After long discussions with each other and with the Hamdeok family, the Furey executive board made the decision – THIS is our new family. On February 20, 2014, Jeju Furey acting president Mary Summers and Furey team members Yumi Kang and Niina Sakaki took another trip to visit the Hamdeok family. Unaware of the decision that had been made, the Hamdeok family was expecting just another visit so the Furey team could get more information.

However, the mother was quite surprised when the three Furey members, accompanied by some very special guests, arrived at her house and told her that Jeju Furey had made the decision to start supporting them. In our first visit with the family, the mother was very strong; keeping her emotions tucked away. Yet, when she heard the news, the tears welled up in her eyes. 

What happened next was almost beyond words. Our special guests were 7 students from various Jeju high schools. These students, along with a few others who were unable to attend the family visit, got together back in the summer of 2013 and decided they wanted to do something to help out people in-need in Jeju. They designed bracelets that say “Just Enjoy Just 4 U” (spelling out JEJU) and were able to get them made. Their goal was to sell the bracelets and then give the money to people in-need in Jeju. Over the following six months, the students worked hard to sell as many bracelets as they could and ultimately ended up raising 1,000,000krw! Once they had sold these bracelets, though, they were unsure of where to turn. Through word of mouth, they heard about Jeju Furey and came to us seeking advice on how to get this money to families in need. Since Furey was in the works of finding a new family in the Hamdeok area, we offered the opportunity to join us when we visited the new family and they could deliver the money they raised to a family very much in need. 

On the way to the family, it became clear that the students had lifestyles that were very separated from what they were about to get engaged in. With most of them being seniors, they were preparing for college and many had not had exposure to, or even heard about, the difficulties that some families faced. When they were told that the Hamdeok family’s middle son was unable to apply for college because the family could not afford the application fees, the students were shocked, but the world they were hearing about was so far separated that it didn’t truly sink in what they were about to do. 

After the Hamdeok mother learned the news that Jeju Furey had made their decision to support them, she was told that these students also had something to tell her. One of the boys described the fundraising that the students had done with the bracelets and said that they wanted to give her the money that was raised. It was then that the mother’s walls came crashing down. The tears poured as she stood there in disbelief. After giving her the money the students had raised as well as some household gifts from Jeju Furey, the mother could not control her emotions. Saying endless “thank yous” and even running into the house to try to find something to offer us in gratitude – some chocolate cookies. The mother then expressed how grateful she was and in turn hugged and thanked each of the Furey team members and students. 

For acting-president Mary Summers it was quite the experience.  “I’ve been moved by every family visit I’ve done, but nothing like this,” she said, “I didn’t know what moved me more – the mother’s reaction or the students’.”  For the students it was a very eye-opening and a moving experience. One student, on the walk back, said, “My heart is so warm.” In addition to the special interaction between the mother and the students, Mary also watched the special moment between the mother and Furey team member Niina Sakaki.  Niina, who had been studying at Jeju National University, will leave Jeju on Saturday, February 22nd (two days later) to return to Japan.  Since her arrival on Jeju she has been active in Jeju Furey events and the fact that she got to have this as one of her last Jeju and Jeju Furey experiences was very touching to see.

Therefore, it is with a special sort of joy and happiness that we introduce this Hamdeok family as our newest beneficiaries. As with Furey’s current beneficiary family in Iho (이호) and No’hyeong (노형), our mission is to help this Hamdeok (함덕) family out of poverty and to a reasonable standard of living.

That said, it is Furey policy to allow the beneficiary to choose how best to use the funds raised for them, and as the grandmother at Iho has shown, things can be done very well without our interference. So we ask the Furey community, both in Korea and abroad, to welcome the Hamdeok family into your thoughts and prayers.

We now want everyone to join in a round of applause for all our participants, volunteers, sponsors, and spectators whose contributions made this addition to the organization possible. We hope you that you will continue to support our events and encourage others to do the same, be it as a player, volunteer, or spectator. That support is the best way to help all of the Furey beneficiaries. We realize, however, that it is our role to make those events worthwhile participating in, and we continue to strive to improve each and every one of them; making it easier for everyone to have good times for a great cause.

That’s right!  Thanks to everyone’s continued participation, generosity, and support, Jeju Furey executives made the decision to add a third family-in-need to its beneficiaries.  After obtaining its goal for the original Furey family (Hyo’jeong (효정), Juno, Noah, and Nathan r.i.p.) back in 2009, and being able to consistently provide support for its first Jeju-dwelling beneficiary, the Iho (이호) family since 2010, and for its No’hyeong (노형) family since 2011, Jeju Furey found itself in the position of having more to give.  So the search was on!

Having recently moved Beach Volleyball to Hamdeok (함덕) in the spring of 2013 (BVB9), and wanting to continue its mission of giving back to the local community, Furey was on the lookout for a beneficiary family in that town.  With some help from the Jo’cheon (조천) Municipal Office, Furey was put in contact with the family in Hamdeok (함덕) that was in the most need of support.

On January 9, 2014, acting-president Mary Summers, and Furey interpreters, Yumi Kang (강유미) and Niina Sakaki, met with the potential beneficiary family at their home.  Here’s what was learned about the family:

The mother and her three children live together in a small house not too far from Hamdeok Beach.  The mother is 54 years old (y.o.b. 1961) and has been living on Jeju Island since 1994. She has a 21-year old daughter (y.o.b. 1994), a 20-year old son (y.o.b. 1995) who will be graduating from high school this February, and a 15-year old son (y.o.b. 2000) who will be starting his second year of middle school this March. Sadly, four years ago, the father disappeared and the mother has been caring for her children on her own ever since.

She works as a cleaning woman at a nearby hotel, while suffering from arthritis and struggling to make enough money to make ends meet - with any potential savings being put towards her children’s education.  The daughter had been attending university, but because of the lack of finances, had started working as well, causing her to fall behind in her studies and ultimately quit university for the time being.  The eldest son missed the college application deadlines because of a lack of finances to be able to pay for the application and admission processes. The youngest son has attended ‘hagwons’ sporadically for supplementary education, and is constantly behind in his studies because of the inability to consistently pay for his enrollment.

The mother is currently in debt, owing money to her siblings, as well as having the annual housing rent and monthly utility bills to worry about. The local town office in Hamdeok helps the family by bringing side dishes to the house once every two weeks, but there are no other forms of aid.

Their tiny one-and-a-half room home is heated by a single propane heater and a single heating mat. They are unable to use the floor heating because they cannot afford it.  The front of the house is made up only of sliding doors that do not seal properly and do not prevent gusts of wind from entering the household.  The mother said that fixing the doors, or redoing the wall, is one of her dreams for the house. She applied for support to enable the family to move to a new home that would be bigger and better insulated through a social welfare program, but the application was declined.

The mother was open and candid about the state the family was in, but she still speaks of her children with pride and is hopeful for their future. Despite the difficult nature of several parts of the conversation, the mother rarely let her feelings show, even towards the end when she thanked the team and said that her biggest hope was still that one day her husband would return. She also hopes to be able to one day stop worrying about her children’s education and be able to provide them each with the opportunities to go to university so they can have a better future.

She was also a fine host and went out of her way to make the Furey team feel comfortable, serving coffee served in what were obviously very special tea cups.

The financial and functional difficulties that this family faces, as we learned from the meeting are:

- 1,000,000krw in debt
-   800,000krw in annual housing rent
-    85,000krw monthly in utilities
- new/fix sliding doors (front/main doors)
- new/fix windows
- new gas range
- education expenses for the 3 children

Furey executive board members will now be discussing the position of this family as well as looking into the needs of other possible families in the Hamdeok area.  The search is on for a third family - and it's all thanks to the hard work that you all put in at every event.  Stay tuned for information about the addition of a third family!

After learning that the 이호 (Iho) beneficiary family did not need the funds raised by Jeju Furey over the past 6 months, Furey was on the prowl for people or families that did need help.  While Jeju Furey is currently looking for a THIRD permanent beneficiary family located in the 함덕 (Hamdeok) area, a family had not yet been found.  After communicating with Mr. Kang, he was able to provide information on four different individuals or families that were in desperate need of help for the upcoming rent-payment season.  A decision had to be made (quickly in order to make the due dates for the families' rents) whether to hold the money or to help these families.  Furey decided that this was a great opportunity to 'spread the wealth' to as many families as possible.  As our mission states, it was a chance to "To assist local families in need, on the island of Jeju, South Korea, attain a decent standard of living."

There were three residences in 이호 (Iho) and one in 노형 (No'hyeong) .  The 노형 (No'hyeong) beneficiary is a 71-year old man who lives alone in the basement of a band rehearsal building.  He too is a musician but the decline of his health (including ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and hyper-lipidemia) have sky-rocketed his medical bills and costs of medications rendering him from paying rent; even causing him to have to sell off his beloved instruments.  The money from Jeju Furey would pay his rent for the year - a big financial relief.

The three 이호 (Iho) families all had a lower level of poverty but were still very much in need.  One grandmother lives alone, struggling to make her rent payment.  Her physical decline makes it difficult for her to move, and virtually impossible to find work.  Another grandmother is illiterate and is being forced to change houses but cannot afford the rent.  The third grandmother also suffers from physical ailments and illnesses, but is currently caring for her physically disabled son.  While she was able to pay her rent, she was unable to have living expenses available to care for herself and her son.

On January 24, Myles Horne, Stephanie Hennington, Erin Gallogly, 김지현 (Kim Ji'hyeon | Sofia), and Mary Summers met with Mr. Kang and visited each of these four households, giving them unexpected and immensely helpful gifts to help them.  Each of the families received the money with feelings of disbelief and gratitude.  Their current financial worries had been relieved - all thanks to the efforts put forward by everyone that makes Jeju Furey the organization that it is.  Four families in one day, a day in history for Jeju Furey....and there is more to come...

On January 5, 2014, Jeju Furey started off the year by checking in on its two beneficiary families. With the funds raised from the past 6 months in hand, Mary Summers, Sachin Mahajan, Matt Harris, and 김지현 (Kim Ji'hyeon | Sofia) met with Mr. Kang of the Saint Vincent de Paul society, the organization that connected Jeju Furey with the families. At the meeting, the Furey representatives learned that the father of the 노형 (No'hyeong) family was still having trouble, even after the lumbar disc surgery in the summer that was meant to relieve his discomfort and pain.  He is still receiving medical treatment, and at the time was battling an infection as well. Despite this bad news, when meeting with him and his son, he was all smiles and said his son was doing very well in school. He looked like a very proud father who was very grateful for all of the efforts made by Jeju Furey. The family was given money to pay for their yearly rent and the son was given a gift certificate for a free month at Just Play Board Games (thanks to Myles Horne and Just Play) and T-Money card (thanks to Troy MacLellan and Just Play) to give him an opportunity to improve his English. 

The real shocker came when discussing Furey's first Jeju-native beneficiary family - the 이호 (Iho) family. When asked how they were doing, Mr. Kang just replied with, "They don't need any money this time." What?!?! Everyone was a bit shocked and just looked at each other. Mr. Kang went on to explain that over the past year to year-and-a-half, the grandmother had been taking the money given to her by Jeju Furey, as well as any extra she could, and setting it aside. She had been creating a savings. The house had been cleaned and re-wallpapered to get rid of mold issues, and for the first time in a long time she was able to rely on her current funds to pay the year's rent. While their economic status had not changed, the family had been able to take care of themselves and better their living situation. It was a proud moment for Jeju Furey to learn that all of its hard work, and the hard work of every participant, volunteer, sponsor, and friend, had empowered this grandmother, at least for the time being, to be able to take pride in paying for rent on her own. While Mr. Kang did say that this independence was likely not to last and that they would need help again in the future, this was a huge day for the 이호 (Iho) family and for Jeju Furey.

Jeju Furey was feeling proud and was now looking for others to help with the leftover money…what happened next was a day for the record books.

On July 14, acting president Mary Rager Summers, Tom Summers, Kaylee Summers, and Furey Executive 부정현 (Boo Jeong Hyun) met with Mr. Kang of the St. Vincent de Paul Society to visit the families, check in on them, and deliver 5 MILLION won (5,000,000krw = apprx 5,000USD) to each family. 

It was the first meeting between Mary and the families and it was a touching one.  "Both families were so sweet and you could see in their faces, in their smiles, how appreciative they were to us and all of those involved in Furey," recalled Mary.  We learned that the father of our Nohyeong family was recently approved for a surgery that will hopefully greatly improve his quality of life.  Both father and son were very excited at the news and then even more excited (and relieved!) at Jeju Furey's donation that will help fund this surgery! Later in the week, Jeju Furey found out that the cost of the surgery would be around 4,000,000krw and that after the surgery a caretaker would be needed to aid in recovery; at a cost of 1,600,000krw.  Thanks to the hard work of everyone who participates with Furey, almost all of the medical expenses for this surgery are covered.  Such wonderful news!!!

On the way to the families' homes, Mr. Kang also expressed his gratitude and awe for Jeju Furey and the generosity we share with those in need on the island. So if you've ever wondered...yes, Furey's  efforts are not only recognized, they are greatly appreciated.