You can now sign up to receive updates about upcoming events or important announcements from SDFS at the Contact page.

The SDFS team has opened up a bank account and is now able to start accepting donations!

A HUGE thank you to Lea Zesati for all of her hard work and much needed encouragement. Lea is currently working on our tax exemption form and has so far helped us with just about everything, thank you Lea!

Thanks to the hard work of Arion Lapuz and Michelle Ji, SDFS has a logo and an identity! Thanks specifically to Arion for the intersecting globe design in our logo! Both Arion and Michelle are students at USC's Roski School of Fine Arts, so thank you for being busy students willing to help us out!

After much anticipation, we have finally received our paperwork back from the State of California, recognizing us as an official organization!

     The Ban Nam Yen school has been nominated for the INDEX: Design to Improve Life award. INDEX: is a Danish-based, non-profit organization that works globally to promote and apply both design and design processes that have the capacity to improve the lives of people worldwide. The Design to Improve Life is the largest monetary design award in the world. There will be 5 winners chosen, each receiving 100,000 Euro for their project (about $131,540 USD). Support us by viewing our nomination here and be sure to 'like' us and spread the word through Facebook and Twitter. Thanks in advance for your help!

     Voting has now begun for the Design Ignites Change Grant. Please visit here to vote for SDFS. If we are awarded the grant, the funds will go towards building the Ban Nam Yen School in Loei, Thailand!

     Hey everyone! Carolyn (a fellow student designing for students) has entered us in a grant competition Design Ignites Change. View it here and let us know what you think!

     Thank you to everyone who helped us pick the design for our very first reusable tote bag which is now available in the Merchandise section. The SDFS team is very excited about this, and we are running a "New Years Resolution Special" through the end of January: Bags are $15, and if you buy 3, we will give you the 4th free -- a mere donation for a wonderful cause. Now you can all cross "Donate to Charity" off of your New Years Resolutions...

     Check out this video made by and featuring students from the USC Architecture Asia Study Abroad, 2009! This video was featured last month at the the USC Architecture Study Abroad Exhibition and is now available here for those of you who missed it. Thanks to Nathan Thome and Brent Nishimoto (USC Architecture Asia Study Abroad 2009) for making this video and allowing us to feature it here.

     SDFS had its first event this past Wednesday! Our thanks go out to all those in attendance. At the event James Steele spoke about the USC Architecture Asia Study Abroad Program and all of its successes to a crowd of Study Abroad hopefuls. In addition, he introduced SDFS and explained how we will be working with the students of the USC Architecture Asia Study Abroad Program to get their designs built. Thank you to the 2009 USC Architecture Asia Study Abroad group for their fabulous exhibition of student works and for graciously allowing us to participate in their event and spread the word about SDFS. All in all, it was a very successful evening for our first event.

     This project started with a study abroad trip, a passionate professor, and three architecture students who arrived back home with memories of smiling faces and unmatched hospitality. They wanted to give back to the countries they were fortunate enough to visit, and the communities into which they were so warmly welcomed. The idea for SDFS has been brewing for many years, and now that we are finally a recongnized Non-Profit Organization, we are ready to acheive our goal of helping students in need.

     Please explore our website! Be sure to check out the About section to get to know the people involved in SDFS and to learn more about how SDFS works.