I'm inspired by the global growth of GIA Education in the past two decades. Bill Boyajian pointed out in his president's message (page 3) that one of our goals is to provide access to GIA Education wherever students live and work, whether that's in an area with an established school, like Asia, North America, Europe or India, or through Distance Education.

Unfortunately, the reality is that there are potential students all over the world who simply do not have the financial means to take advantage of GIA's education programs and, thus, the opportunity to fully develop their careers in the gem and jewelry industry.

That's where you can help. We're depending on you, our supporters, to bridge the gap between deserving individuals and a valuable GIA education. We have established an endowed Scholarship Fund which has, just this year, provided a full educational scholarship for seven worthy recipients.

In addition, several geographic regions have growing funds, including the Endowment for Education in India, which is supported by several large organizations, including Dimexon-Eurostar and Rosy Blue, and the Anthony Hirsh Scholarship in London. We have also begun an African Scholars Fund to help effect positive change in that region of the world. There are many possibilities for similar scholarship programs.

We need your charitable gifts to continue to grow these important programs to benefit qualified students in dire need of financial assistance. There are many ways to do so. You can create a permanently endowed scholarship, in which the interest earned can be made available for students; or an outright gift that pays for student education in the coming year.

There is much we can do for needy students with your support. We have a dedicated team that works hard to match each scholarship program to the appropriate recipient. With your help we can enhance our outreach to communities where the need is greatest.

Scholarship graduates, trained and competent as a result of their GIA education, become valuable resources for our industry. Please give me a call so we can talk about how you can become a critical link in the chain between deserving students and a quality education.