Volunteering to find your tribe: Japanese American Cemetery Cleanup in Colma

A few weeks ago my husband and I signed up as volunteers for a local Japanese Cemetery Cleanup Day (Organized by the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California), so last Saturday we headed out to Colma (south of San Francisco on the peninsula) for a half day of work and connection.

We heard how the graveyard came to be in this place and how 20 years ago it was all overgrown because especially the older gravestones had no direct descendants to do the twice yearly cleanup. So a few descendants got together and started organizing what has now become an event with sometimes several hundred participants!

Many of these participants - and there were so many more than I was expecting - have been doing this since those first few cleanups, but there were also many first timers like us. It was wonderful to see young families as well as the scouts picking up tools to weed around the graves and then use soft cloths to respectfully wipe down the headstones.

While working we exchanged greetings and stories, which of course continued during lunch break with a courtesy bento. It wouldn’t be a Japanese event without good food! All in all, although our muscles are aching today, my husband and I had a great time and we’ll certainly volunteer again next time.

How did you find your tribe?