Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Update ~ Getting Down to Business

It is update time!
We had our first and second meeting with our teacher leader and our group! We are starting to get to know each other and have some fun!
The first meeting was at Brunswick Zone and it was basically to introduce ourselves and start to hang out. We bowled and ate pizza and got to know each other. We did our first service project and all brought cans of food for the local food pantry. Helping others is so fun!
The next meeting was more instructional and down to business. We learned more about People to People and why it was born. President Eisenhower was an advocate of peace. Even though he was a high ranking officer in the military; war broke his heart. He longed for people to get along and be at peace. He decided to start with our young people…we are the future, don’t you know? But instilling certain values and exposing kids to other culture, President Eisenhower thought that could help the world be a more peaceful place. It is a great idea, huh? We also got to work together on an assignment while the parents filled out paperwork. Yes…you heard that right…homework too! We will be doing various projects and assignments throughout the preparation and the trip! We also are doing a big project at the end about a certain aspect of the trip…whatever we chose!
As far as fundraising goes…I appreciate everyone’s help! I have raised a tad over $1500.00 towards my trip!! I sent out a ton of letters and some local businesses have helped by supporting me! I also sent some flyers around the neighborhood to do odd jobs, but so far, no response. KID FOR HIRE!! Does anyone need a pooper-scooper or a helper for you little ones???? Not many jobs out there for a 12 year old, but I am trying! We also sold candles and made a few buck with that too! My next plan is to put a hot chocolate station outside the local pharmacy and sell some delicious hot chocolate! I think that my mom is organizing a bowling event as well! Lots of ideas and we still have plenty of time! Only $4500.00 more to go!
So, that is it for now…thank you for following me! I am sure that it will be an exciting journey in the upcoming months! I wonder if I can get one of those countdown thingies on here?? I will work on that!
Stay tuned!!!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Me? An Ambassador?

During the first week of school, I received a letter in the mail. It looked kind of like a "Who's Who" pay-money-to-get-some-kind-of-recognition scam. My mom almost threw it away. But when my bonus dad saw it, he recognized the name People to People.

"Two of my nieces did that program," he said. "One went to Canada and the other went to Australia. Don't throw that out."

And here I am today.

I have no idea who nominated me, but I was chosen due to my illustrious academic performance. It's just luck, I guess, that I'm also very involved in the community and in my church. It's a great honor to be nominated, but I want to do more than receive that honor. I want the opportunity to make the most out of this experience. I want the chance really experience the People to People Tale of Two Cities program.

But to do that, I need money.

We're not broke, mind you, but we're not rich. Who is these days? Work is sporadic for my dads at this time, and they're doing their best. Meanwhile, my mom is bustin' her hump to make sure that I'm dressed, fed and ready for dance recitals. There is no way we could make this dream come true alone.

That's where you good people come in; I need help. Let me tell you why this is such an amazing program first, though.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower started this program to broaden the horizons of American youth. In his experiences abroad in World War II, he learned that interactions between between the ordinary citizens around the world could do more to promote peace and understanding than anything else.

People to People offers first-hand experiences with other cultures, the opportunity to see, feel, touch history in a way that will forever change the student ambassadors. It offers the opportunity to reach out and learn from others as well as teach the world that our mission is to promote peace and understanding.

So, that's that. We're hoping that people like you will be able to help me out by making donations on this site. Right now we're working on finding ways to make that easy to do! Stay tuned as I keep you all updated on my progress with fund raising, essay writing and all of the other fun stuff that goes into making my dream come true.