Yakumi, the premium, fast-casual sushi concept located in Burbank, CA, announces the launch of its charity initiative, the Yakumi Global Fund, a conscious decision to help shape the future of hospitality and the fast-fine restaurant culture. Yakumi is committed to making mindful business decisions regarding sustainability and seeking unique opportunities to protect the world’s most important resource – the ocean.

“Yakumi is a destination for fresh, high-quality sushi from pristine waters around the globe, and that is why we believe the choices about how we eat, where it comes from, and giving back is so important to help heal the oceans and make a positive environmental change,” says Lee Maen, partner at Yakumi.

Whether it’s cleaning up copious amounts of garbage, putting a stop to ocean dumping or providing ethical ways for becoming carbon neutral, The Yakumi Global Fund will donate a portion of proceeds from each location to a selected charity annually. This quarter’s designated partner is with the Reef Check Foundation, a non-profit organization leading citizen scientists to promote stewardship of sustainable reef communities worldwide.

Reef Check Executive Director, Jan Freiwald, PhD, says, “Reef Check shares the commitment of The Yakumi Global Fund to ensure a sustainable and healthy future for our reefs and oceans. Ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions for reef conservation and restoration will benefit not only the species in the ocean, but also the human communities who rely on them as well. Through this partnership, we look forward to being able to do even more to monitor the health of our ocean here in California and all over the world.”