Glasgow Celtic F.C. was set up with the express aim of alleviating poverty in Glasgow's East End, which was home to a large number of Irish immigrants, and the club has continued its charitable tradition to this day in accordance with the Social Charter. In view of the fact that Celtic is more than just a football club, the Tokyo CSC, supported by club sponsor Paddy Foley's Irish pub, decided to support the efforts of the nonprofit organization Carillon Kodomo no Ie (Carillon Children's House) to establish in Tokyo Japan's first shelter for children seeking refuge from domestic violence.

The club already has raised 146,000 yen towards the group's costs thanks to raffles and auctions held during various games. Refer to the article below from The Daily Yomiuri, published 27 Jan., 2004, for more information about the group.

In addition, the Tokyo CSC donated 40,000 yen in September 2008 to another Japanese children's charity, Ai no Kesshin, which takes in children without parents and arranges their adoption into good homes. The money was raised from the sale of four autographed Shunsuke Nakamura photos - thanks to Shunsuke and Alec McAulay for organising this! The photos were kindly bought by Mark (10) in Glasgow, Barry (54) in Reading, Yusuke (7) in Saitama and Shigeki (46) in Okayama.

Lawyers group plans 1st shelter for kids

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A group of lawyers plans to set up the nation's first shelter for children in Tokyo to provide the safety they lacked at home or in welfare facilities.

Although there are shelters for female victims of domestic violence, there is no shelter for children seeking refuge.

In an unprecedented move, Carillon Kodomo no Ie (house for children), which will be operated by a nonprofit organization to be established by the lawyers and others, will let children who wish to stay in the shelter do so.

Schools and child consultation offices have been criticized for their slow reaction to the rising
number of child abuse cases.

A house will be renovated to accommodate about 10 children. To protect their safety, the address will not be disclosed.

Lawyer Setsuko Tsuboi, who is in charge of the project, plans to accept children who run away from home or welfare facilities because they were abused, people who have no place to stay after leaving children's institutions and children who committed minor crimes and were sent to detention centers because they had no guardian.

Professionals including former staff members at children's institutions will look after the children around the clock, while lawyers will provide legal advice to support them until they find a job and a safe place to stay.

Tsuboi is working to set up the nonprofit organization and design the shelter.

There are three main types of relief measures for children seeking refuge: child consultation offices, which take in children temporarily; homes to assist children to become independent after leaving public welfare institutions; and foster families.

But qualifying for these relief programs requires the completion of a lot of paperwork, and children with a record of delinquency often are rejected.

"Children become self-destructive if they have no place to go, and they end up harming others. It's these children I want to save," Tsuboi said.

The shelter will operate on an annual budget of 5 million yen, and the organization welcomes donations.