On November 13, 193 YISS students, parents, teachers, and staff laced up their running shoes and made their way out to the Peace Gate at Olympic Park to participate in Oak Tree Run. YISS runners of all ages participated in the 5K, 10K, and even the half marathon as a part of an annual campaign to raise funds for college scholarships for orphans in Korea. 

Thanks to all of you, our school community successfully raised ₩8,995,000. We are incredibly proud that YISS was the top fundraiser in this year’s Oak Tree Run and helped contribute towards the Oak Tree Project organization which set a new record of ₩56,600,000.  

This annual run is not only a great way to encourage running, but also an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges orphans face in affording a college education in Korea. At the age of 18, orphans are asked to leave orphanages and are often left without sufficient finances to attend universities. The Oak Tree Project aids Korean orphans as they start college. What a privilege to have a small part in contributing towards their education. An anonymous YISS donor posted “God commands us to care for the orphans and widows. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for the orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27” as the reason why they contributed to the campaign. 

Our YISS vision is to create leaders who are creative, collaborative, compassionate, and committed to impacting the world with servant's hearts. Participation in this Oak Tree Project was a wonderful way to foster our YISS vision.

Congratulations to our top runners:

5K Males: Souhoon Lee (11), Ken Nakamura (4), Daniel Kim (3)

5K Females: Lydia Ro (10), Veronica Yang (9), Kate Lee (8)

10K Males: Jeff Marquis (staff), Joshua Ko (9), Julian Sung (6)

10K Females: Claire Lee (10), Sara Dwight (staff), Julyann Hwang (staff)

Half Marathon: David Lee (12), Nathan Kim (12), Silas Barker (staff)

Special thanks to the YISS PTO, the YISS Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), the YISS Community Service Club, and Sports Boosters for their involvement. We want to especially recognize PTO Community Service Chair Jinhi Sohn for serving as the liaison between Oak Tree and YISS and for her heart to lovingly serve (and feed) others.