Dear Friends:

We are writing to tell you about an exciting opportunity that we have to travel to Uganda at the end of December! Our ReThink the Possibilities club will travel with Empower African Children, a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas and Kampala, Uganda, whose mission is to create transformative and globally connected learning experiences, giving voice to its orphaned and vulnerable students as they prepare for a lifetime of influence.  As part of Rethink’s mission to serve and mentor vulnerable children, this trip will provide us with the opportunity to have hands on mentoring with 50 students whom we consider family.

We are a group of eight Dallas students from Parish Episcopal School, Trinity Christian Academy and Parish Episcopal School of Dallas, ages 11-17. Together we designed a unique and fun leadership program to share with students from different cultures around the world. Empower’s mission statement uses the phrase “globally connected learning experiences” and that’s exactly what we set out to create! Our program is called “ReThink the Possibilities Leadership Camp” and, during our trip, we’ll be sharing the workshop with their students in Uganda.

We worked hard to create the best possible programs, strategies, activities, and cultural exchanges, and even sought extra guidance from mentors like Parish’s headmaster and head football coach. Our goal is to provide the tools to build good habits and leadership skills, develop individual goals, and create an atmosphere of confidence. We believe that the intensive leadership program that we have created will have a lasting impact on our Empower brothers and sisters and we are excited about sharing this opportunity with them.

For all of us, one of the reasons we are inspired to travel to Uganda is to see firsthand the impact that a quality education can have on someone’s life. In America, we often take our education for granted, while in Uganda, receiving an education is truly a gift and the opportunity to completely change the direction of your life. Also, we believe that the experience of interacting with Ugandan students in our age groups will be a fun experience that

leaves all of us with greater appreciation for our education as well as a better understanding of African culture.

Though we’re so excited to see our hard work become reality as we head to Uganda, our main goal for this trip is to create awareness and fund raise for Empower African Children’s Scholarship Fund. Every donation will go towards something the ReThink team members are all very passionate about: helping our friends continues their quality education. Will you consider making a donation towards the gift of education? Each of us is committed to raising 5,000 dollars by December 20th. That number will cover all tuition, medical, food, housing and personal expenses for one year for a single student. Included in this letter is a donation envelope that can be mailed directly to the organization. Acceptable forms of payment include cash, check, and credit card and all donations will be tax deductible. If you choose to make a donation, please write “ReThink Project ” in the memo so that we can be sure to thank you. Also, in the spirit of the holiday season, we are happy to accept a donation in someone’s honor. Please include those details and we will be sure to notify them about the gift of education made in their honor.

Thank you for taking the time to read our letter. For more information about our ReThink the Possibilities organization, please visit our site. We will post blogs throughout our trip so be sure to check in with us! Also, learn more about Empower African Children and the students we will be serving by going to their website. If you would like more information about our ReThink the Possibilities Leadership Camp, please get in touch with us; we would love to hear from you.

Wishing you a happy holiday and thank you for your consideration,

Ford Noble