Hello, and a Happy New Year, friends!
Most of you know about the non-profit organization I started back in 2006 – hashi.org – which is a California Non-Profit organization dedicated to promoting cultural exchange opportunities between East Asia and America. “Hashi” means “bridge” in Japanese. This year, in particular, has been an inspiring yet tragic time, with the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March, and the sudden changes brought about in North Korea by the death of Kim Jong Il.
And as you know, we’ve been having a tough time right here in America. At times, it seems all we can do to take care of ourselves and our families in this down economy. And with so much unrest and division in the world right now, it’s hard to know how to help. I consider the $1000 scholarships that hashi.org gives out each year to be a small way of helping to ease that unrest and division, and instead, building a bridge by investing in the education, travel, and experience of those most worthy scholarship applicants. Here’s a sample of recent recipients.
 | Trevor is our American winner this year, and is majoring in advertising with a minor in Japanese and Business, who is now studying at Toyo University through the ISEP exchange. He is a musician as well, and writes his own music and is deeply interested in Japanese music, and looks forward to sharing and performing while in Japan. And while there, he'll be joining up with a group to help with the tsunami and earthquake relief effort in the Sendai region. |
 | Our Japanese winner has come to research as a Fellow at the NASA Ames Research Center in California. Although he is a PhD student of Yokohama National University in Japan, his study is a joint research project between NASA and Japan. He's volunteering a few times a week to teach Japanese. That Volunteer Club is working with people from many countries, such as South Korea, Taiwan, India, USA, and Israel. He’s teaching about Japanese culture and customs in addition to language studies. |
 | Our recent Korean scholarship winner, Kim Eun Young, is in her senior year at University majoring in political science and diplomacy. She has taught children, participated in cultural exchange programs between Korea, China, and Russia, and wants to intern in America and write her thesis on applying ‘American Federal Government’ to international politics. |
As we ease into the New Year, if you feel drawn to help with our efforts, your donation would be so appreciated! Because I volunteer my time and office, we have almost no overhead, and your donation will go directly to help fund these scholarships. And as a 501c3 non-profit organization, it will be fully tax-deductible, too! http://www.hashi.org/donation.html
Thank you for taking the time to learn about hashi.org!
Here’s to a peaceful and prosperous new year in 2012,
Michael
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