Sponsorships

Operation D.E.E.P. began as a fundraising project at Lake Forest Academy (LFA) in Illinois. During the 2003-04 school year, Richard Zhao, then a senior a LFA, initiated a series of fundraising activities to build a new school in Jiangxi Province of China. Zhao and his friends rallied within the school and raised money by selling fried rice and Krispy Kreme donuts, and with the one or two dollars of profit made from each box of rice or donuts, we collected more than $12,000 U.S. dollars within a year with additional donations from friends, parents, and trustees.

The funds were then sent to Yujiang County in Jiangxi of China and were matched by Yujiang People’s Government to construct a brand new primary school that replaced two older schools, Jindun and Nixia (pictured left).

Construction of the Jin-Ni LFA Hope School was completed in August 2005. The new primary school has 600 students and 25 teachers from preschool through 6th grade.

Operation D.E.E.P. remains as a sponsor to the school and provides financial resources regularly. Moreover, Zhao was named “Honorary Headmaster” and now serves as a liaison between the school and the public for educational visits and exchanges.

Donated Items:

Below is a list of donations we have made to Jin-Ni, as well as other educational projects we have supported since 2004.

$12,000

For the construction of the Jin-Ni main academic building (2004)

6 computers & stationaries

For Jin-Ni (2005)
Donors: LFA, Mr. Jiashu Zhao, Ms. Jia Zhao, Ms. Phoebe Chen

$1,450

For connecting electricity to the Jin-Ni (2006)

430 books, 2 computers, 10 cassette players, toys, and clothes

For Jin-Ni (2007)
Donors: Ms. Jia Zhao, Mr. Jialu Zhao, Mr. Jiashu Zhao, Ms. Sukfong To, Ms. Qing Chen, Ms. Xiaoping Tang, Mr. Dilong Zhao, and Ms. Carol Huang

11 scholarships

Awarded to top students at Jin-Ni (2008)

$5000

To construct the new greenhouse at the Chungba Middle School on the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan (2009)
The greenhouse provided fresh vegetables on a daily basis to all the children at the boarding school, where malnourishment was prevalent.

Sponsorship of two students

To participate in the Machik Summer Enrichment Program, where Operation D.E.E.P. taught for the Teaching & Training Project (2010)

$3000

To Jin-Ni for improvements to the teachers’ dorms: security windows, water heater, cable TV and internet, 2 TVs, and computer desks, as well as speakers, microphones, and amplifiers for use in the school building for announcements and physical education (2011)