Local Charitable Foundation to Celebrate Spirit of ‘Sharing and Giving’

The second annual “Beautiful NANUM Market” takes place Saturday at the Fort Lee Recreation Center. All proceeds from the event, which is sponsored by the Fort Lee-based Beautiful Foundation USA, benefit community organizations that serve the underprivileged.

The market is described by Beautiful Foundation USA organizers as “a festive gathering of our 1 percent donors, community based organizations, corporations, small businesses and friends of the Beautiful Foundation USA to spread the spirit of ‘Sharing and Giving’ [or Nanum in Korean] by selling donated goods [old or new] as well as their time and talent.”

Executive director of the Beautiful Foundation USA, Taehyo Park, spoke with Patch about the market and the larger mission of the nonprofit, charitable organization. He said the Beautiful Foundation was founded in Korea in 2000 by attorney W.S. Park, and after the 1 percent “sharing and giving” concept upon which the organization bases its mission “spread like wildfire” across Korea, the foundation came to the U.S. in 2006—“not to establish a branch, but to try to establish a United States version of the organization.”

“The ultimate goal is basically to make changes by spreading and changing the very culture that people think about charitable giving,” Park said. “Usually when we think about charitable giving, we think about large foundations, by either an individual or corporation, but this is more of a true grassroots movement basically asking people to chip in whatever they want.”

Park said the 1 percent concept doesn’t necessarily mean 1 percent of someone’s income.

“It means 1 percent of what you want to give; so it’s the smallest amount that you can share for the betterment of society, and that’s the very spirit and model that runs this foundation,” he said.

The Beautiful Foundation USA has five target areas for its charitable giving efforts, driven by that model: Seniors, Youth, Victimized Women, Immigrants and Individuals with Disabilities.

Direct service organizations serving the five target groups apply to the foundation for funds to support a specific program or for something called “capacity building,” Park explained.

“We don’t think simply giving money is the key to help them do what they are setting out to do,” he said. “We have a program called ‘Continuous and Constructive Engagement Efforts.’ [We] advise them on how to organize all these efforts and how to apply for additional grant funding. So basically we’re helping them build their own capacity through those efforts.”

The Beautiful Foundation USA also has an independent grant advisory panel, which makes recommendations about which community organization or agency should be receiving money, extensively vetting each application.

But Saturday’s fundraiser at the recreation center in Fort Lee is a little different, according to Park, who’s only been executive director of the foundation for about three-and-a-half months.

“[The Beautiful NANUM Market] is a special case of fundraising,” Park said. “My personal impression of how the Beautiful Foundation was run until now was a little detached from the community of Fort Lee and Bergen County. And the name itself in English would be ‘Beautiful Foundation USA,’ but the Korean name was actually ‘New York Beautiful Foundation.’ It doesn’t really make sense.”

Park first changed the name so it would be the same in Korean as it is in English. He said he also set out to “get rid of that geographical boundary.”

“Until now it was more Korean- and Asian-centric,” Park said. “But you can’t limit yourself within one ethnic group in the community. You’ve got to set your goal to be able to lend a helping hand regardless of the ethnic group. From now on our efforts will be toward firmly planting ourselves in this community. Our roots come from the Korean-American community, but we’re firmly planted there, and it’s high time we serve as a leading organization for the betterment of everyone. That’s our goal … there are a lot of places right here in Bergen County that need help.”

He said he expects that shift to be gradual, however, because a lot of the organization’s key support groups and donors are Korean, and a lot of the organizations the foundation supports in various ways are in New York.

“The goal is to be more encompassing—not exclusive to one area,” Park said.

With that goal in mind, the proceeds from the Beautiful NANUM Market Saturday will go to an agency or organization recommended by the Borough of Fort Lee with the assistance of Cheryl Weston of the . The only qualification is that the agency or organization has to fit the foundation’s mission and serve one of its target groups.

“We’re not going to add it up to the grant making fund for 2012, but rather fund a Bergen County agency or organization as recommended by the [borough],” Park said. “It could be an orphanage; it could be a homeless shelter; it could be a shelter for victimized women. It could be various places.”

The market itself will be quite involved, with “a lot of things going on,” Park said.

“Basically anyone can join,” he said.

A lot of companies—both large and small, local stores and individuals have already signed on to sell goods or donate goods to be sold at the market. There will also be on-site registration for individuals who wish to come and sell their products. Anyone wishing to do so simply needs to sign a contract saying they will donate at least 50 percent of their proceeds, or up to 100 percent. There is no fee to participate, and volunteer-manned sales tables are provided for free.  

Other major features of Saturday’s Beautiful NANUM Market include the following:

Pre-orders

Mainly High quality frozen meat, poinsettias and mini decorated Christmas trees donated at lower than retail prices by local businesses, including Warner Meats and .

These items can be pre-ordered using the form attached to this article, and they’ll be ready for pickup at the market, or you can just drop by and purchase them.

“Special Corners”

Hyang Ran Kang’s Calligraphy Exhibition and Writing Donation

Park described Kang as a “renowned Korean traditional calligraphy artist.”

“Artists usually just donate their work, but she’s not doing that,” he said. “She’s donating her work, but at the same time, she’s actually coming to the site all day—sitting their all day with a beautiful Korean traditional dress—and she will be writing things per request, which is a very meaningful thing for a lot of Asians.”

Jong Sook Kim’s Traditional Korean Paper Craft Exhibition and Class Donation

“She’s doing the same thing—donating her artwork,” Park said. “But she’s going to come to the site, and she’s donating classes all day long for children. Children can come, and they can learn how to do the Korean traditional paper craft on the spot.”

He added that Kang and Kim are donating 100 percent of their proceeds.

Doo Sik Lee, Chul Soo Lee, Han Sung Lee and Local Artists’ Donation of Artwork

Park said the three artists are “very well-known” Korean artists, and some of their work will be available for sale at the market, in addition to work donated by local Korean-American artists.

NYU Gospel Choir

Members of the choir, including Joon Y. Lee, Laura Hopkins, Kokei Otosi, Chato Roque, Jayson Dorsett, and Mike Jaoudi, “will boost the festive holiday season spirit by ‘Sharing and Giving’ their talents,” according to foundation organizers. The performance will take place between 2 and 4 p.m.

“The Beautiful NANUM Market started off as a flea market concept, but it’s much more of a festival of sharing and giving,” Park said. “That’s what we’re aiming for at least. If you’re spreading the spirit of Nanum, you don’t go to remote places; you start from where you are.”

The Beautiful NANUM Market is Saturday, Dec. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fort Lee Recreation Center at the end of Stillwell Ave.

For more information, visit The Beautiful Foundation USA online.