Harry Torimoto and family host German exchange student

Harry Torimoto and his family celebrate Christmas with their German exchange student, Franz.

There we were, standing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, anxiously waiting for our new “son” Franz to join our family. We only had his passport photo, his short hand written letter, and our own wild imagination of what Franz would be like. When we finally met, he was very polite, somewhat tired, and perhaps mostly embarrassed, due to our exuberant reaction and our large “Welcome Franz!” sign. From that moment, our adventures as an extended international family started.

Franz is a 17 year old high school student from Korntal, Germany a small town outside of Stuttgart, the “German automotive capital”. He was able to complete his German curriculum early so he could have as much flexibility in his courses in the United States. In the U.S., he was able to take courses which allowed him to pursue artistic interests such as Drawing and Graphic Arts, which he did not have the opportunity to do in Germany. This allowed Franz to meet other students with similar interests and assimilate quicker.

To experience a broad perspective of such “school spirit”, Franz traveled with us to California for the pageantry of the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl. Franz was amazed at the allegiance and camaraderie of the people tied to their favorite school but appreciated that such simple bonds can bring such diverse backgrounds of people together to enjoy the moment.

With the addition of Franz to our family, we have experienced the differences adapting to someone raised with different values, which required us to be patient, flexible and respectful, which is important in all relationships. We believe this has been a growth experience for Franz and our family to apply to our daily lives.

For Lindsey Szczygiel and Naoko Upham: it’s all about the hair

When people hear the word “donation,” many commonly think of clothing, shoes, cash or food. Not so in the case of AWA’s Lindsey Szczygiel and Naoko Upham. For them, it’s all about hair.

Lindsey Szczygiel’s first hair donation came years ago after hearing that her childhood hospital suitemate, Chelsea, had died of cancer. Chelsea had lost all of her hair due to medical treatment, and her passing motivated Szczygiel to cut off most of her own hair and donate it in honor of Chelsea and her family. After hearing how grateful the family was, Szczygiel decided to continue to grow out her hair and donate it to those in need.

“Naoko proudly holds up the hair she had cut to donate to Locks of Love, a charity that make wigs for children.”

Naoko Upham is the daughter of two cancer survivors and has been supporting the Cancer Research Foundation for almost 20 years – yet she was unaware of the hair donation program until hearing Szczygiel’s story. Her first plan was to remove eight inches of her hair, but after considering Lindsey’s story, Upham removed 12 inches instead.

Both ladies donated their hair through Locks of Love, one of many organizations that accept hair donations.

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss. The national organization meets a unique need for children around the United States by using donated hair to create natural, high quality hair prosthetics.

The mission of Locks of Love is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children.

While the minimum length of hair donation varies, Szczygiel and Upham have gone above and beyond by donating a total of 38 inches of hair between them.

They concede that hair donation is a major, personal decision, but both women believe it to be gratifying.

“I am glad I was able to help others,” said Upham. “Thinking about somebody else enjoying my hair as much as I did makes me happy.”

Both women plan to donate their hair again once they reach the length requirement.

AWA, ATC-A Members enjoy company picnic

“ATC-A President, Yoshi Kato and his wife Kaoru, joined Aisin families at the company picnic on August 17.”

AWA and ATC-A associates and their families were invited to Kensington Metro Park for a day of food and fun for the Aisin Company Picnic on Sunday, Aug. 17. More than 150 people attended the event and were treated to hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs and a variety of pasta and potato salads. And, with warm temps and sunshine, kids and adults treated themselves to ice cream and snow cones all day long.

In addition to enjoying the food, multiple recreational activities were available for guests, including inflatable bounce houses, a blow up rock climbing wall and a Velcro wall. Associates played ladder golf, bocce ball and bean-bag toss. With lake access available, fishing and swimming were also popular.

“It was a well-attended event and I think everyone was excited to see it return,” said Linda Wallace, assistant manager, Corporate Communications and Service Sales, who coordinated the event.

Also in attendance was ATC-A President Yoshiaki Kato and his wife, Kaoru. Kato-san said that he enjoyed being with team members and their families and getting to know them better. Kato-san said he was very pleased that team members took the time to come to the company picnic.

“Jane Reed shows off the baby blanket she is currently working on for a lucky Aisin baby.”

Resident knitter Jane Reed helps keep Aisin babies warm

Of the nearly 300 Northville Township-based Aisin World Corp. of America and Aisin Technical Center of America employees, one person everyone knows is Receptionist Jane Reed. What many may not know is that Reed is an avid knitter, beginning almost 60 years ago.

Reed has been with Aisin for five years and has knitted baby blankets for each baby born to any employee of Aisin, resulting in hundreds of blankets. When she began working for Aisin, she decided to knit the baby blankets as a thank you to the people she worked with.

“I started making blankets when Aisin hired me… it gave me a reason to knit,” stated Reed.

In addition to baby blankets, Reed has knitted dishrags to help those in need. When she learned of the women that AWA employee Patty Alley was helping during her time in Haiti, Reed began knitting dishrags for Alley to give to the women. Reed felt compelled to knit the dishrags when she found a “Pray for Haiti” pattern out of pure coincidence. According to Alley, these dishrags are sometimes the only gifts these women ever receive.

As for Reed’s gift of knitting, “It’s a talent I’ve been given and I love to share.”