Nov 232011
LETTER TO KIM JAEJOONG FANS AROUND THE WORLD
[Wednesday, October 12, 2011] Dear Kim Jaejoong Fans:
On behalf of everyone at Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission (KKOOM), I wanted to thank everyone at the Shades of Jae’d: International Kim Jaejoong Fanclub and all of Kim Jaejoong’s fans around the world who supported the “Protect the Boss” Campaign in Kim Jaejoong’s honor. The Campaign has raised $1,498 USD to date, and additional funds are continuing to come in.
These funds will support young adult Korean orphans as they transition out of the orphanages and move out into the real world. KKOOM has established a Post-High School Support Initiative which will help Korean orphans prepare for life on their own as adults after they leave the orphanages. KKOOM will be able to provide scholarships for further educational study, access to job search resources, and transitional assistance as they get settled on their own.
I am confident that Kim Jaejoong will be very proud of your efforts and will be inspired by the opportunities you have helped make available to Korean orphans as a result of your generosity. For more information about KKOOM or to make an additional gift that will have a lasting impact on less-fortunate youth in Korea, I invite you to visit our website, www.kkoom.org . Thank you, again, for your support.
Warmest regards,
Aimee Jachym, KKOOM President
In conjunction with Shades of Jae’d: International Kim Jaejoong Fanclub KKOOM is proud to announce a campaign to honor Kim Jaejoong, the star of SBS’s new drama “Protect the Boss,” which begins airing on August 3, 2011.
Fans of Kim Jaejoong are invited to support this new campaign by donating via the button above. Funds raised will support KKOOM’s Post-High School Support Initiative. The donations will have a lasting impact on young adults, who must move out of the orphanages when they become adults. This is an important step toward KKOOM’s mission of improving the lives of Korean orphans through outreach and education, because with new funds, KKOOM can support these vulnerable young adults and help them make sound professional and personal choices by providing things like job training, educational opportunities, and start-up resources for starting lives on their own.
Check out this video, made by Shades Of Jae’d: International Kim Jae Joong Fanclub.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at 12:01am US Eastern Daylight Time, KKOOM will launch a very important new initiative on GlobalGiving. A little over a year ago, KKOOM got its start on GlobalGiving.org and received bonus awards from GlobalGiving based on total number of donors and funds raised during its participation in its first online challenge campaign. GlobalGiving is a website that helps small nonprofits raise funds and awareness and has has been featured in many media outlets, including The New York Times.
This year, KKOOM will kick-off the Post-High School Support Initiative on June 15th via GlobalGiving. This new Initiative is detailed on page 2 of the Spring Quarterly, but in short, KKOOM will launch a dedicated fund to aid young adult Korean orphans as they move out of orphanages and start their own lives. This is an important step toward our mission of improving the lives of Korean orphans through outreach and education, because with new funds, KKOOM can support these vulnerable young adults and help them make sound professional and personal choices.
To get involved, supporters can help kick-off the Post-High School Support Initiative on a high note by making an online donation on June 15, 2011 here. Starting at 12:01am EDT, GlobalGiving will match donations at a 30% level. In other words, for every $100 donated via GlobalGiving, KKOOM will receive an extra $30. Online donations can be made via GlobalGiving in amounts as small as $10 (smaller amounts can be given to KKOOM directly at www.kkoom.org). Details and fine print about the Match Day from GlobalGiving are available on the GlobalGiving website here, but to summarize, the earlier in the day you donate on June 15th, the better!
Supporters unable to give financially can still get involved by letting their friends, family, and contacts know about our new Post-High School Support Initiative and linking to http://goto.gg/8013. All levels of help in getting the word out are truly invaluable and are what made KKOOM’s 2010 GlobalGiving campaign so successful. KKOOM looks forward to a great “virtual turnout” tomorrow on June 15th.
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KOREAN KIDS AND ORPHANAGE OUTREACH MISSION (KKOOM)
Improving the lives of Korean orphans through outreach and education
P.O. Box 973, Portage, MI, USA 49081 | (o) + 1-269-340-0430
May 012011
ORIGINALLY RELEASED 2011-02-11
CONTACT: Leanne Stein, Secretary
Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission (KKOOM)
Phone: (269) 340-0430
Email: info@kkoom.org
URL: http://www.kkoom.org
FLEDGLING NON-PROFIT SET FOR EXPANSION
Portage, Michigan, February 1, 2011 – Tough economic realities have stunted development for many non-profits across the country, but Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission (KKOOM), a 501(c)(3) organization based in southwest Michigan, is facing the opposite challenge: capacity-stretching growth. That is why effective immediately, Aimee Jachym will become KKOOM’s first Chief Administrator and will assume the day-to-day responsibilities of sustaining this young non-profit, which works to improve the lives of orphans in South Korea. In this new role, Jachym will facilitate KKOOM’s ongoing volunteer projects and programs at Korean orphanages and support its expanding administrative operations. Previously, KKOOM was run by its all-volunteer board of directors.
“KKOOM is a unique non-profit—the only one of its kind working directly with orphans and orphanages in South Korea through an informal network of trusted volunteers,” stated Leanne Stein of Sunland, California, KKOOM’s Secretary. “KKOOM started as a grassroots endeavor in 2004,” Stein continued. “At that point, it wasn’t even ‘KKOOM;’ it was just [Jachym] and her friends collecting and buying goods for kids at orphanages in South Korea. Eventually it got too big and that’s when KKOOM was born in 2007. We’re excited about this next phase of KKOOM’s development and the long-term positive impact we’ll be able to have on the lives of Korean orphans.”
The Chief Administrator position was made possible through the generosity of an anonymous American donor, who has secured funding for KKOOM’s operational expenses for a period of two years. During this time, Jachym will be responsible for developing a “virtual office” to oversee the administrative operations of the organization. Jachym is also tasked with strategically growing KKOOM’s presence, both in the U.S. and in South Korea, while fostering the programs and values that have been the foundation of KKOOM since its inception.
“Chief among KKOOM’s values is our commitment to our donors and stakeholders,” noted Erika Senneseth of Cayce, South Carolina, a founding board member. “Namely,” Senneseth explained, “we will continue to use at least 95% of our individual donors’ ordinary contributions on direct projects and programs, and we will use this two-year opportunity to find new long-term sources of revenue to grow a back-end administrative office. We know that our typical donor gives in the range of $20 to $100 annually, and we want to continue to be responsible stewards of these funds. We want everyday, regular individuals to be able to reach out and help children on the other side of the world in a real and meaningful way, and in order to do so, we’ll find other creative ways to keep the lights on and administrative costs low.”
Jachym was born in Daegu, South Korea and was adopted to the United States as an infant. She received bachelor’s degrees (BA, BBA) from Western Michigan University and returned to Korea for the first time to teach English on a Fulbright grant in 2004. She received a law degree (JD) from Wayne State University in 2009 and formerly worked at Miller Canfield as a corporate attorney. Jachym, who has been President of KKOOM since 2007, supported the creation of the new Chief Administrator position but was not part of the selection and compensation committee’s hiring decision.
“While I’m immensely grateful to the KKOOM board, volunteers, and supporters,” Jachym said, “what fuels my passion for this work is the kids we serve. They’re all like brothers and sisters to me, and I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to make their futures a little brighter.”
For more information about KKOOM, please visit www.kkoom.org.
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About KKOOM – Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission (KKOOM) supports orphanages throughout South Korea with the mission of improving the lives and livelihoods of Korean orphans through outreach, enrichment, and education. The acronym “KKOOM” (pronounced “koom”) also means “dream” in Korean. KKOOM was founded in September 2007 by former Fulbright grant recipients as an extension of an ongoing volunteer project at Samsungwon, an orphanage in Gumi, South Korea that began in 2004 and continues today. KKOOM now provides volunteer resources and aid to six orphanages throughout South Korea and operates U.S.-based educational initiatives that engage young Americans with the firsthand work being done overseas.
