PROJECT KICKSTART

Established in 2005, Project Kickstart provides students from rural areas in Northeast China with the opportunity to pursue higher education, by paying for their first year of tuition and expenses at a Beijing university.

Each year, thousands of high school seniors from rural areas of China attain acceptance to university through the gaokao examination. However, the average annual income of a rural family is as low as ¥1500 (~ $200), while the annual cost of tuition alone at a Beijing university ranges from ¥5,000 to upwards of ¥10,000. The rising cost of tuition and living has made it increasingly difficult for many families to send their children to university; thus, students with tremendous academic promise are forced to relinquish their chances for a brighter future. Project Kickstart raises money to help students realize their dreams and offers them a foundation on which to build their academic careers.

In 2005, we piloted the program through a grass roots effort, whereby the Committee identified selected high schools in poor rural areas, reviewed student applications and personally interviewed promising candidates.  Two students were selected and successfully completed their freshman year of University.  Now in its third year, we are funding two more students for the 2007-8 academic year, making a total of six students to whom we are mentors.

The Project Kickstart Committee hopes to raise money from individual and corporate sponsors to establish an endowment that can fund the program on an ongoing basis.  In June of 2006, a fundraiser featuring the Yale Whiffenpoofs was held at the St. Regis Hotel to kickstart the program. 

We hosted similar events in the summers of 2007 and 2008. "All That Jazz" took place on June 23, 2007, at the Swisshotel Grand Ballroom and featured the Yale Whiffenpoofs, as well as the Christopher Lier Jazz band.  The theme for 2008's event was "One World - Fourteen Whiffs," and the evening was held on June 25 at Song Bar.

We are actively seeking a volunteer to help with fundraising and student applications for 2009-2010.   Please contact our Scholarship Chair George Ling for more information on how to join the Committee or donate to this very worthy project.