On Sunday, December 14th, approximately 20 students enrolled in the "Practical Planning Seminar" class (Associate Professor Kuroki Koichi and Assistant Professor Hamakawa Kazuhiro) in the Department of Faculty of Economics, Department of Economics, held a charity event, "Fukuoka Santa Walk in Chihaya 2025," in Chihaya, Higashi Ward, Fukuoka City. A total of 164 people, from children to adults, dressed up as Santa Claus and walked through the city.
This initiative, now in its ninth year, donates profits from Santa Walk participation fees and other sources as Christmas presents to children fighting illness.
In the past, children who had experienced hospitalization had told us that the loneliest day during their stay was not their birthday, but Christmas. Students from the same department took the lead in planning this event, hoping that it would be the day when children felt most connected to others.
The day began with an opening ceremony featuring a performance by the local gospel group "all fruits" and VIGOROUS, the cheerleaders of the university's athletics executive committee, followed by a 60-minute procession with the children at the front, all smiling. This year, a large group of 18 people, including the JR Chihaya Stationmaster and other station staff, participated, and despite the rainy weather, the town of Chihaya was enveloped in a "warm Christmas" atmosphere.
After the closing ceremony, the university's "Ducky Jazz Orchestra" performed at Chihaya Park, and a student festival was also held. Event representative Haruya Ueda (2nd year student at Kyushu Sangyo University Kyushu High School) spoke of his hopes for the event, saying, "I hope that the 'warm time' we spent with the participants today will spread to children who are fighting illness. I hope that today's activities will help as many children as possible to feel better."
The donations collected this time will be donated to Fukuoka Municipal Children's Hospital (Kasai Teruha, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City) along with trick art created in the sister project "TRICK ART PROJECT 2025 *." The trick art will be on display at "Namiki Square" within the course from December 14th (Sun) to 25th (Thu) for the enjoyment of local residents.
Please come and visit us and enjoy an early Christmas experience.
*This project is part of the "Quest Seminar" course taught by Assistant Professor Hamakawa.
Students from Faculty of Economics come up with the theme, and students from Faculty of Art and Design design the trick art.
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Trick art exhibit at Namiki Square
[Faculty of Economics / Future Traditional Research Center / Faculty of Art and Design]
