Supporting Independent Young Adults with a Parent's Heart
Partnership Agreement and Donation Ceremony at City Hall on the 3rd at 11 AM
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City will hold a business agreement ceremony with related organizations and a sponsorship donation ceremony for the ‘Jalip+ (Plus) Companion Project’ to support the independence of self-reliant youth (children aging out of care) at 11 a.m. on the 3rd in the International Protocol Room on the 7th floor of City Hall.
Children protected in childcare facilities or foster families begin their independence as self-reliant youth when they reach a certain age and their protection ends. The ‘Jalip+ (Plus) Companion Project’ is a project jointly promoted by Busan City and local private organizations to support their independence.
Participating in this business agreement are representative child-related organizations in Korea: ChildFund Korea, World Vision, and Good Neighbors.
The main contents of the agreement include: ▲ Busan City will provide overall project management and administrative support such as publicity; ▲ the Busan Regional Headquarters of Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation will provide independence kits composed of daily necessities (cutlery sets, bedding, electric blankets, hair dryers, etc.) necessary for independent living after aging out of care; ▲ World Vision Busan Business Headquarters will support the Dream Support Project to help plan customized housing support and career paths based on self-growth plans; and ▲ Good Neighbors Yeongnam Regional Headquarters will support obtaining driver’s licenses for social advancement.
For smooth and continuous project promotion, ▲ Sejeong Sharing Foundation will sponsor 50 million KRW for the independence kit project, and ▲ Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation will sponsor 100 million KRW for housing and dream support. Representatives from Sejeong Sharing Foundation are expected to attend the donation ceremony and deliver the sponsorship funds.
To promote this private-sector linked cooperation project, the city formed a working-level council with related organizations from July last year and decided the project name ‘Jalip+ (Plus) Companion Project’ and support projects together through meetings.
This is meaningful in that all of Korea’s leading child sponsorship and rights protection organizations empathized with the necessity and importance of the self-reliant youth independence support project and led its promotion as a joint project, and it is expected to create a synergistic effect.
Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, “Supporting the independence of self-reliant youth requires not only financial support but also warm interest and participation from local community companies and related organizations,” adding, “Our city will accompany them with a parent’s heart so that self-reliant youth can successfully settle in society early, and we will do our best to help them realize their dreams and settle in Busan.”
Busan City supports 10 million KRW in independence settlement funds this year, an increase of 3 million KRW compared to the previous year, to help self-reliant youth settle early in society and ease their financial burdens. Additionally, a new university entrance preparation fund of 500,000 KRW per person is provided to those entering university.
Moreover, beyond financial support, the city plans to strengthen psychological and emotional support by operating self-help groups for self-reliant youth, such as the Yujacheong (Cheerful Self-Reliant Youth) project.
Companies and organizations wishing to contribute to society by supporting the independence of self-reliant youth can contact the Busan City Child and Youth Division or the Busan City Child Protection Youth Independence Support Center by phone.
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