In partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund(HSF), the Mazda Foundation USA supports the scholarship funding system. HSF is active in increasing the opportunities for US Hispanic community to receive university education. Scholarships covering tuition fees and other related fees are provided to qualified students attending California State University, University of California and local community colleges.
In 2008, scholarships were awarded to 19 Hispanic students studying Computer Science, Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering. Since 1990, Mazda has awarded 167 scholarships to 128 students.
The Mazda Foundation USA and US-based NPO Youth for Understanding (YFU) have been involved jointly in the Mazda YFU Scholarship Program, a homestay program for US high school students, since 1984 in order to promote cross-cultural relationships between the USA and Japan.
This program enables US high school students to stay in Japan with a host family for approximately six weeks in the summer, and more than 200 students have visited Japan in the past 24 years. During their stay, students get to visit the Mazda Head Office in Hiroshima, where they meet and talk with the company president and deepen their understanding of Japan's automobile manufacturers by visiting the plant and the museum.
Scholarships were awarded to 10 US high school students in 2008.
Dillard University was founded in 1869 and is a historically black, coeducation university providing four-year courses in the liberal arts. The Mazda Foundation USA has been funding a scholarship program for students of Japanese Studies and International Business at this university since 1998.
In 2008, eleven students were awarded the Mazda Scholarship: ten majoring in Business Management and one majoring in Japanese Studies.
Children's Community Schools provide children with the knowledge, social skills and self-assurance required to complete high school, attend college and become productive members of the local community.
The Mazda Foundation USA and the Children's Community School have jointly established the Zooming-Up After School Program to provide underprivileged students with the opportunity to participate in club activities, such as chess, school news reporting, reading, and game clubs, as well as receive snacks and take part in other activities.
A youth science program was also offered to fifth-grade students, during which they attended the Naugatuck Valley Community College for several days of youth-oriented classes.
The New Detroit Science Center operates a hands-on program for students with the purposes of heightening their interest in science and encouraging students to eventually become more active in scientific research.
In 2008, the Mazda Foundation USA scholarships allowed 1,279 students, teachers, and chaperons to participate in this program, enabling them to experience firsthand the fun of science at the New Detroit Science Center.
The Mazda Foundation USA supports the Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program in its efforts to encourage children to read more. Books have been provided free of charge to children in Michigan, California and Mississippi since 1991, and so far books have been provided to more than 17,000 children in 53 schools. Books have also been provided to the Head Start Program, which is a federal government program supporting children's growth.
Mazda is involved not only in the provision of financial assistance, but also on the volunteer level, with its employees distributing or reading the books to the children.
In 2008, a total of 92,599 new, high-quality books were distributed to more than 28,000 children in the designated areas, and an additional 960 books were donated to libraries in 16 elementary schools.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, an NPO located in California, USA, distributes food to 400 local charity organizations. The Mazda Foundation USA provides financial assistance to activities aimed at alleviating hunger and malnutrition amongst the elderly, and also sponsors programs designed to curb the effects of malnutrition amongst children living in poverty.
In 2008, the Mazda Foundation USA provided food to 2,655 elderly people in 28 locations within California's Orange County via the Brown Bag for Seniors program. The objective of this program is to curb hunger and malnutrition amongst elderly people with low incomes.
The Mazda Foundation USA also contributes to provide food for some 1,700 children on a daily basis through the Kids Café Club, which supports the eradication of malnutrition amongst poverty-stricken children. In addition, the Operation Gobble holiday project provides traditional holiday meals to people who would otherwise go without on special holidays.
The Mazda Foundation USA is helping children born into families with financial difficulties to build self-esteem by providing them with new shoes and clothes through financial assistance to Shoes That Fit, an NPO based in California, USA. Since 1992 Shoes That Fit has provided shoes and clothes to approximately 736,000 children in more than 1,200 schools in 35 states.
Mazda began its relationship with Shoes That Fit in 2005. Mazda's support helped Shoes That Fit provide over 30,000 pairs of new shoes and other items to children in need in southern California, where Mazda North American Operations is headquartered, in 2006, over 37,000 in 2007 and almost 28,000 in 2008.
The University of North Carolina has a long and rich history of efforts to heighten understanding of different cultures by providing superior levels of education to minority and underprivileged students.
The Mazda Foundation USA fully agrees with this stance and cooperates in the university scholarship system, providing scholarships to two Native Americans majoring in Business Administration every year.
Funding for Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) is involved in training volunteers every year to support and act as advocates for the children who are abused and neglected in Orange County. The Mazda Foundation USA cooperates fully with CASA's endeavors and has helped train more than 1,300 volunteers who work hard to improve the lives of children who are abused, neglected or hurt in any other way.
In 2008, a total of 726 neglected children received the devoted support of volunteers.
Project Access is an after-school activity program for students that operates a wide range of support activities, such as providing help with schoolwork, the use of computers, the Internet and educational support games, increasing creativity levels with reading, art, handicrafts, physical exercise, and other club activities, and also by providing snacks.
The Mazda Foundation USA provides financial assistance to Project Access and cooperates fully in its efforts to expand schoolwork support activities.
According to figures released by Project Access, the literacy rate among participants in this Orange County program increased by 28.43%, and mathematical calculation ability by 27.3%.
In 2008, Mazda became the first Asian automobile manufacturer to enter a research partnership with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). CU-ICAR provides the educational programs with the highest standards in the US Southeast. As part of its cooperative activities, the Mazda Foundation provided scholarships worth $10,000 each to three graduates who majored in automotive engineering at this university.
In addition to donating a Mazda CX-7 for research purposes, Mazda also provided power trains, subassemblies and other automobile parts. A Mazda CX-7 and RX-8 power trains are being prominently displayed at the CU-ICAR.
Start The Adventure In Reading (STAIR) is a free one-on-one reading training program being implemented in 27 elementary schools and involving more than 250 second-grade students in New Orleans, for the purpose of improving reading skills and vocabulary proficiency deemed necessary to offset the effects of hurricane Katrina.
The STAIR student volunteers read, play word games, and write stories with the children to help improve their reading and writing skills.
The Mazda Foundation USA is cooperating in this program by providing donations to STAIR, which resulted in the program being implemented for 207 children in 27 public elementary schools in 2008.
Toys for kids
Auto Alliance International inc (AAI), which is manufacturing facility in US, provides toys to "Toys for Tots" which U.S. Marine runs to distribute Christmas gifts for less fortunate children.The objective of this activity is to assist them in becoming responsible and patriotic citizens.
