BREF annual campaign to be mailed in October

Tom Brackett, of the Brackett Refugee Education Fund, makes a stop at the Kutapalong Refugee Camp during a trip to Bangladesh.

HAMILTON — 

 

The Brackett Refugee Education Fund recently announced its annual fall development campaign. BREF, as it is called, was founded by three Colgate professors in Hamilton. Since its inception in 1997, the fund has served refugees from Burma.

BREF has projects for the Burmese refugees in Thailand, Northeast India, and in Bangladesh. Their largest program currently supports 250 university scholarships to students in Thailand and India and the newest program funds schools for Rohingya children in the Kutapalong refugee camp in Bangladesh.

The fund limits its asking to one annual mail campaign and this year’s mailing will be in early October. Many new area residents have been added to the mailing list, so watch for it or make a donation online at brackettfund.org.

BREF has also been nominated for a Chase Community Giving Grant that allows the organization to compete for a grant from Chase ($10,000 and up) among 30,000 other charities. Chase determines which charities get the funding by a vote on Facebook. To cast a vote, go to the Chase Community Giving site and search for “Brackett.” You are allowed two votes which must be used for two different charities. Those who get a Facebook friend to vote are granted one additional vote, and that vote can be for BREF.