ISHIKAWA / 'Angel Smile' project beams on medical, care workers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A nail salon manager launched a project last month that offers discounts and special services at selected shops, mainly in Kanazawa, to people working in the medical, nursing and other welfare fields.

Miki Hiraguchi, 42, said she started the project, named "Angel Smile," to support people working in these fields, adding that she was looking for more shops and restaurants to join the scheme.

"I wanted to give something back to people such as those who nursed my mother," she said. "I'm very keen to expand this sphere of assistance."

Workers eligible to receive the Angel Smile services include doctors, nurses, nursing care workers, counselors and others engaged in different kinds of social welfare work.

Shops or restaurants joining the project offer special deals, such as a 5 percent discount, if their customers' jobs fall into the specific categories.

Hiraguchi was inspired to start her scheme by the hospital nurses who offered her support and words of encouragement when she was worried about the nursing care being given to her mother, who is mentally ill.

Her mother sometimes acted violently, and had on occasion been taken to hospital by ambulance, placing a heavy burden on Hiraguchi and other members of her family.

The nursing care workers treated the family with great kindness and understanding, Hiraguchi said.

She had been worried that she had not been providing her mother with the best possible care, but a counselor told her, "There's no need for you to worry about things by yourself alone."

Hiraguchi said the care workers put her mind at rest on many occasions.

However, she said she felt that workplace welfare was lacking for many of the medical and care workers. This inspired her and she came up with the Angel Smile idea.

Hiraguchi said she planned to continue pursuing such volunteer welfare activities through the network formed by the Angel Smile scheme.

She has set a goal of attracting 50 stores and restaurants to the scheme, each of which will display a special sticker depicting the campaign's logo, an angel.

Currently, a total of 15 stores, nail salons and Japanese-style restaurants take part in the scheme, most of them in Kanazawa.

Though there is no membership fee to join Angel Smile, Hiraguchi plans to charge an annual membership fee of 1,050 yen after the membership exceeds 50.

She also plans to launch a Web site for members early next year.

"To support medical and welfare workers, I want to expand the scheme's membership network to the Hokuriku region and then across the nation," Hiraguchi said.