The Harry & Tomo Kawabe Memorial Fund [Kawabe Memorial Fund] is a perpetual foundation that has been awarding grants and scholarships since 1972. These programs are briefly described below. This website provides links to our grant application and scholarship programs, and also provides a bit of biographical information about Mr. and Mrs. Kawabe. For an in-depth look into their wonderful generous lives, please reference: “Harry S. Kawabe: His Story & Legacy” by Lawrence Matsuda.
Please note that the Kawabe Memorial Fund is separate from the Kawabe Memorial House (and its supporting organization the Kawabe Memorial Foundation). These were both established and funded by the same generous family–Mr. and Mrs. Harry S. Kawabe, but are separate organizations.
Grants
The Kawabe Memorial Fund provides grants to local, qualified, non-profit human services organizations devoted to the care of the indigent, children and senior citizens. In addition, the fund supports capital improvement projects for churches as well as funding to train teachers, priests and ministers
The fund typically supports community-based organizations in the greater Seattle area with budgets of $5 million or less.
Applications are due the second Friday in March, June or September. Grants are one year in durations and are administered by Bank of America.
Scholarships
The Kawabe Memorial Fund awards scholarships to graduating students at Seward High School ( Seward, Alaska) who pursue higher education at occupational or vocational schools, or at two- or four-year colleges or universities. Each application is thoughtfully reviewed and assessed based on criteria such as GPA, writing ability, financial need, clarity in goals and aspirations, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation.
Graduating seniors at Seward High School who intend to pursue higher education are encouraged to apply. The application process is coordinated through the Seward High School Counseling staff. Those interested in applying for the Kawabe Memorial Fund Scholarship must complete the Seward High School Common Scholarship Application (or an equivalent form if the common application is not required by the program the student plans to attend) and a supplemental Kawabe Memorial Fund Scholarship application form. Completed forms and application materials are due to the Seward High School Counseling Office by April 15.
History
The Kawabes believed that “entire communities, not just individuals, are capable of great things.”* Kawabe Memorial Fund is the result of their lifelong dedication to children and higher education.
*K. Ringsmuth, National Parks Service Historian
The Kawabe Memorial Fund was established in 1971 under the terms of the Last Will and Testament of Harry S. Kawabe. A former farm boy, houseboy, and cook, he emigrated in 1915 from Japan at the age of 25 as a laborer to work on the railroad construction boom in Alaska. He soon found an opportunity to work in the laundry business. He was able to transform his humble laundry into a business with established contracts with the Army, Navy, Alaska railroad and steamship companies, hotels, and hospitals. It later evolved into the most modern and largest laundry in the Territory of Alaska.