Mayor Long Provides Matching Grant for Wabash City Schools Japanese Exchange Program
This April, around 20 Wabash High School students and their families will be participating in a Japanese Exchange Program by hosting 44 students from a private high school outside of Tokyo, Japan. During the students’ visit, they will learn about Wabash, experience American culture, and attend classes at Wabash High School. Then, this summer, during the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wabash high school students will have the opportunity to travel to Japan to stay with the students they hosted. The program goes hand-in-hand with Wabash City Schools’ pillar of citizenship, which “supports programs and initiatives aimed at advancing critical thinking skills, civic responsibility, and global perspectives”. However, travel to Japan is expensive, and the estimated cost per student is $2,800.
To help alleviate costs of the program, Mayor Long has graciously announced he will provide a dollar-for-dollar match for any donations made to the Wabash City Schools Foundation Fund held at the Community Foundation of Wabash County. He says, “Affording local students the opportunity to travel abroad to further their education, and allowing them to experience different cultures, allows them to grow and the community to grow also. I am thrilled to support, and be a part of, Wabash City Schools Foreign Exchange program as it grows and flourishes.”
Those who wish to support the program, may donate on the Community Foundation website www.cfwabash.org, or with a check, with “Japanese Exchange Program” in the memo line. The deadline to make a donation for a match is March 31, 2020; however, the Community Foundation will continue to take donations after this date. Donations will support expenses of the program, including travel, and will not support specific students. If you have any questions about the match, please contact melissa@cfwabash.org