[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 206 (Thursday, December 21, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S19130-S19131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC AMERICA FOUNDATION

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I want to congratulate the 
Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation on the occasion of its fifth 
anniversary.
  The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation [MEAF] is endowed with 

[[Page S19131]]
  $15 million by the Mitsubishi Electric Corp. of Japan and its American 
subsidiaries. Its mission is to contribute to society by assisting 
young Americans with disabilities to lead full and productive lives. 
The foundation fulfills this mission by supporting education and other 
programs aimed at enhancing the independence, productivity and 
community inclusion of young people with disabilities. During its first 
5 years the foundation has received more than 1,000 funding requests 
and awarded nearly $2 million in grants to benefit American children 
and youth with disabilities.
  The foundation is based in Washington, DC and works primarily at the 
national level but also collaborates with principal Mitsubishi Electric 
America [MEA] facilities to have an impact at the local level. 
Philanthropy committees at MEA companies have made many generous 
contributions of money, electronics products, and volunteer support to 
nonprofit organizations in communities across the country.
  In my home state of Illinois, for example, Mitsubishi Electric 
Industrial Controls, Inc., and Mitsubishi Electronics America, Inc. 
maintain active volunteer committees through which dedicated employees 
serve their communities in the Chicago suburbs. Through its matching 
grant program, the foundation supplements the companies' donations to 
local organizations helping young people with disabilities.
  The story behind the foundation's creation gives insight into the 
sponsoring corporation. At the 1990 meeting of the presidents of the 
North American Mitsubishi Electric America group companies, former MEA 
president Takeshi Sakurai presented his goal of encouraging the 
companies to reciprocate the good will and hospitality of the 
communities in which the more than 4,000 MEA employees live and work.
  Focusing on the challenges and barriers that exist for people with 
disabilities, Mr. Sakurai urged the corporation to help ensure that 
young Americans with disabilities have full access to competitive 
employment, integrated education, independent living options, and 
recreational opportunities in their communities. With the establishment 
of a foundation, he declared, the companies and employees could 
contribute to this critical need through the donation of funds, 
products, and volunteer time. Following Mr. Sakurai's presentation, 
many of the senior executives around the table made personal donations, 
which eventually formed part of the initial endowment of the Mitsubishi 
Electric America Foundation.
  Takeshi Sakurai became the first board president of the foundation, 
and with the board of directors worked to strengthen support for the 
foundation's work within the corporation, develop strategies for its 
outreach to the disability community, and institutionalize philanthropy 
within the corporate culture of MEA companies. Through the efforts of 
its board, the foundation has helped to educate its sponsoring 
corporations about the importance of good corporate citizenship and on 
the critical issues facing people with disabilities. The 12-member 
board includes Mitsubishi Electric America company presidents, the 
foundation's executive director, representatives from the parent 
corporation in Japan, and two MEA employees who are nominated by their 
peers to serve 18-month terms.
  Mitsubishi Electric Corp.'s investments in the foundation have paid 
unexpected dividends by influencing the sponsoring corporation back in 
Japan. Responding to the success of the foundation, Mitsubishi Electric 
Corp. has expanded its philanthropic activities in Japan and around the 
world; many of these efforts are aimed at people with disabilities.
  The Socio-Roots Fund, which was established by the corporation in 
1992 to match employee donations, awarded the yen equivalent of 
$450,000 to organizations assisting youths with disabilities in Japan 
in 1994. The corporation's Nakatsugawa Works facility now offers sign 
language classes to its employees. The corporation also donated the yen 
equivalent of $180,000 to 75 schools, organizations and projects 
serving people with disabilities throughout Japan. A second Mitsubishi 
Electric Foundation was established in Thailand to provide promising 
students who are in need of financial assistance with the means to 
complete their education; in June, 1993, this foundation awarded its 
first full scholarships to 30 engineering students.
  The foundation has received several awards for its achievements in 
grantmaking, some of which clearly demonstrate the foundation's impact 
on the MEA companies. For example, the foundation was honored with the 
prestigious Leadership Award from the Dole Foundation for Employment of 
People with Disabilities. My colleague from Kansas, Senator Bob Dole, 
presented the award in recognition of the foundation's accomplishments 
and also cited Mitsubishi Electric America as a model for other 
corporations in integrating disability awareness into corporate 
policies.
  The MEA foundation and Marriott foundation for People with 
Disabilities jointly received the Council for Exceptional Children's 
1992-93 Employer of the Year Award, in recognition of their successful 
replication of the ``Bridges . . . From School to Work'' transition 
program, which helps prepare youth with disabilities in Washington, DC 
for employment after high school.
  In 1994, Mitsubishi Electric America was named one of the top 100 
U.S. employers by CAREERS and the disABLED, a leading magazine in the 
disability field, based on a reader survey that asked readers to name 
the top three companies or government agencies for whom they would most 
like to work or that they believed would provide a positive working 
environment for people with disabilities.
  These public acknowledgements are a fitting tribute to the Mitsubishi 
Electric Corp.'s investments in our Nation, but I would like to add my 
own personal thanks to the Mitsubishi Electric America foundation, 
Mitsubishi Electric Corp., and the Mitsubishi Electric America group 
companies for their generosity.
  I congratulate the staff, officers, board of directors, and advisory 
committee members who have helped position this foundation as a leader 
in supporting innovative programs for young people with disabilities. I 
hope the foundation will continue its successful work for many years to 
come.

                          ____________________