Cool Mountain Education Fund

nonprofit

Address and Contact:

5038 16th Avenue N.E.

Seattle, WA

98105

Stevan Harrell (President)
stevehar@u.washington.edu
206 525-8438

www.coolmountainfund.com

Organization Description:

Cool Mountain Education Fund's motto is "Dedicated to the Education of the Nuosu People and their Neighbors; Working for the preservation and improvement of Liangshan's environment." We registered 501(c)(3) charity incorporated as a non-profit in the state of Washington, formed by faculty, students, alumni, and friends of the University of Washington Worldwide Program who have been involved with Yangjuan Primary School in Yanyuan County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan. Yangjuan Primary School was started in 2000 by a group of natives and Chinese and foreign friends of Yangjuan and Pianshui Villages, all of whose inhabitants are members of the Nuosu ethnic group, part of China's official Yi Nationality. Since 2005, CMEF has provided scholarships for graduates of Yangjuan Primary School who continue to middle school, and in 2008, we will be extending our coverage to students beginning high school. We also support supplementary teachers at Yangjuan, and have conducted several teacher-training workshops.

Example Project:

For the 2007-2008 school year, CMEF paid the salaries of Yangjuan's four supplementary teachers, educated local people without formal teaching credentials, or whose salaries are not paid by the county Education Bureau. For the 2007-2008 school year, CMEF gave scholarships to 63 middle-school students who are graduates of Yangjuan Primary School. In 2006, CMEF board member and UW doctoral student Tami Blumenfield conducted a three-day teacher training workshop on including indigenous knowledge into the school curriculum.

Activities that promote health:

Clean Water & Sanitation Access, Nutrition

Activities that combat poverty:

Community Development, Education & Literacy, Migration

Activities that protect the environment:

Air Quality, Biodiversity, Ecosystems Services, Environmental Justice, Sustainable Agriculture & Farming, Watersheds, Water & Sanitation

Areas of Service:

Capacity building, Education & Training, Public Awareness

Nations of the World:

Asia: China