Cranes Club Brings Hope to Young Professionals

The inaugural Cranes Club Conference wrapped up on Sunday, December 21, 2014 with the Christmas celebration in Las Vegas. As a young and blooming organization, the Cranes Club initiated with a focus on networking (getting to know one another), self-reflection (getting to know our own challenges and strengths) and goal-setting (centering upon a common vision) in order to make strides as Unificationists creating positive global impact.

On the final day of the Cranes Club conference, which began on Friday, December 19, Reverend Boo Tae Kim gave a testimony about his experience working as the head of security for True Parents. Then, Naokimi Ushiroda, President of the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP), gave a presentation detailing the compiled feedback given by participants during the round table discussions that took place throughout the conference. The feedback covered challenges, solutions, strengths, and possible opportunities for Unificationists.

Lena Yasutake from Bridgeport said that the compilation was particularly interesting, “because even though there were a lot of diverse cultures and professions among participants, it seemed like there were a lot of common topics brought up. That means that we are all on the same page about what works and what can be improved.”’

The top areas of challenge that were identified concerned the inclusiveness of the community, the connection of leadership, and the clarity of our message or vision. The top solutions included developing leadership and a network of proud, professional Unificationists, including a broader community in outreach and service, and showing love, care and support for each other through better communication. The strengths that were identified include our strong sense of community that is very diverse, and strong principles of truth. When they discussed possible opportunities, participants suggested development of a broad understanding of different cultures, the possibility to create a network of professionals to contribute their unique expertise, and a time of transition that allows for new growth and change.

Then the participants broke into three groups: Japanese speakers, Korean speakers, and English speakers, in order to discuss their vision for the Cranes Club and to choose five representatives per group. Naokimi described this discussion time as the participants’ “chance to step up and make this organization what they want it to be, to take this opportunity to make their voice heard.”

During these discussions, people talked about the responsibility of second generation Unificationists to be trailblazers as successful, professional Unificationists for the third and fourth generations. They hoped that the Cranes Club would be an organization to facilitate and help them as young professionals, and that there would be an aspect of mentorship: both within the organization, as well as with CARP. People talked about previous attempts to network as professional Unificationists, and that this attempt is particularly strong and hopeful because of True Mother’s encouragement. Everyone was highly engaged, and had immense desire to continue discussing and moving forward with establishing this organization beyond the time allotted in their schedule.

Kayo Kim, an elementary school teacher from the San Francisco Bay Area, said, “I enjoyed the conference, particularly since I was able to meet people who were interested in helping True Mother achieve her vision. I really enjoyed the discussions, listening to our fellow young Unificationists, being able to touch base with them, and getting to know them on a personal level.”

Olga Majitova from New York said, “I was really grateful for an opportunity to meet True Mother, very personally. I felt her love, and how serious she is. The idea of Cranes Club is amazing. I think we had a great chance to understand where we are at in terms of cross-cultural communication, how much we can improve in terms of planning things and discussing things together with our Korean and Japanese brothers and sisters.”

The Cranes Club appealed even to those who were just about to enter the professional world. There were a group of young people from America and Canada who wanted so badly to be a part of Cranes Club that they attended even though they were still completing their undergraduate studies.

“I’m one of the younger attendees, but I am so inspired to see so many young people who have already established themselves professionally, but still have True Parents’ vision in their hearts,” said Yoshie Manaka from Los Angeles. “I’m glad to know that as I take the next step and begin my career, which is a scary transition for me, I am not alone. I already feel supported and a part of a community of successful people who are rooting for me.

“I think that until this point, most of my understanding of True Parents was based on my relationship to True Father. He was the face of the couple,” she continued. “Until this weekend, I mostly heard True Mother speak on a screen, but it’s difficult to catch her heart that way. I felt so much love from her during the conference. In the first few sentences she said to us, she told us that she missed us so much, and I just burst into tears.”

A full transcript of True Mother’s message to the Cranes Club will be available this week, in addition to a complete photo gallery. As the Cranes Club looks forward to growing and continuing these fruitful discussions and activities, we would like to wish them great success and blessings!