TNKR has relocated! Here are our first 10 days.
In this post:
* IEP + special tutoring opportunity
* Tutoring at the TNKR office
* 501(c)3 tax deduction for US taxpayers
* Inspecting the Inspector, and other paperwork stories
* Welcome back, Sharon!!!
* Information into North Korea
* TNKR Members
* The world is upside down
* Chanyang's jewelry making workshops
In this post:
* IEP + special tutoring opportunity
* Tutoring at the TNKR office
* 501(c)3 tax deduction for US taxpayers
* Inspecting the Inspector, and other paperwork stories
* Welcome back, Sharon!!!
* Information into North Korea
* TNKR Members
* The world is upside down
* Chanyang's jewelry making workshops
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We are fine with their levels, from beginner to advanced, but are more concerned about their motivation and that they have at least one clear goal for studying English. We can't expect volunteer tutors to be developing 90 minute lesson plans 2 to 4 times a month, it must be a shared effort.
One student is at the ABC level. The other two students are at the lower-intermediate to intermediate level.
One of the ladies with an irregular schedule asked if there is a way for her to join TNKR despite the issue with her schedule. She would prefer to meet with a tutor who is available for face-to-face, in-person study sessions. She is currently studying online in a language course, but hopes she can meet with a TNKR tutor face-to-face in-person.
Because of her irregular schedule, she is available during Monday to Friday, 3-4:30 pm, but only knows her schedule about 10 days in advance. Meaning, for example, she would know on April 1 when she could be available for class about 10 days later.
This is not for everyone, but now that we have settled into a slightly larger office with one room devoted to tutoring, we anticipate having more tutoring opportunities at our office for TNKR Members. If you are available, please contact me caseylartigue@lovetnkr.org and apply at www.lovetnkr.org/tutor
Martin, a TNKR Sponsor, joined TNKR in July 2019, first attending our event marking the 20th anniversary of Hanawon then joining as a tutor right after that.
(this last photo is from our previous office shortly before we moved, but Eunkoo insisted that we include it, even though she never remembers to take photos, and like others used to wonder why I insisted that we take photos).
This is a special reminder for anyone who is eligible for tax deductions on their US taxes. One of our monthly donors asked for her end of the year tax receipt for 2019, so I will share this information.
1) Our partner organization, the 52 Foundation, automatically generates receipts for donors to TNKR.
2) If you need an end of the year receipt, check your profile at the crowd-funding site. If you aren't sure, ask me, I will share your profile with you.
3) If you have trouble with getting your end of the year tax receipt, then be sure to send me a message, I can manually email it to you.
4) If you are thinking about making a donation to TNKR in 2020, you can mail a check to us in the USA and make the donation online. If we get to the year 2021, you can write the donation off on your taxes. You can find TNKR at the Guidestar Website or at the IRS Website.
5) For those who want a tax deduction on their Korean taxes, you can donate to us monthly (Eunkoo calls it CMS). You would receive a phone call verifying that you want to donate to TNKR. You can also make a donation through our bank account, that is also tax deductible in Korea.
6) If you have a question about any of this, ask me!
As part of us reporting to the authorities and remaining in good standing, we were visited by a city official inspecting our office to confirm it is suitable.
Of course, I asked for permission to take a photo of the investigator at work. She laughed, saying it was probably the first time in history that anyone had taken her photo during an inspection.
Some of our volunteers and fans may see TNKR as a social club because we have fun doing what we are doing, but we are an official organization, must do proper reporting to the government, be ready to show our records, reports by tutors, financial information, etc., etc., etc.!!!
Eunkoo also finalized paperwork related to us changing our address in government documents.
Some of our volunteers question why they must fill out forms. I like to remind them: Our team members must check EVERY document. Here's paperwork related to just one of our projects.
My role with the paperwork: I sign it all.
North Korean refugee Sharon Jang has been a student in TNKR since March 2015. She has studied in Tracks 1, 2, 3, and during part of last year she worked part-time in our office. Thanks to support from donors, we have been able to bring her back!
We celebrated her birthday earlier this year, you can read her touching thank you to donors. We hope to raise money for North Korean refugees to work in our office. Job training programs are great, but the best job training is an actual job!
Sharon is reporting to Eunkoo, which is like reporting to seven different supervisors with endless lists of tasks that need to be completed ASAP.
Sharon worked so hard on Tuesday that she skipped lunch. How many employees do that without trying to start a mutiny? So I brought her lunch today to make sure she didn't skip again!
TNKR is working with a film maker who is putting the finishing touches on a TNKR video featuring two TNKR speakers. If all goes well, it could end up going to North Korea in a special project we have been working on for more than a year. Some of our volunteers and fans ask us to upload videos without considering that we may have something bigger planned than just throwing them in the YouTube or Facebook trash bins.
The film maker loves TNKR, he learned about us after seeing a video special about Chanyang Ju more than four years ago. The video showed her attending a TNKR session, he came for a visit, and has produced some videos for TNKR for YouTube, but this will be bigger than the previous projects.
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TNKR has continued operations, proceeding cautiously at every step.
* No handshakes: The staff is continuing to come to the office every day. Hand sanitizers are at the door and throughout the office for staff and visitors to use. Anyone who has tried to shake hands with me in the last 15 to 20 years knows I have long been opposed to the stupid handshaking custom. I used to have pundits and commentators in Korea mock me for it and even had some people tell me that it was disrespectful for me not to shake hands with Koreans expecting to shake hands with me, but they (especially the expat pundits) have been quiet about that since the virus outbreak.
* Online: We had been considering including online options later this year, but have rushed things with so many changes as a result of the virus. Many of our students are still saying they prefer face-to-face meetings, some are perfectly fine with online tutoring, some prefer a mixture.
* Volunteers: Some of our tutors are struggling, some have lost jobs, some have been recalled by their countries, some have lost their scholarships and had no choice but to return.
Unfortunately, the big changes have meant that some plans have changed. Minhee had been booked to spend a few months studying in the USA, but that has been postponed indefinitely.
www.lovetnkr.org/tutor
www.lovetnkr.org/donate
* TNKR's slightly larger office allows us to have a study room devoted to study sessions and a bit more space near the kitchen allows us to have opportunities for refugees to engage in activities. The first was long-time TNKR student Chanyang Ju running her online jewelry business for three days within our office. We hope to have her come in whenever it makes sense, when we are most likely to have visitors. I wrote about her in my next Korea Times column, but with so many readers focused on the virus, I am not sure they will want to publish it.
I am saving this for last because of the many photos.
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IEP + special tutoring opportunity
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Shortly before we relocated the TNKR office, we met with a North Korean refugee for almost four hours! We analyzed different parts of TNKR and got his opinion on our operations and approach. He first studied with us back in 2017, and recently returned.
Today we had interviews with three North Korean refugees ladies (one returnee, two newcomers) as they get prepared for our 102nd Language Matching session. Each North Korean refugee joining TNKR starts with an individual interview at which we talk about TNKR's approach and make sure they understand this is not for passive students. We want them to start developing Individual Education Plans (IEP).
We are fine with their levels, from beginner to advanced, but are more concerned about their motivation and that they have at least one clear goal for studying English. We can't expect volunteer tutors to be developing 90 minute lesson plans 2 to 4 times a month, it must be a shared effort.
One student is at the ABC level. The other two students are at the lower-intermediate to intermediate level.
One of the ladies with an irregular schedule asked if there is a way for her to join TNKR despite the issue with her schedule. She would prefer to meet with a tutor who is available for face-to-face, in-person study sessions. She is currently studying online in a language course, but hopes she can meet with a TNKR tutor face-to-face in-person.
Because of her irregular schedule, she is available during Monday to Friday, 3-4:30 pm, but only knows her schedule about 10 days in advance. Meaning, for example, she would know on April 1 when she could be available for class about 10 days later.
This is not for everyone, but now that we have settled into a slightly larger office with one room devoted to tutoring, we anticipate having more tutoring opportunities at our office for TNKR Members. If you are available, please contact me caseylartigue@lovetnkr.org and apply at www.lovetnkr.org/tutor
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Tutoring at the TNKR office
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We were gently being pushed out of our previous office by the landlord. We spent months waiting for a good location. After returning from separate trips abroad, TNKR's co-founder Eunkoo Lee probably visited about 35 different locations during the month of February, I joined her at about 20 to 25 of them.
We were looking at a few offices that would have required a larger deposit, then the virus hit. We scaled back a bit, settling on an office that would give us a bit more room, and would allow us to devote one room to tutoring.
Recognizing the threat of the virus, we have left it up to students and tutors how they want to meet. Some refugees have opted for online tutoring, some have mixed both online and in-person, some have continued to meet in-person, some are taking a break, and some tutors are leaving because they have been recalled by their countries/their scholarships were withdrawn.
Martin, a TNKR Sponsor, joined TNKR in July 2019, first attending our event marking the 20th anniversary of Hanawon then joining as a tutor right after that.
Kim Goldsmith, a TNKR Sponsor, has been tutoring in TNKR for two years now. She travels a long distance for tutoring sessions at the TNKR office.
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US 501(c)3 tax deduction receipts
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1) Our partner organization, the 52 Foundation, automatically generates receipts for donors to TNKR.
2) If you need an end of the year receipt, check your profile at the crowd-funding site. If you aren't sure, ask me, I will share your profile with you.
3) If you have trouble with getting your end of the year tax receipt, then be sure to send me a message, I can manually email it to you.
4) If you are thinking about making a donation to TNKR in 2020, you can mail a check to us in the USA and make the donation online. If we get to the year 2021, you can write the donation off on your taxes. You can find TNKR at the Guidestar Website or at the IRS Website.
5) For those who want a tax deduction on their Korean taxes, you can donate to us monthly (Eunkoo calls it CMS). You would receive a phone call verifying that you want to donate to TNKR. You can also make a donation through our bank account, that is also tax deductible in Korea.
6) If you have a question about any of this, ask me!
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Inspecting the Inspector, and other paperwork stories
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Of course, I asked for permission to take a photo of the investigator at work. She laughed, saying it was probably the first time in history that anyone had taken her photo during an inspection.
Some of our volunteers and fans may see TNKR as a social club because we have fun doing what we are doing, but we are an official organization, must do proper reporting to the government, be ready to show our records, reports by tutors, financial information, etc., etc., etc.!!!
Eunkoo also finalized paperwork related to us changing our address in government documents.
Some of our volunteers question why they must fill out forms. I like to remind them: Our team members must check EVERY document. Here's paperwork related to just one of our projects.
My role with the paperwork: I sign it all.
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Welcome Back, Sharon!!!
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North Korean refugee Sharon Jang has been a student in TNKR since March 2015. She has studied in Tracks 1, 2, 3, and during part of last year she worked part-time in our office. Thanks to support from donors, we have been able to bring her back!
We celebrated her birthday earlier this year, you can read her touching thank you to donors. We hope to raise money for North Korean refugees to work in our office. Job training programs are great, but the best job training is an actual job!
Sharon is reporting to Eunkoo, which is like reporting to seven different supervisors with endless lists of tasks that need to be completed ASAP.
Sharon worked so hard on Tuesday that she skipped lunch. How many employees do that without trying to start a mutiny? So I brought her lunch today to make sure she didn't skip again!
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Information into North Korea
The film maker loves TNKR, he learned about us after seeing a video special about Chanyang Ju more than four years ago. The video showed her attending a TNKR session, he came for a visit, and has produced some videos for TNKR for YouTube, but this will be bigger than the previous projects.
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TNKR Members
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TNKR has grown! A few years ago, we had only a few volunteers and fans supporting us financially. In the early years, I put up about $10,000 of my own money to support the organization and major activities. When we needed $10,000 for the deposit on our first office, Eunkoo Lee put up the money.
At last, we have enough supporters around us that at last we don't have to mix our own money in. For so long, it wasn't certain that TNKR would survive. We had too many bystanders and people who just wanted to tutor, but didn't realize that this was a grassroots operation that needed everyone pulling up weeds!
We now have enough people around us that we can become a Membership-driven organization. We are still transitioning to that. We have noticed that members have skin in the game, they have long term concern about what happens to TNKR. Non-members drop in and move on. We need more Members with us.
I had the idea about four years ago, but we were too weak then. We have a team developing, more infrastructure. When TNKR members drop by the office, we give them certificates. Of course we forgot a few, so if you are a TNKR Member, please remind us when you visit. Or even better, remind us in advance so we can have a certificate prepared. As you can see, we have a lot going on, including many things that are NOT included in this post, so if we forget, it isn't necessarily on purpose.
Daniel Cashmar, TNKR Patron and Track 1 Volunteer Advisor, joined TNKR in September 2015 as a volunteer tutor. He was traveling from outside of Seoul at that time. After he moved to Seoul, he committed to getting more involved with TNKR. For years, we had volunteers and others suggest that we should have a guidebook or handbook for volunteers. Dan is the one who did it! He has written almost a 30 page guide for tutors. It is intended for newcomers, but returnees need to read it also because we are constantly tweaking our operations.
Carlos, a TNKR Sponsor, joined TNKR early last month as a Track 3 Mentor, then late last month he joined Track 1.
Michael Downey, TNKR Patron, has joined all three of TNKR's Tracks as a Tutor, Speech Coach and Mentor. He first joined TNKR in July 2017, at one of TNKR's most dynamic Matching sessions.
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The world is upside down
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* No handshakes: The staff is continuing to come to the office every day. Hand sanitizers are at the door and throughout the office for staff and visitors to use. Anyone who has tried to shake hands with me in the last 15 to 20 years knows I have long been opposed to the stupid handshaking custom. I used to have pundits and commentators in Korea mock me for it and even had some people tell me that it was disrespectful for me not to shake hands with Koreans expecting to shake hands with me, but they (especially the expat pundits) have been quiet about that since the virus outbreak.
* Online: We had been considering including online options later this year, but have rushed things with so many changes as a result of the virus. Many of our students are still saying they prefer face-to-face meetings, some are perfectly fine with online tutoring, some prefer a mixture.
* Volunteers: Some of our tutors are struggling, some have lost jobs, some have been recalled by their countries, some have lost their scholarships and had no choice but to return.
* Students: One of our students was scheduled to study abroad in the USA, but now that has been put on hold.
* Office move: We did successfully relocate the TNKR office last week. The previous landlord had been gently encouraging us to move. Thanks to donors, especially Hannong company and the TNKR Global High School Union, we had enough of a deposit to slightly upgrade our office. We had been considering a larger place, but with so much uncertainty, we decided for a slight upgrade in a move we did not seek.
* Matching: We quietly held our 100th Language Matching session on February 29th, with 7 refugees and 10 TNKR Members. It was the first Track 1 Language Matching session that we have held online.
* Interviewing students: Today and Friday, Eunkoo and I will be interviewing North Korean refugees eager to join TNKR. We also have a request from a partner organization to hold a special session for North Korean refugees they are mentoring.
* Orientation: Last weekend, our Academic team led by Academic Coordinator Janice Kim, Volunteer Advisor Daniel Cashmar, Assistant Academic Coordinator Janice Kim, and TNKR's co-founders, held two orientation sessions with 18 volunteer tutors eager to join TNKR's 101st Language Matching session. Tomorrow and Friday, Eunkoo and I will be interviewing North Korean refugees eager to join TNKR. We also have a request from a partner organization to hold a special session for North Korean refugees they are mentoring.
* Office move: We did successfully relocate the TNKR office last week. The previous landlord had been gently encouraging us to move. Thanks to donors, especially Hannong company and the TNKR Global High School Union, we had enough of a deposit to slightly upgrade our office. We had been considering a larger place, but with so much uncertainty, we decided for a slight upgrade in a move we did not seek.
* Matching: We quietly held our 100th Language Matching session on February 29th, with 7 refugees and 10 TNKR Members. It was the first Track 1 Language Matching session that we have held online.
* Interviewing students: Today and Friday, Eunkoo and I will be interviewing North Korean refugees eager to join TNKR. We also have a request from a partner organization to hold a special session for North Korean refugees they are mentoring.
* Orientation: Last weekend, our Academic team led by Academic Coordinator Janice Kim, Volunteer Advisor Daniel Cashmar, Assistant Academic Coordinator Janice Kim, and TNKR's co-founders, held two orientation sessions with 18 volunteer tutors eager to join TNKR's 101st Language Matching session. Tomorrow and Friday, Eunkoo and I will be interviewing North Korean refugees eager to join TNKR. We also have a request from a partner organization to hold a special session for North Korean refugees they are mentoring.
TNKR's Academic Team
www.lovetnkr.org/donate
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Chanyang's Jewelry-making Workshops
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I am saving this for last because of the many photos.
