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MAZDA AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2008 YFU JAPAN PROGRAM

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.(June, 4. 2008)– The Mazda Foundation is pleased to announce the 10 recipients of the Mazda scholarships to the 2008 Youth For Understanding (YFU) international high school exchange program in Japan. The scholarship winners will spend six weeks this summer living with host families near Mazda’s worldwide headquarters in Hiroshima.

The following sons and daughters of MNAO and Mazda Dealer employees received scholarships:

Leah Castronova                           Caitlyn Slawny                          Abbie Porter                        
Manhattan Mazda                          Don Miller Mazda                      Walser Mazda                           
Ossining, New York                       Madison, Wisconsin                 Edina, Minnesota        

                
Katie Carlson                                Nayer Toma

Eich Mazda                                  MNAO

Saint Cloud, Minnesota                 Placentia, California

In addition, four national winners and one student from Flat Rock High School in Flat Rock, MI, received scholarships:

Alexandria Candelaria                        Shamrin Lullo                             Tyler Jury                     
Kirkland, Washington                        Fernandine Beach, Florida           Elizabethtown, Kentucky    

Kevin Son                                          Katherine Marcyan               
Torrance, California                            Flat Rock, Michigan

Since 1984, The Mazda Foundation has funded Youth for Understanding (YFU) in order to promote cross-cultural understanding between America and Japan. The YFU scholarship from the Mazda Foundation, which is valued at $6,995.00, provides round-trip domestic and international air travel, placement with a specially selected host family in Japan for six weeks, a pre-departure orientation and support services provided by YFU in Japan and the U.S.

This year’s select group of students will join the more than 225,000 young people who have participated in an exchange program with YFU.

The program begins at San Jose State University with a three-day pre-departure orientation, which emphasizes Japanese language, culture and etiquette. Students then fly to Japan, where they learn about Japanese culture by living with Japanese host families, participating in local activities, visiting schools and one-on-one interaction with their host families. The students’ Japan experience will culminate with a visit to Mazda’s Headquarters in Hiroshima where they will have the opportunity to meet with Mazda Motor Corporation President Hisakazu Imaki as well as Mazda engineers and designers.

The Mazda Foundation is proud to be able to provide this truly unique opportunity to such a diverse group of high school students.

About the Mazda Foundation (USA) Inc.

Acting on a strong sense of responsibility to give something back to the communities in which it operates, Mazda established a philanthropic foundation. As the corporate foundation of Mazda North American Operations, it has awarded nearly $6 million to worthwhile causes across the United States since its initial grants in 1992. Over the past ten years, the Foundation has dedicated a significant portion of its contributions to programs that serve minority populations.