Dr. JJ Card and JCAP: Giving
hope to young Filipino students

LOVE, security and good education. Dr. Josefina Jayme-Card believes that these are the best gifts that her parents showered upon her and her siblings as she was growing up in the Philippines. Her friends remember her as a soft-spoken but dynamic student leader in Maryknoll (now Miriam) College. Today, even as a PhD holder with a company of her own in the United States, Dr. Card remains firmly rooted in the values and principles she learned at home and in school. She has never forgotten her homeland and has yearned to help address the many problems that continue to plague the Philippines. She is especially distressed at the lack of access to quality education for most young Filipinos due to poverty. While the Philippines enjoys a high literacy rate, only about 3% of Filipinos are able to gain a college degree.

The JCAP Scholarship Fund

Recognizing the need to help her kababayans, especially the younger generation, Dr. Card and her family "pay it forward" through the Jayme-Card-Ayala-Pathways (JCAP) Scholarship Fund.

The JCAP Fund is a collaboration between Dr. Card, Ayala Foundation USA, Ayala Foundation, Inc. and Pathways to Higher Education. Pathways, an educational program of the Ateneo de Manila University, will handle the selection and awarding of scholarships to deserving students, mentoring them throughout college and also to provide the scholars' families with livelihood opportunities. Ayala Foundation USA, on the other hand, will receive tax-deductible donations from US-based donors while Ayala Foundation, Inc. will manage the disbursement of funds to the colleges and universities where scholars have been identified and qualified.

JCAP will likewise adopt a fundraising strategy to achieve its goal of raising at least P500,000 in the Philippines, with parallel efforts in the US to raise $50,000 by end of 2006. In addition to monetary donations, JCAP also seeks volunteers who are willing to champion the JCAP cause and those who would like to become mentors to the scholars.

Three generations of Jaymes offer the gift of knowledge

On January 3, 2006, Dr. Card signed a memorandum of agreement with Ayala Foundation USA, Ayala Foundation, Inc. and Pathways to Higher Education to formally launch the Jayme-Card-Ayala-Pathways Scholarship Program.

In attendance were three generations of Jaymes -- Dr. Josefina Card, her husband Stuart, their two daughters Gwyneth and Tiffany, her sisters Susan Jayme-La Chica and Tina Jayme-Montiel, her brother Roberto with wife, Brigida, and father Dr. Fortunato Jayme. All three generations made donations to the Scholarship program in an act of family solidarity that was touching to see.

It was a wonderful way to start the New Year -- for the Jaymes, for Ayala Foundation, and for Pathways!


Dr. Card champions higher education for Filipinos

Dr. Card kicked off the fund-raising with a donation from herself and her husband of $5,000 as well as a pledge of monthly contributions of $1,000. She inspired a friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, who sent $5,000 in the name of The Lord's Table together with an annual pledge in the same amount. Dr. Card's spirit of generosity proved so infectious that soon, a large number of her family pitched in their donations, including her daughter, Gwyneth, a PhD candidate for Bio Engineering at Caltech. Aside from the donation, Gwyneth will also serve as Administrator of JCAP and will lead the youth campaign for supporting JCAP in the US.

She moved friends and family both in the US and in the Philippines, championing the cause of sharing the blessings that God had showered on them, including her colleagues at Sociometrics. All told, she turned over to Ayala Foundation $ 74,700 and P 77,500 -- for a total of more than P4 million! This amount can already cover the entire college education of at least 15 scholars.

Best of all, Dr. Card has promised to continue encouraging other Filipinos to donate to JCAP, whether on a one time basis or on a monthly or annual basis.

An inspiring champion for Philippine education

"With the wonderful gifts of love, security and good education we received from our parents, we have tried to pass this torch on to our children," Dr. Card shared during the signing event. "JCAP is our family's way of putting this into practice -- to give deserving and talented Filipino children the gift of a college education."

These are truly inspiring words from someone who places a great value on education. Dr. Card graduated summa cum laude from Maryknoll (now Miriam) College with a degree in AB Mathematics. She then pursued her masters and doctorate degrees in Social Psychology from Carnegie-Mellon University, on a Fulbright scholarship. After college, Dr. Card briefly worked at the accounting firm SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Co. in the Philippines and taught at the Ateneo de Manila University. After getting her PhD, Dr. Card became a research scientist at the American Institute for Research where she stayed for 10 years before putting up her own social science firm, Sociometrics in California.

Established in 1983, Sociometrics is a research and development firm specializing in social science research applications. As founder and president, Dr. Card believes that her company should espouse social responsibility as their way of giving back to the community. JCAP is the main beneficiary of Sociometrics' Giving Program, allotting a certain amount each month to cover a scholar's annual educational expense.

"Education can set children free to fulfil their God-given potential," Dr. Card said. "We believe that education can be the great leveller, planting seeds of greater equality in societies around the world."

Indeed, Dr. Card serves as an inspiration for young Filipinos who dream of enjoying a college education. Her passion to give back to the homeland is as an act worthy of emulation.

For more information about JCAP, please visit www.socio.com/jcap.htm or www.af-usa.org/jcap.asp.