AUW Japan surpasses US $1 million in fundraising
Asian University for Women (AUW) Japan Support Committee hosted its first-ever virtual fundraiser, 'Reimagined: Stories of Resilience', on October 30, 2020, and surpassed its goals by netting over US $1 million to support young women's pursuit of education. More than 320 AUW supporters globally watched the committee's 11th annual fundraiser live-streamed from the Aoyama Treehouse in Tokyo.
Japan is the second largest source of support for the Asian University for Women after the United States. This recent event raised over 113 million Japanese Yen ($1.1 million) with additional support still anticipated. Another $1 million will be contributed by two anonymous donors as a dollar-for-dollar match of funds raised by the AUW Japan Support Committee. All proceeds of the event will be directed towards student scholarships. The AUW alumnae who spoke at the event evocatively captured the evening's theme that 'AUW's Mission Matters and Results Count.'
The programme featured AUW Vice Chancellor Professor Nirmala Rao and AUW Dean of Students Rania Kassem. AUW alumnae from Bangladesh (Rimu Byadya), Pakistan (Shumaila Perveen) and Sri Lanka (Elackiya Sithamparanathan) also spoke, each of whom is using their AUW education to impact their communities.
Ms Stephanie Toppino, an AUW Japan Committee leader said, "Being able to push ahead with our fundraising, even in such uncertain times, was so important to all of us. That the event was so successful and so well received reaffirms what we know to be true -- creating pathways for women's education in the region is a powerful tool toward positive global change."
The AUW Japan Support Committee would like to acknowledge the generous event sponsors, Nomura Holdings and the Morrison & Foerster Foundation; auction donors, Rajul and Sachin Shah and MnK Niseko, the Sasanuma and Seki families, Yoriko Soma and Lotte Arai Hotel; and raffle donors, The Peninsula Tokyo, Aman Tokyo, Grand Hyatt Tokyo, Berry Brothers Rudd, Astrea, Loro Piana, Aveda, Playallday247, Cross Tokyo, Roberto Perozzi Hairdressing (RPH), Jikuu, and Biku Designs.
In addition to a group of extraordinarily generous individuals, AUW is also fortunate to have significant Japanese corporate supporters; among them, the Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., which has sponsored 70 students for five-year scholarships, and Takeda Pharmaceutical, which sponsored an Endowed Chair in Public Health at AUW. Other major corporate supporters in Japan include Goldman Sachs Gives, PAG Japan, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi-Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning, and JKSK.
The AUW Japan Support Committee is led by co-chairs Kathy Matsui, Catherine Sasanuma, and Miwa Seki, and members include: Ali Buford, Laura Buckley, Trista Bridges, Annie Chang, Karen Dunn, Roxana Daver, Alison Eaton, Donald Eubank, Chi Guillemette, Martha Gomez, Verna Holder, Maya Horii, Alyson Jenkins, Mayumi Jones, Lauren Bliss Kawasaki, Ritsuko Kitahara, Preeti Kothari, Kathy Krauth, Rachel Leng, Jiana Leung, Karen Lynch, Leanne Maggart, Kanako Miyakoshi, Cecilia Melin, Yumiko Murakami, Erin O'Donovan, Hema Parekh, Debbie Reilly, Stephanie Toppino, Yuka Sadayuki, Kathryn Saunders, Regina Salathe, Shruti Soni, Shanti Taweel, Nobuko Tsutsui, and Erina Yoh.
Founded in 2008 and located in Chittagong, Bangladesh, AUW is the first of its kind: a regional institution dedicated to women's education and leadership development through liberal arts and sciences education. It is international in outlook but rooted in the contexts and aspirations of the people of Asia.