Our son James was murdered by ISIS in Syria on August 19th 2014. His life challenges us all to love and forgive one another, and to make this world a better place.
The James W. Foley Legacy Fund will honor what Jim stood for by focusing on 3 areas he was passionate about.
We will be rolling out important initiatives in the weeks ahead. Today you can support us with a donation and sign up for updates and news.
Jim did not die in vain. Please help us build on his memory.
-- Diane and John Foley
President Obama has ordered a review of how the U.S. handles the taking of hostages by overseas terrorist groups, according to letter by Christine Wormuth, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy.
The hostages were taken out of their cell one by one. In a private room, their captors asked each of them three intimate questions, a standard technique used to obtain proof that a prisoner is still alive in a kidnapping negotiation.
Ever since the self-proclaimed Islamic State started beheading American captives on camera two months ago, senior U.S. officials from President Barack Obama on down have insisted that the United States will never grant concessions to terrorists or pay ransoms…
Another plea had just come in, and it was like the others. Directed at the the leader of the Islamic State, it evoked the anguish of a desperate mother whose son is so very far away, held by unknown captors who could well become his executioners. Her name is Paula Kassig, mother of Peter, and she wants her son back.
Two key elements of the British government’s hostage negotiation strategy – refusing to pay ransoms and requesting a media blackout – are under increasing scrutiny after Islamic State (Isis) threatened the life of a fifth western captive.
It has been seven weeks since the American journalist James Foley was killed in Syria. He was brutally murdered by Islamic State militants in the first of a series of beheadings of foreign journalists and aid workers.
The search for an American kidnapped in Syria is taking on new urgency today. Austin Tice, 33, vanished two years ago. He was working as a freelance journalist for the Washington Post and other news outlets, including CBS News.
US Secretary of State John F. Kerry said today that the government will seek to work better with families of people held hostage by Islamic State militants, responding to concerns raised by the family of executed journalist James Foley.
The email appeared in Michael Foley’s inbox a year after his brother James disappeared on a reporting trip in northern Syria. It made clear that the people holding him wanted one thing above all else: money.
Diane Foley spoke exclusively with Anderson Cooper about the kidnapping and murder of her son, journalist James Foley. She put the blame squarely on ISIS, but she also said that she felt “our country let Jim down.”
Jim and his family, like many other U.S. hostages and their families, have experienced the devastating consequences of inconsistent, opaque, and unaccountable policies of governments in hostage situations.
We can do better than that.
The Fund will push for the discussion, development and coordination of policies that are consistent, transparent, and accountable to all American citizens held captive world-wide.
We will form a resource center and support network for US hostage families; foster an international dialogue to establish a standard world-wide policy for kidnapping prevention and resolution; support and voice the collective power of affected families in that dialogue; convene key stakeholders for coordination, dialogue, and action.
Photo: Jim working in Libya (Jon Cantlie/Getty Images).
Jim was an experienced conflict reporter having covered fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and finally Syria.
He was dedicated to the well-being of his colleagues having witnessed first hand in Libya how precarious such work can be. In Syria he worked tirelessly - and successfully - for the release of kidnapped colleagues before being kidnapped himself.
The Fund will support and collaborate with key partners such as Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters without Borders, Human Rights Watch, Ground Truth Project, and others.
After graduating from Marquette in 1996, Jim spent 4 years with Teach for America teaching in inner city Phoenix and coaching basketball to middle schoolers.
He believed passionately in the value of education and loved being around children.
The Fund will advance the right to education through financial support for Teach for America, Marquette University, and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
FOR A LIMITED TIME: Matching Donation Challenge
A generous donator has offered to match your donation dollar for dollar between now and December 31 2014 up to the amount of $10,000. This means that the James W. Foley Legacy Fund will receive $2 for each dollar you donate. Donate now, get a deduction for 2014, and make your money go twice as far in helping the Foundation achieve its mission.The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonstock corporation formed under Chapter 181 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Contributions made since the corporation's date of formation (September 3, 2014) are tax-deductible to the full extent of US law. We thank the Snoring Mouthpiece Review for their generous contribution to our cause.
Please note that the jamesfoleyfund.org and marquette.edu/foleyscholarship websites are the only websites currently approved by the Foley family to accept financial donations.
James Wright Foley was born on October 18, 1973 in Evanston, Illinois. He was the first born son of Diane and John Foley of Rochester, New Hampshire.
Jim grew up in the beautiful town of Wolfeboro, NH. He was the oldest of five children. After graduating from Kingswood High School in 1992, he chose to go to Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At Marquette, he made life-long friends and was challenged to serve the voiceless. From 1996 to 2000, he served 4 years with Teach for America, teaching in inner city Phoenix, Arizona.
Jim was drawn to writing and completed an MFA program in writing at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2002. While in Massachusetts, he taught unwed mothers to help them achieve their GED and later in Chicago, taught English to inmates at the Cook County jail.
By becoming a conflict journalist, Jim was able to merge his interest in writing with his compassion for the poor, disadvantaged and suffering amid conflict. Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Illinois granted him this opportunity. He began in Iraq, then Afghanistan, then Libya and finally Syria. Jim was detained by Colonel Gadaffi’s Libyan regime in 2011 for 44 days; but finally released.
In January of 2012, Jim began what would be many trips in and out of northern Syria as a freelance photojournalist. He began cautiously, but then gained confidence as he met kind and hospitable Syrians, who offered him their generous hospitality. Jim was last home in October 2012 to visit and celebrate his birthday. Our last phone call with Jim was one week before he was kidnapped on 11/22/12 in northern Syria. Our family never heard his voice again.
Jim was murdered by ISIS on August 19, 2014 in the Raqqa region of Syria.
He is survived by his beloved maternal grandmother, Olga M. Wright, his parents, and his siblings Michael, John, Mark, and Kathryn Foley.
Three beloved nephews are Michael, Matthew, and Jack, and his niece, Rori. Other close family include Rita and Fernando Colina, Robert and Paula Foley, Martha and William Jackson, William and Sally Foley and 11 cousins.
He is pre-deceased by his cousin, Patrick and his paternal grandparents, John and Marilyn Foley of Plymouth, NH, and his maternal grandfather, Elliot A. Wright of Keene, NH.
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