It’s been a exciting spring at Shine On! Kids with our Hospital Facility Dog team working hard with our dogs-in-training to get them ready to start work. Of course, enjoying their free time in nature is important too☀️🌷 And… we also hope to be welcoming some new furry friends soon. Stay tuned!

Beads of Courage

As part of AYA Week 2025, which raises awareness for the AYA (Adolescent and Young Adult) generation with cancer, we held a “Reflection Beads” event at Cybozu Inc.’s Tokyo office.

Shine On! Kids’ Reflection Beads workshops are for young people who were in hospitals that didn’t offer our Beads of Courage® program during treatment or for those who couldn’t continue the program after discharge. Families are also welcome to participate, providing an opportunity to reflect on treatment and daily life with the Beads Ambassadors (medical staff from hospitals who help to implement the program).

Beads Ambassadors from across the country joined the workshop with 15 young people participating.

• “I was able to look back on my treatment journey, acknowledge the challenges I faced and the efforts I made, and embrace a more positive attitude.”
• “Until now, we had been careful not to bring up things our child didn’t remember. However, through a thorough reflection, we were able to accept those experiences as cherished memories of perseverance together as parent and child. Our child also gained new insights, and we’re truly glad we participated in the Reflection Beads program.”
• “Meeting many new people and having the opportunity to discuss experiences as survivors, which we rarely do in daily life, provided a great sense of comfort.”

Fighters Meet Fighters

Executive Fight Night (EFN) XIII will be held at the Grand Hyatt on May 30th. Twenty Tokyo business people train for 3 months to get ready for the big night. One of the important events on the their journey is our Fighters Meet Fighters event at their training base – Club 360. Our brave fighters have the opportunity to engage with some of Shine On! Kids’ equally brave children who have undergone treatment for cancer or other illnesses. It’s a fun and educational afternoon for the kids – learning about the fighters (who are from around the world), playing games, of course meeting some of our Hospital Facility Dogs-in-training and even getting a chance to try out boxing gloves!

The fighters are introduced to Shine On! Kids’ programs and get a chance to understand the impact of our work firsthand. Each year, our EFN fighters say how inspirational the connection to the kids is… keeping them focused in training and of course, giving them that extra boost when they step into the ring at the Grand Hyatt on the night!

Hospital Facility Dog Program

AXA Holdings Japan Co., Ltd. (AXA Japan) has been supporting the Hospital Facility Dog Program since 2018. Since 2019, they have been the official sponsor of Hospital Facility Dog Annie at the Kanagawa Children’s Medical Center, providing donations for her activities.

Earlier this year, AXA employees visited the hospital wards and presented plush “Annie” dogs to the hospitalized children. Watching the children’s eyes light up upon seeing the stuffed dogs and hugging them while exclaiming “So cute!” enabled the AXA team to truly feel the emotional support provided by Hospital Facility Dogs.

This special ward visit was made possible with the cooperation of the Kanagawa Children’s Medical Center, who granted special permission for entry.

We are deeply grateful for AXA Japan’s partnership and their support of our work!