The Fresno Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are planning to enter an accredited college or university, to continuing undergraduate students who are enrolled in a program at an accredited college or university leading to an undergraduate degree or to graduate students at an accredited college or university. The following are possible scholarships that may be awarded in the Spring of 2024.
Masao and Hana Kimura Scholarship – The Kimuras owned and operated a grocery store in West Fresno for over 30 years. Since a large number of customers at the store were of Japanese American descent, Hana Kimura made it preferable that the scholarship be made to a Japanese American student. It is $2,000 paid in four $500 annual installments, available only to entering freshmen with a GPA of 3.0 or better.
Miyahara/Kusakai Scholarship – This $1,000 scholarship was established by the Miyahara and Kusakai families in memory of Hiro and Day Kusakai’s son. The Kusakais are Thousand Life Club members. Hiro Kusakai was a past president of the Fresno JACL.
Dr. Henry Kazato Memorial Scholarship – The original scholarship program began at the urging of Dr. Kazato in 1977 and was established by the Kazato Family. This $5,000 scholarship is awarded to a student interested in the medical field.
Barbara and Izumi Taniguchi Scholarship – This scholarship was established by the Fresno Chapter Scholarship Fund. Barbara and Izumi Taniguchi were both past Fresno Chapter Presidents. Izumi Taniguchi passed away several years ago. Barbara continues to be a Thousand Club Member. The $1,000 scholarship is now funded by the Fresno Chapter Scholarship Fund and from contributions by the Taniguchi Family.
Fred Y. and Setsu Hirasuna Scholarship – This scholarship was established by the Fresno Chapter’s scholarship fund in honor of Fred Y. Hirasuna. Fred was a past president. Before JACL was established as a national organization Fred was an active member of the Fresno American Loyalty League which subsequently became the Fresno Chapter of JACL. This $1,000 scholarship is now funded by the Fresno Chapter Scholarship Fund and from contributions by Setsu Hirasuna and family.
ELIGIBILITY
ALL STUDENTS REGARDLESS OF ETHNICITY ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. This scholarship is available to all qualified applicants. The applicant must be a student member of the Fresno JACL.
Applicants may also be eligible to apply for scholarships available through the Central California District Council of JACL as well as the JACL National Scholarship Program Information can be found on the Fresno JACL website: www.fresnojacl.org and the National website: www.jacl.org/jacl-national-scholarship-program/
When completing the scholarship form, you can create an electronic signature. Open the PDF document. On the toolbar select this icon below to type, draw or upload an image of your signature.
CCDC-JACL SCHOLARSHIPS
The Central California District Council of the Japanese American Citizens League (CCDC-JACL) awards up to four (4) scholarships for graduating high school seniors who are planning to enter college or university in the following semester.