Meet a Celebrity at the Bridge to Turkiye Fund Wine & Cheese Party

Bridge To Turkiye Fund Will Be Joined By International Award Winning Composer And Pianist Fahir Atakoglu At The Final $200,000 Round Of BTF's Washington DC Charity Event, Benefiting Girls Empowerment Project In Rural Turkey. End Quote

Every Child Deserves a Quality Education

Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV (1888PressRelease) January 20, 2011 - Bridge to Türkiye Fund (BTF) will culminate a US wide $200,000 Charitable Drive with a final fundraiser event scheduled at Metro Washington, DC on January 29, 2011. The funds will be used on a unique initiative that will provide access to education for disadvantaged girls in rural Turkey.

"I want to go to school, I want to learn and become a teacher one day" says Neçirvan, one of the girls featured by BTF during the charitable campaign. She can not continue her secondary education, because there is no high school close by her village which is located in the Eastern part of Turkey. BTF and it's wide base of grassroots supporters want to give girls like Neçirvan a chance to choose her own future.

"Education of young women and girls all around the world is usually an overlooked issue. However, secondary schooling is a powerful determinant of the prospects of future generations. Girls' secondary schooling and social inclusion prepare young women to participate actively in civic life as community leaders, engaged citizens and mothers. We want to help adolescent girls stay in school, we hope that this initiative will bring awareness to this critical issue not only in Turkey but also in the U.S." said Lale Yürükoğlu, Bridge to Türkiye representative for Metro Washington DC Giving Circle.

International award winning composer and pianist Fahir Atakoğlu will also be present as a celebrity advocate for the project to meet with his fans. "Bridge to Türkiye provides access to education for disadvantaged girls in rural Turkey, who often cannot afford or are not encouraged to go to school... We have an obligation to empower young people, so that they too can realize their full potential, and fulfill their aspirations of a better future for themselves and their communities. I am honored to be involved in this initiative with BTF" said Fahir Atakoğlu.

In Turkey, BTF has partnered with Milliyet Newspaper, a major news daily in support of 'Daddy Send Me to School' project to build girls' dormitories in rural provinces of Turkey, where enrollment rates of adolescent girls at secondary schools are extremely low. The Metro Washington, DC event will take place at International Visions Art Gallery on Saturday, January 29 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Address is 2629 Connecticut Ave NW # 2, Washington, DC 20008. Charitable donations from this event will help BTF reach its funding objective to build a 100 Bed Girls' Dormitory in Batman, Turkey. Donations for this event, will be matched by a generous grant from Around-n-Over, an NGO dedicated to educate and inspire through human powered journeys.

More information about the Rural Girls Dormitory project can be found at: http://bridgetoturkiye.org/wysiwyg/downloads/BTF_GIRLS_DORM_Jan2011.pdf

For additional information, please contact Sibel Karakuş, Ph.D. at (919) 787-7019

About Bridge to Türkiye Fund www.bridgetoturkiye.org
Culture of giving and civic involvement is part of both Turkish and American way of life, and Bridge to Türkiye Fund's philanthropic bridge is a bridge of kindness between these two cultures. BTF is a 100% Volunteer-Run, International Grassroots Micro-Philanthropy Organization. BTF's objective is to finance projects supporting children's education and health care. Micro-Funds come from passionate, ordinary grassroots stake holders which have a simple shared vision: That Every Child Deserves a Quality Education and We Can Empower Them by Chipping-In and Giving-Back Together... BTF's Non Profit Tax ID number is 58-2678580.

About Fahir Atakoğlu www.fahiratakoglu.com
A native of Turkey, born in Istanbul, award-winning composer and pianist Fahir Atakoglu is well known for his ambitious symphonic works and music for film. He has composed music for many of Turkey's top musicians, and earned a loyal international following through the release of eighteen albums, including the critically acclaimed If (2005,) Istanbul in Blue (2008) and his latest release Faces & Places (2009), all featuring jazz/rock fusion with traditional Turkish influences. Both Istanbul in Blue and Faces & Places reflect the growth in Mr. Atakoglu's North American fans and growing market and both albums have made it to number 1 on the JazzWeek Charts. Employing unique rhythmic, melodic and harmonic sensitivities, Atakoglu's music reflects his many different cultural influences, which combine to create compositions with striking originality that still play in tune with the culture of his motherland. Amongst his many awards, he won First prize for Documentary at the Milano Film Festival 2000 for "Exile in Buyukada" and the best Song Award of Mega Channel, Greece, 2002, with Telos Dios Telos, sold over 400.000 copies. Ahmet Ertegun, of Atlantic Records, referred to Fahir Atakoglu as" ...one of the outstanding pianists and composers in Europe today ... at the cutting edge of the world music

About Around-n-Over www.around-n-over.org
The goals of Around-n-Over are to inspire and to inform young people by developing educational activities based on the realities of human powered exploration and adventure, including, but not limited to, geography, mathematics, natural science, physical fitness and social studies. To inspire and to instill the values of selflessness, sacrifice and perseverance in young people so that they might develop into good citizens, and stewards of this earth. To assist poor communities in their struggle towards self-sufficiency by providing basic educational aid and resources, know-how and facilities.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Sibel Karakuş, Ph.D.
Vice President of Executive Committee
Bridge to Türkiye Fund
100 Fox Briar Lane
Cary, NC 27518
(919) 787-7019
info ( @ ) bridgetoturkiye dot org
www.bridgetoturkiye.org

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