volunteerAKITA Scholarship Fund

Hi my name is Paul Yoo, Co-founder of volunteerAKITA and The Fruit Tree Project (www.volunteerakita.org).  Along with our on-going activities, we are also involved in the “Smiles & Dreams:Tohoku Kids Project” led by Living Dreams/SmileKidsJapan (www.livingdreams.jp and www.smilekidsjapan.org). Right now, we are working as Home Communication Managers (HCMs) to two orphanages in the Sendai area.  Our role is to act as contacts for the orphanages, and relay any needs they may have.

What we need right now:  A boy, in his 3rd year of high school (his final year), at one of the orphanages we are in contact with, has become the first orphan there to ever express interest in going to college.  He wants to attend Yamaguchi Hukushi Bunka Daigaku (University of Human Welfare and Culture) and study hoiku ka (child care).  It is a four year program and the university will cover tuition for the first 2 years of the program, along with 50% of the 3rd and 4th years.  Our goal is to raise￥1,154,000 which includes ￥970,000 in tuition costs for the 3rd and 4th years, along with an ￥184,000 mandatory insurance cost over 4 years.

We are currently accepting donations for the scholarship fund we have set up.  After collecting the sufficient funds, we will then transfer the money to an account that will be handled by the orphanage.

We welcome any grants, scholarships, or personal donations to get this young man to college, and most importantly doing it without leaving him in debt after he finishes school, since in most cases, once an orphan has finished high school, he is on his own.

It is truly inspiring that he plans to go to college and is the first from his orphanage to show interest in doing so.  Successfully sending him to college would be such an amazing gift, and would inspire other orphans to follow in his footsteps, knowing that they too can receive a college education, and strive to become whatever they want to be in the future.

If you have any questions regarding this proposal or can help us out, please contact me.

Much Love,

Paul Yoo and Minami Ishikawa

*volunteerAKITA is NOW accepting online donations for our scholarship fund thanks to Andy Anderson and The Taylor Anderson Memorial Gift Fund! Just write in “volunteerAKITA Scholarship Fund” in the comments section of the giving page

https://www.st.catherines.org/onlinegiving?rc=1