Brian Kane Fellowship program
2007-present
Brian Kane Fellow Laura Villanueva
ACK BKF Internship - The ACK is hiring a fall/winter 2008 internship. The position will begin work in November. Applications will be accepted through October 31, 2008. The 2008 internship project will focus on web page development. For more information, please click here.
The Brian Kane Fellowship Program supports young adults for one year of work at KEEP. The program aims to increase cultural awareness for the residents of the Kiyosato area and Japan, as well as for the Brian Kane Fellow. It is awarded to an individual who will best promote KEEP's ideal of building cross-cultural understanding by service to others through international exchange and educational programming.
Current BKF activities
BKF Laura Villanueva spoke at a reception in October 2007. The text of her speech about her experiences at KEEP and her vision for the future can be found here. Laura will be speaking again November 10, 2008 at a reception in Berkeley, California. For more information, please click here.
Program History
The American Committee for KEEP, Inc. Board of Directors established the Brian Kane Fellowship (BKF) Program in 1976 as a volunteer opportunity to serve the needs of KEEP. The program honors Brian Kane, a businessman from Maryland. Mr. Kane met Paul Rusch and became excited about KEEP's mission and programming. Learning of KEEP's need for support, was an avid fundraiser and he even used his hobby of building custom bird houses as a fundraising project. Then, he visited KEEP and was distressed to learn the staff followed a customary maintenance policy of tearing down and rebuilding rather than preserving facilities.
Brian Kane decided to become personally involved. He arranged his business so that he could spend one or two months in summer at KEEP working with KEEP's staff to demonstrate new methods of preservation and maintenance. Mr. Kane paid all his own expenses and made financial contributions to KEEP as well. He earned the nickname of "Shogun" from the staff as he pitched in with all kinds of tasks from repairing a roof to painting a fence.
Mr. Kane quietly modeled the Christian principle of service to others. The BKF program creates opportunities for fellows to learn first hand about serving others through their work at KEEP. Although BKFs are now salaried employees, a spirit of volunteerism is an important aspect of the program. Fellows have come from various stages in life (students through retirees) and spent time at KEEP performing a variety of duties from manual labor helping with maintenance of KEEP grounds though administrative work and teaching English in local schools.
In 1988, the position changed from a short term volunteer program to a one-year commitment with the BKF serving as a full-time salaried employee in KEEP's International Relations Department. As the length of commitment changed, the demand grew for BKFs with Japanese skills. Now program participants generally have strong Japanese skills and they regularly help with translation work and interpreting for KEEP guests.
Application Information
BKFs teach a Philippine Bamboo Dance as part of a culture class. (picture may be clicked for larger version)
The ACK recruits annually for BKFs, and the next deadline is January 31, 2009, for the 2009-2010 BKF Program. Application forms will be available in late October 2008. For any questions, please contact Jennifer Corwin, ACK Executive Director, by email, by fax at 847-853-8901, or by telephone at 847-853-2501.
Photos of past BKF International Programs
BKF Program participant enjoys dying an Easter Egg at a spring program. (picture may be clicked for larger version)
BKF Andrea Heiderer at St. John's Nursery School
Artwork submitted to the BKF Art Exhibition featuring entries from Japan, the Philippines, and the U.S.