Colorful Stories

George Schieber didn’t know much about Turkey when he first met Sena Eken in 1976. She was a graduate student in economics at the University of Pittsburgh. After meeting Sena, George became interested in learning more about the culture, customs, and values of Turkey, a country whose compelling history was hardly the centerpiece of America’s […]

When her husband and Dilek Anderson got married, they knew would eventually need to make a decision as to where they will create their family home. He was a Microsoft employee and Seattle resident, and she was an attorney and Izmir resident. Dilek decided to remain in their home in Izmir with her daughter, and […]

Children’s Day is celebrated throughout Turkey on April 23rd yearly. For Children’s Day this year, TPF partners with TOHUM Autism Foundation to give the gift of online education. Due to COVID-19 the students of TOHUM have faced new challenges, by donating to our COVID-19 Community Relief Fund, TPF will be able to help 78 TOHUM […]

Turkish Philanthropy Funds (TPF) is proud to announce that MAGIT and Çölyak Manisa are selected as the second two recipients of the TPF COVID-19 Community Relief Fund. With the Relief Fund, TPF sees its role as being the bridge that helps our partners and our community get the help to obtain the resources they need […]

“Both Ziya and I grew up in families with a deep sense of civic duty and responsibility to our communities. So giving was not something that was foreign to either of us,” says Nakiye Boyacıgiller, one of TPF’s Founders Society Members and a Board Member. Nakiye and her late husband Ziya shared the same values. […]

I am a 10th-grade student at Aziz Sancar High School in Mardin. Located in the southeast of Turkey, Mardin is one of the oldest settlements in the region. For many years, the city was considered unsafe and was frequently portrayed negatively in the news. Lately, with more Turkish soap operas being filmed here, it became […]

Sedef still remembers the chills she felt when she paraded into the stadium during the Opening Ceremony at 2008 Beijing Olympics. “It was one of the most unforgettable memories of my life,” she notes. “It was a dream come true.” The decision to take a break from her professional career to compete in the Olympics […]