countryside, and the regime abolished currency, private property, and religion. Intellectuals, politicians, soldiers, laborers, peasants, women, and children were all targeted, leading to the deaths of up to a quarter of the population. The mass graves of these victims are known as the Killing Fields. The Khmer Rouge regime was ultimately overthrown in 1979 by Vietnamese-backed Cambodian Communist Alliance forces. This tragic history has left a lasting trauma, resulting in widespread avoidance of school and education. The increasing gap between rich and poor further complicates access to formal education for children living in poverty.
The Purpose of the 'Coloring Book' Project
The 'Coloring Book' project aims to provide Cambodian children with essential learning materials to help them learn the alphabet. Additionally, the World Child Foundation seeks to use this project to raise awareness about the atrocities of the Killing Fields, ensuring that the history and its lessons are not forgotten.
