On November 2, 2019 Mirai no Mori hosted their first Rugby Connect fundraiser and Wahl+Case had the honor to act as the main sponsor.

Mirai no Mori is an NPO that “creates life-changing outdoor programs for abused, neglected, and orphaned children in Japan, supporting their growth into happy and successful young adults.” 
They fight for a society where all the youth have the same opportunities.

So last Saturday, under the clear blue sky of Tokyo’s beautiful autumn, a total of 89 participants came together at the Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo to play several casual games of touch rugby and enjoy some team spirit. 14 members from Wahl+Case joined in on the fun including our CEO Casey plus some kids and dogs. It was a diverse mix of people from experienced rugby players to first timers, seniors to toddlers. The one thing everyone had in common was the joy of playing rugby for a good cause.

Before the actual games started we all experienced a few of the games that Mirai no Mori usually play in their camps. These were trust building games with the purpose to better get to know the people around you and improve team work for the actual games. We also did some light rugby drills and received some coaching since a lot of us never played rugby before.

After a lunch picnic, we started with the actual games. The games were focused on teamwork, creative plays and, most importantly, fun rather than winning, although it felt really nice to score a try or two…

After the rugby we finished the event with a big raffle. Many great sponsors donated prizes leading to a lot of happy faces for the winners. It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful day.

Mirai no Mori managed to raise a total of 343,519 Yen. All of this money will go to their Touch Rugby program and other outdoor programs for the children they support. For Wahl+Case this was a great experience and we want to thank Mirai no Mori for such a nice event.

“We did it!”