NISEI STUDENT RELOCATION COMMEMORATIVE FUND
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : j********o@a*l.c*m
Mission Statement
The Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund (NSRCF) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in New England that annually awards scholarships to students from underserved communities pursuing higher education. The NSRCF was established in 1980 by second generation Japanese Americans, Nisei, in gratitude to the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council. The Council made it possible for the Nisei to leave the World War II internment camps for colleges and universities across the United States. The NSRCF encourages inter-ethnic collaboration and promotes public awareness and understanding of the forced removal and unjust imprisonment of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
About This Cause
Commemorate the Past. Educate for the Future. In 1980, nearly 40 years after the wartime incarceration of all Japanese living on the West Coast, a small group of New England Japanese Americans established a scholarship program called the Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund (NSRCF). The founders were Nisei, second generation American-born descendants of Japanese immigrants, whose college educations were abruptly halted by their forced removal and internment in concentration camps in the U.S. interior. Since its establishment, the NSRCF has been awarding scholarships to students of Southeast Asian ancestry. In the late 1970s there were many stories in the news focusing on the plight of the Vietnamese so-called “Boat People,” refugees fleeing the war in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Those stories reminded the Nisei of their own wartime experiences during World War II – lives torn apart, families separated, educations disrupted, loss of livelihoods and personal property, and most of all, an uncertain future. The goals of the NSRCF are two-fold: 1) to pay tribute to the WWII National Japanese American Student Relocation Council and the courageous, justice-minded individuals who stepped forward to lend a helping hand to the college Nisei; and 2) to provide scholarships to underserved communities, currently addressing the needs of the Southeast Asian community, an important and growing part of many U.S. cities. A major challenge facing these families is finding resources to support their children's educational goals. The NSRCF travels to a different city/region/state each year offering scholarships to graduating Southeast Asian American high school students. As of 2020 the NSRCF has awarded more than $1.1 Million Dollars to nearly 1,100 deserving students. The board of directors is committed to maximizing the funds available for scholarships. Only 8% of donations are used for operating costs and expenses and the remaining 92% of all donations go directly into the endowment, the interest from which the annual scholarships are funded. The unique story of the Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund ties the Japanese American students during World War II and their internment and subsequent college experience, to the war in Vietnam, the so-called “Boat People,” refugee camps, and the young refugees and immigrants coming to America seeking a better life. The NSRCF founders believed that whether the recipient was in an internment camp in America or a refugee camp in Thailand, each should have the opportunity for a higher education. Although they have passed on, the Nisei’s vision stands in testament to their commitment, energy and determination, and serves as both inspiration and model for future generations. Our Origins. Our Namesake. The National Japanese American Student Relocation Council (NJASRC) In the spring of 1942, following Pearl Harbor and the subsequent forced removal of all persons of Japanese descent from the West Coast to concentration camps in America’s interior, educators became concerned about the future of many Nisei (American-born citizens, second generation Japanese) students then enrolled in colleges and universities. John McCoy, Assistant Secretary of War, at the urging of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, requested that the American Friends Service Committee, the Quakers, assume leadership for a two-fold endeavor: 1) to return the students to school and 2) through their successful integration within college communities, to pave the way for their families to successfully leave the concentration camps. The National Japanese American Student Relocation Council (NJASRC) was formed on May 29, 1942, and eventually was headquartered in Philadelphia. The NJASRC was staffed primarily by volunteers. Its members included college presidents and deans, college association officers, representatives of leading Protestant churches, Jews, Catholics, Quakers, and the student YMCA-YWCA. Financial support for the undertaking came from many non-government sources: churches of various Protestant denominations, the World Student Service Fund, colleges and universities, and private donations. All college-bound students in the internment camps faced huge administrative hurdles as they sought to gain their leaves. They needed clearances from the War Relocation Authority, the FBI, and, if the student had ever visited Japan, from the War Department. The NJASRC was charged with the responsibility of moving students from the camps to colleges. Its duties included: • Obtaining all necessary clearances. • Managing the funds for scholarships that had been privately donated by individuals, organizations, and churches. • Assisting students with choosing schools, securing their transcripts and letters of reference, channeling their requests for financial aid to scholarship sources, and making formal applications to the school finally selected by the student. • Obtaining assurances from the selected college and the surrounding community that the student would be accepted • Monitoring the student's progress and well-being It is estimated that the NJASRC processed more than 4,600 applications, with the Council staff writing an average of 25 letters for each student, including contacting the student, the government, the school, and the host community. The Council encouraged students to apply to college, processed their clearances, helped find financial support, paved the way for their arrival on campus, and monitored their well-being while they were there. Each and every student leaving the internment camps for college had to have some contact with the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council. By the time it ceased operations on June 30, 1946, the NJASRC held the records of 3,613 Nisei and a list of 680 institutions that accepted them. The existence of the NJASRC and the critical role it played assisting the Nisei students during their World War II internment remains largely unknown. Its work was unquestionably key to the subsequent successful reintroduction of Japanese Americans into the mainstream of American society after the war. The legacy of those groups and individuals who in 1942 had faith in the young Japanese American students and stepped forward to lend their support must not be forgotten. “Ongaeshi” is a Japanese word that means “to repay a kindness.” By paying it forward, the NSRCF honors its namesake and strives to continue its legacy.