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A Colorful Story by Ali Üstay I met Andre at a dorm room over half a century ago. It was 1960 when we set our feet in Robert College as two 19-year-old freshmen. We were both placed to reside in Hamlin Hall. Soon after deciding who is sleeping in which bed, our dormitory became our […]

A Colorful Story by Bercem Akkoç Alemdarzade Growing up, unlike most of my friends I never embraced a book character like Jane Eyre or Elizabeth Bennett as my hero. Instead, I had my mom, Nebahat Akkoç, and her entourage as my heroes as they mesmerized me with their courage and strength. They were a handful of women […]

A Colorful Story by Özgür Karaosmanoğlu As I grow older, I often find myself thinking about my parents and how blessed I am to have them. My parents taught me that the key to a happy life comes from working hard, being fair and giving back to those in need. It’s these virtues they passionately […]

A Colorful Story By Ender Ağırnaslı This is the story of a woman who taught me everything I know: My mother, Sabahat Buruloğlu, or Sabuş as we called her. She lived by three core values throughout her life: hard-work, gratitude, and dedication. Her motto was “Work hard. Cherish life. And, always move onward and upward.” […]

A Colorful Story by İrem Kıyak I often find myself thinking about my mother, Saadet Aydınsoy, whom we lost to cancer in 2004. What a remarkable woman she was. She had a contagious energy and empathy that she would spread around, even when she was fighting with cancer. She devoted her whole life to us, […]

A Colorful Story by Hulusi Zafer Ecevit Two years ago, I found myself thinking of who impacted my life the most. The answer came to me quickly: my junior high school teachers, John Scott and Bill Edmonds. It’s been more than 50 years since I graduated from Talas Junior High School, or just ‘Talas’ as […]

TPF is very proud of our board member, Burcu Mirza, who was profiled at Bolder Giving’s Global Givers Initiative. Like virtue, philanthropy is a habit. Reflecting back on my own life, I can now see that my own habit stemmed from the positive influence of outstanding philanthropists around me. Therefore, the story of “my giving” is also […]