Turn Your Steps Into Impact: The Tokyo Yamathon 2026 Team Fundraising Challenge
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
You've signed up. You're ready to walk. Now let's make it count.
October 17th is more than a walk across Tokyo. It's your chance to turn 42km into something that matters long after the finish line, and the Team Fundraising Challenge is how you do it.
This year, the Tokyo Yamathon has set an ambitious goal: ¥20 million raised for six incredible Community Impact Partners changing lives across Japan and around the world. We can't get there without you.
Why Fundraise?
Walking the Yamathon is an achievement in itself. But imagine if every step you take also feeds a child in Malawi, restores a forest in Tochigi, cleans a beach, creates opportunities for children, or creates a moment of comfort for a family facing the unimaginable. That's what fundraising makes possible.
85% of every donation goes directly to our Community Impact Partners. 15% and our amazing sponsors keep Tokyo Yamathon running, funding the tools, logistics, and operations that make this event possible year after year.
The more your team raises, the more lives you touch. It's that simple.
Who You Are Walking For
Your fundraising supports six organisations making a lasting difference:
Seibo Japan: Seibo provides school meals to children in Malawi, using food support to improve education, health, and long-term opportunities. By ensuring children have access to nutritious meals, Seibo helps create brighter futures for entire communities.
Tochigi Conservation Corps (TCC): TCC rehabilitates neglected forests and engages volunteers and children in hands-on environmental stewardship across Japan's Tochigi region, nurturing a new generation of nature guardians.
YouMeWe: YouMeWe supports teenagers in care as they transition into independent adulthood through education, mentorship, and career readiness programs. Their mission is to empower young people with the confidence and support needed to build stable futures.
SEGO: SEGO connects communities through hands-on environmental action, sustainability education, and conservation initiatives across both land and sea. Their mission encourages people to work together to protect the natural world for future generations.
Mirai no Mori: Mirai no Mori provides outdoor adventure programs for vulnerable children in Japan, helping them build confidence, independence, resilience, and leadership skills through nature-based experiences and community support.
Japan Children's Hospice Association: Japan Children's Hospice Association supports and strengthens children's hospices through awareness, advocacy, events, research, and community support. Their mission is to help create safe and compassionate spaces for children with serious illnesses and their families.
How to Set Up Your Fundraising Page
Getting started takes less than five minutes.
Step 1: Visit the Tokyo Yamathon 2026 Team Fundraising Challenge page:
Step 2: Click "I want to fundraise for this"
Step 3: Create your personal or team fundraising page
Step 4: Set your goal. We challenge every team to raise at least ¥34,000. Combined with your ¥16,000 entry fee, that brings your total contribution to ¥50,000
Step 5: Name your page and add a short personal message about why you're walking
Step 6: Share your page with friends, family, and colleagues via email, LINE, and social media
Your page could be live in under five minutes. Every yen you raise goes directly to the people who need it most.
If you need any help getting set up, reach out at donate@ivgjapan.org and we will get you moving in the right direction.
Resources to Help You Fundraise
We've put together a full Social Media Fundraising Kit to make sharing as easy as possible. It includes:
7 Instagram-ready images (1080x1080px): one general post and one spotlight for each Community Impact Partner, with captions in English and Japanese, ready to post
7 Twitter/X and Facebook images (1200x630px): the same posts reformatted for wide-format feeds
Full bilingual captions: English and Japanese copy for every post, including hashtags, so you can reach both your local and international networks
Post one image per week in the lead-up to October 17th, starting with the general post to announce your fundraising, then working through each Community Impact Partner spotlight in the weeks that follow. Tell your followers why you chose to fundraise, share your personal goal, and link to your Donorbox page in every post.
Download your kit below and start sharing today:
👉 Download the Social Media Fundraising Kit (PDF) 👉 Download Instagram Images (ZIP) 👉 Download Twitter/Facebook Images (ZIP)
The Challenge Starts Now
We are aiming for ¥20 million this October, with a stretch goal of ¥25 million. That is an ambitious target, and it only happens if every team steps up.
Your fundraising page is your personal stake in that goal. Every share, every conversation, every donation brings us closer to something that matters.
So: step up, stand out, and make your walk count.
See you on October 17th.
International Volunteer Group JapanTokyo Yamathon Operations Team donate@ivgjapan.org
Social Media Resources:
Link: [YOUR FUNDRAISING LINK HERE]
Our team is doing the Yamathon. Let's make an impact together.
This October 17th our team is taking on the Tokyo Yamathon, 42km across the city, and we are fundraising for 6 incredible Community Impact Partners changing lives across Japan and around the world. Every yen you donate goes directly to organisations on the ground, feeding children, restoring forests, supporting young people out of care, protecting the environment, and caring for families in their hardest moments. Help support the 6 amazing Community Impact Partners.
Link: [YOUR FUNDRAISING LINK HERE]
Our team is doing the Yamathon. Let's make an impact together.
Our team is walking for Mirai no Mori, an organisation that gives vulnerable children in Japan the gift of outdoor adventure. Through nature-based programmes, they help kids build confidence, resilience, and leadership skills that last a lifetime
Link: [YOUR FUNDRAISING LINK HERE]
Our team is doing the Yamathon. Let's make an impact together.
Our team is walking for YouMeWe, an organisation that empowers teenagers leaving care with the skills, mentorship, and confidence to build independent futures. Every child deserves the chance to dream and achieve. Your donation helps make that happen
Link: [YOUR FUNDRAISINGLINK HERE]
Our team is doing the Yamathon. Let's make an impact together.
Our team is walking this October for the Tochigi Conservation Corps, young people restoring Japan's satoyama forests and building the next generation of environmental leaders. Japan's forests need protecting. Your donation helps TCC keep doing the work that matters.
Link: [YOUR FUNDRAISING LINK HERE]
Our team is doing the Yamathon. Let's make an impact together.
Our team is walking for the Japan Children's Hospice Association, working to create compassionate spaces for children with serious illnesses and their families across Japan. Every child deserves comfort. Every family deserves support.
Link: [YOUR FUNDRAISING LINK HERE]
Our team is doing the Yamathon. Let's make an impact together.
Our team is walking for SEGO, doing good together, across Japan's land and sea. SECO connects communities through hands-on environmental action and sustainability education.
Link: [YOUR FUNDRAISING LINK HERE]
Our team is doing the Yamathon. Let's make an impact together.
This year our team is walking for Seibo Japan, an organisation that has provided over 3.3 million meals to more than 20,000 children across 55 schools in Malawi. Your donation helps Seibo keep feeding the next generation.
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