The Giving Back Initiative - renewing a commitment
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Greg Caldwell, former FoK board member, presents the Giving Back Initiative to several board members of Adult Korean Adoptees of Portland, during the 2023 annual meeting.
This initiative was launched in 2014 by the Board of Friends of Korea interested developing a more organized approach to service and philanthropy. The goal is to move FoK to a deeper level of engagement with the many Korean communities, organizations and institutions active both in the US and in Korea. We are committed to supporting organizations and institutions that provide essential social services to members of the Korean-American community, as well as to institutions and other organizations whose activities foster greater understanding between Americans and Koreans. There are so many ways we can continue to give back to Korea. We can support worthy social service organizations here in the US that are addressing the needs of the Korean immigrant population. We can support the educational aspirations of Korean scholars interested in coming to the US to further their education. We can support young Americans interested in going to Korea to learn more about Korean culture and history. These are just a few examples of what we might consider.
More than $95,000 has been donated since 2014. Recipients have included:
- 2014: Korean American Family Services (Los Angeles)
- 2015: National Assn of Korean American Inter-Cultural Family Mission; the Korean American Senior Citizen Assn (Boston area)
- 2016: Virginia Korean American Disabled People’s Assn (Washington, DC area)
- 2017: The Nam Center for Korean Studies at the University of Michigan; Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission (Korea)
- 2018: Korean Community Center Campaign (VA); Community Inclusion and Development Alliance (NY); Esther Ha Foundation (NY)
- 2019: Korean War Memorial Foundation (San Francisco); 2019: Bronx Charter School for Better Learning (Bronx, NY)
- Special COVID-related grants - 2020: Korean American Family Services; Virginia Korean American Disabled People’s Assn; Community Inclusion and Development Alliance; Esther Ha Foundation; and Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission
- 2020: East Asian Library of the University of Southern California
- 2021: Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles; National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
- 2022: Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Southern California; Austin Asian Community Health Initiative; CSU, Fresno Study Abroad to Korea
- 2023: Portland State University, Institute for Asian Studies; Adult Korean Adoptees of Portland; Immanuel Temple (Korea)
- 2024: KW Lee Center for Leadership; Asian Americans Advancing Justice
- 2025: The School of International Studies and Languages (SISAL) at Ohio University; the Annual Hanji Retreat, Oberlin, Ohio
