Welcome to the Cool Mountain Education Fund!

The Cool Mountain Education Fund is dedicated to the education of the Nuosu people and their neighbors in the Liangshan (Cool Mountain) region of China. We provide opportunities for youth, adults and for teachers. Our focus is on education, because we believe that an educated, informed population encourages not only social progress, but also the social, economic and environmental well-being of a community. Our largest gift program is in partial scholarships for graduating primary school students in rural areas to continue their studies in middle and high school. We fund and organize teacher training workshops, and we provide the salaries for extra teachers at the Yangjuan Primary School. We also facilitate innovative community development projects that improve infrastructure and encourage economic choices. We are conscious of Liangshan's need for sustainable ways out of poverty, and look to support small, innovative projects that will show the way. Our work increases the visibility and appreciation of rural culture in the global community.

We encourage you to join us in making opportunities happen for Liangshan youth and adults!

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us at coolmountain@coolmountainfund.com. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which makes your contributions tax-deductible.

Order the 2009 CMEF Calendar here View our Summer 2008 newsletter

Education

Our scholarship program has grown every year since 2005, when CMEF gave 14 scholarships to graduating primary school students. In 2006, CMEF was able to support 8 graduates of YJ Primary School who scored exceptionally well on the middle school entrance examination. Out of 200 possible points, 3 students scored over 190, and five others in the range from 180 to 190. All these students are now attending very good middle schools.

In 2007, we supported a total of 63 graduates of Yangjuan Primary School. In 2008, we expect this number to grow to between 75 and 80, of whom ten will be attending high schools, the first Yangjuan graduates to do so.

Community Development

CMEF has implemented a sheep raising project for the Yangjuan Primary School. In cooperation with the French Organization Hydrologises sans Frontieres, CMEF has also supported the construction of several water projects in the villages.

After the Sichuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 CMEF served as a channel for funds collected at the University of Washington by the Foundation for International Understanding through Students, the Chinese Student Association, and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association. The money went to China Earthquake Aid, a non-profit founded by friends in Chengdu and Seattle to facilitate small-scale, education-related projects in the severely affected areas. CEA has collected a large number of cards, letters, and teaching materials to distribute to children and schools in the areas of heavy impact.

RURAL CULTURE

Through innovative arts curricula taught at the Yangjuan Primary school, local kids are encouraged to celebrate their home environments.