Kikokushijo Academy Receives the Loukoumi Make a Difference Award

日本語版はこちら。

On May 28th, the Kikokushijo Academy chapter of the Loukoumi International Good Deed Council was honored to receive the Loukoumi Make a Difference Award. The award is given yearly by the Loukoumi Foundation to schools and students around the world in recognition of their outstanding volunteer work.

The Loukoumi Foundation is a non-profit organization based in New York and runs the Loukoumi International Good Deed Council, with branches in schools around the world. Over 150,000 students across 30 countries have joined the International Good Deed Council, with a mission to create a positive impact in their local communities and across the globe.

Partnership with the Loukoumi Foundation

Kikokushijo Academy first partnered with the Loukoumi Foundation in December 2024, when the school was presented the opportunity to have a student write an essay for their book titled Inspiring Stories That Make A Difference 2.

One of our Junior High School students, who had won that year’s JH/HS Speech Competition, was selected to write a story about what inspires her the most.

Then, in April 2025, we launched the first International Good Deed Council in Asia at Kikokushijo Academy. Over 50 students have joined the KA Good Deed Council since then, and their charity projects have made positive impacts on thousands in Japan and abroad.

Kikokushijo Academy Good Deed Council Projects

In April 2025, our students made Tanabata themed arts and crafts that we sent to a Tokyo-based NPO called Hands on Tokyo, which were then distributed to local nursing homes as decorations.

In September 2025, we partnered with a local chapter of “Food Not Bombs” and created care packages that were delivered to homeless people in Ikebukuro.

To kick off the new 2026-2027 school year, we recruited over 30 new members to the council. They’re already off to a great start, having made posters that we sent to each KA campus to raise awareness for environmental causes in honor of Earth Day. They are also now working on another donation drive, with the plan to launch it in the coming months.

Throughout the year, our students also have the opportunity to join global online meetings with International Good Deed Council members from around the world. During these meetings, students share updates about the projects they’ve been working on, and occasionally come up with ideas that every member school can work on. This April, we hosted the Global Good Deed of the Month month, where our students gave updates on all of the projects we completed, as well as a presentation about Japanese culture.

Students Take the Initiative

One of the main components of the International Good Deed Council is for students to come up with their own volunteer initiatives, instead of being told what projects to do by adults. All of our council members contribute to creating and implementing these incredible projects, and we know that their experiences on the Good Deed Council will continue to have a positive impact on their lives. The experiences will also give them a great advantage on university applications, particularly those going through the Comprehensive Selection (A/O) admission process.

All of us at Kikokushijo Academy are very proud of all of the goodwill our students have created through the KA Good Deed Council, and we are very excited to see what the future holds for all of our council members!

About Kikokushijo Academy

Founded in 2004, Kikokushijo Academy (KA) is Japan’s leading after-school program for returnee and bilingual students. Over two decades, KA has built a network of more than 16,000 alumni at top universities and in global careers.

KA also operates Rising Stars, a program for domestic students beginning their English-learning journey. KA is part of Global KA Holdings, Inc.

Learn more at kikokushijoacademy.com and globalka.com.