YMCA to hold charity relay to benefit children

The YMCA Foreign Community Supporting Committee will sponsor a charity run in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Through donations from participants and visitors, the 10-km relay race is expected to raise some 6.5 million yen for camps and programs for Japanese children with disabilities, said FCSC director Conrad Asper. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the FCSC was founded to organize Tokyo's foreign community behind YMCA projects.

About 65 teams, each paying an entry of 100,000 yen, will run in the race, some wearing costumes. Awards will be given to race winners and contestants with the most original costumes. About 4,500 spectators have come in past years.

The costume parade started spontaneously five or six years ago, said Asper. "It's essentially a noncompetitive and positive fundraising event," he said. "We had Rolex come in UFO Ramen costumes with capes once."

The organization will also sponsor a concert featuring performances by American pop vocalist Alex Easley and soprano Nobuko Takahashi at the New Zealand Embassy at 6:45 p.m. on May 27. Visitors are requested to make donations of 10,000 yen each. Proceeds will go to the 1998 FCSC Handicapped Children's Project.