We Are Here For You, OGUMAS!!

Hello everyone,

My name is Mackenzie Thomas, and I am best friends with Olivia of the fabulous OGUMA family of NYC. I’m starting this gofundme account for Olivia and her family in order to be proactive, show support, and to hopefully alleviate any sort of stress that they are no doubt experiencing right this moment. Many of you who live far away from NYC have wondered how you can help, so I figured the best way to help the family would be to set up this gofundme account to raise a little "Just-In-Case" cash. Anything is helpful and appreciated, and any kind thoughts and prayers are appreciated, too!


What’s going on…. My dear friend and her family have been going through some VERY tough times these past few months after TOSHIO (Olivia’s dad) was admitted to the hospital on June 27th and informed his gastric cancer was back for the second time around, but this time as Stage 4 metastasized cancer.  As you can imagine, this unexpected news took the family by surprise. Fortunately, Olivia, Oliver (her brother), and Karen (her mom) have been able to be by Toshio's hospital bed every day for the past couple months. Today, the family received even more devastating news, and it is my opinion that they are going to need us to rally around them more than ever over the next week or two.


Lemme tell you a little about Toshio, just in case you’ve never had the opportunity to meet this great man. There are 2 things that Toshio cared about more than anything on the planet, and that is his family and making sushi (being a Master at making sushi, actually). He is a world-class chef--one of the top sushi chefs in all of NYC-- and has accomplished more in the past decade than most of us will ever do in a lifetime. Sidebar--I had the pleasure of hostessing at one of his lower Manhattan restaurants back when I needed a flexible acting survival job.. Toshio-san was the best boss, who also happened to remind me of my own Dad—strong, quiet, & humble, but expected a lot from his employees and was a perfectionist when it came to hospitality and running the restaurant... I don’t think many people out there could rival his work ethic, passion, and dedication. I actually don’t have the eloquence to properly describe Toshio-san, so I will let this video speak for me and fill you in on his awesomeness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZZZ5wxUf3U (Special shoutout to Karen and her blonde hair!!!)


Back to the cause:
NYC has a powerful network of Oguma friends and fans, and your love and support has been a huge comfort for the family. I speak to Olivia every single day, and she and her family are truly overwhelmed by the extreme generosity displayed already by so many of you — from bringing by food and groceries, to sending cards and care packages, to walking their little dog — all of that has been a huge comfort for the Ogumas and they are incredibly grateful for all the love and support.


Thank you in advance for your kindness and support, and please share this with anyone who is friends with the Ogumas!!!!


WE LOVE YOU TOSHIO, KAREN, OLIVIA AND OLIVER!