Creating
CHANGE For All… And for always
A Bridge from Foster Care to Higher Ed From Beijing to Dubai to Moscow, Bill Karst and Ginny Merdes had business interests around the globe. But from their first moments on Kaua‘i, the couple was struck by the interwoven, interdependent support within this community. The very next day, they looked for a property to buy.
“We can feel our contribution doing something impactful and positive—and local.”
Besides their belongings, the couple brought to Kaua‘i a long-standing commitment to helping foster youth. Bill Karst & While they have Ginny Merdes supported various causes for years, their passion is helping students who are permanently or temporarily separated from their birth parents or have aged out of foster care.
Bill Karst and Ginny Merdes
“We’re very impressed with how kids who don’t have all the opportunities are more conscious of what they receive—and desire to give back when they’re able to,” say Bill and Ginny. They went on to say that foster youth often reciprocate by helping the local community. “It struck us that our small gifts are a bountiful way of paying it forward, an investment that will blossom for future generations on Kaua‘i.”
With generous support from the retired architect and the newspaper editor, the KarstMerdes Scholarship for Foster Youth is enabling 15 students who have aged out of the foster system to pursue their dreams of higher education, with preference for those from Kaua‘i who are interested in teaching and healthcare careers. With the scholarship in place, the couple’s priority is making more foster kids on Kaua‘i aware of the opportunity. “When Ginny and I decided to start a fund, everyone we spoke with reinforced the value, authenticity and commitment of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. They’re a cost-effective, highly involved organization that made it very easy for us to define our donor
parameters, and participate at whatever level we wanted to,” Bill says. “The whole process has been very personal and targeted to our interests. We can feel our contribution doing something impactful and positive—and local.”
DID YOU KNOW: Hawai‘i Community Foundation administers 69 funds on Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau. In 2018, $285K in scholarships were awarded to students from the two islands.
To transform your generosity into lasting change, please visit HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org