Nihonmachi Little Friends’ Groundbreaking Ceremony

Rendering of the completed addition to NLF’s 1830 Sutter St. site.

SAN FRANCISCO — The community and supporters of Nihonmachi Little Friends (NLF) are invited to a groundbreaking ceremony for its preschool building addition project on Friday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m., at its 1830 Sutter St. project site.

The groundbreaking will include a children’s performance, purification ceremony by the Japanese American Religious Federation, and introduction of the general contractor and architect for the project.

The Plant a Seed Campaign (PASC) project was launched in 2012 to build a preschool addition to NLF’s historic 1830 Sutter St. facility, on its adjacent playground lot. The addition will include a ground-floor entry level with elevator and staircase, a first-floor preschool classroom and second-floor rooftop playground to accommodate the preschoolers in both buildings.

The project will allow NLF’s flagship preschool program, currently located at 2013 Bush St., to relocate to the new addition, ensuring a stable and permanent future in San Francisco’s Japantown, and an increase in enrollment from a license of 80 to 96 preschoolers.

Fundraising for the new building addition will be ongoing through the construction period, to enable the organization to minimize the amount needed through a construction loan.

NLF, a community non-profit, 501(c)3 organization opened in the fall of 1975, to provide Japanese/English bilingual and multicultural affordable and educational childcare services to preschool-age children. Currently it serves over 200 students annually from preschoolers through fifth-graders, with all program sites located in the S.F. Japantown area.

NLF will be celebrating its 40th anniversary with a dinner event on Friday, Nov. 20, at 5:30 pm at the Hotel Kabuki. The theme of the dinner is “Okage Sama de.” NLF will thank its supporters for their generosity, which enables it to build a legacy for future generations of children.

For more information on the groundbreaking and 40th anniversary, contact NLF at (415) 922-8898 or nlfchildcare@gmail.com.