Dear Family and Friends:
In exactly one month, on February 12, 2013, Elizabeth and I will
begin one of the biggest challenges of our lives: climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro!
(Mark and Elizabeth at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro)
Why are we doing
this?
This trip is a celebration of many things for us: thirteen years of marriage, several major
transitions in our family life and careers, and my new status as a kidney cancer
survivor. So this trek to the Roof of
Africa, one of the great spiritual homes of the world, has a lot of personal significance
for us.
But more importantly,
this trip is to raise funds to help educate young women at the Sega Girls
School in Tanzania. This school has
been in operation for over five years and has been a pivotal force in the lives
of the young women who attend, strengthening their families and the entire
community.
Why girls in Africa?
In recent years, Elizabeth has become very involved with
Nurturing Minds, a non-profit organized by a group of women based in Boulder,
Colorado which raises funds for this specific school. For the past two years, Elizabeth has organized
a fundraising 5K in our Colorado neighborhood, raising several thousand dollars
through her efforts. As you can imagine,
this money goes a long way in Africa towards building and maintaining the school.
Now Elizabeth has been asked to be a leader in the regional chapter of Nurturing Minds. So when
we were invited to participate in this fundraising trek, we felt it would be a
great opportunity to raise more funds for the school. Research
shows us that one of the most effective ways to reduce extreme poverty and
violence in the world is by educating and empowering women. As these educated girls grow up, become mothers, and engage in
society, they teach their children, influence their husbands, and reinvest in
their communities. It may seem a small
thing to educate a few hundred girls in a remote part of Africa. But giving these young women the tools to lift
themselves and their families out of poverty will have a lasting global impact.
Why Tanzania?
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world, where
women are often denied basic rights and respect. Why? In part, due to limited educational
opportunities. Without basic schooling,
most girls have little hope for a brighter future, often are exploited, and by their
mid-teens are usually married and having children. The
Sega Girls School provides safe housing, education and skills training so girls
can create better lives not only for themselves but also for their own families
and communities. The Sega Girls School
has a proven track record, and we have the utmost confidence that all donations
will be applied effectively to enhance the education of the 150 girls who
currently attend. To find out more about
this charity and the Sega Girls School, please visit www.nurturingmindsinafrica.org
and watch the powerful video.
How can you become a part
of this great adventure?
We need your help! Mt.
Kilimanjaro rises 19,341 feet above the plains of Africa, or 5,895 meters. Elizabeth
and I are committed to raising $5,895 dollars for the school by doing this
climb—one dollar for every meter. To
reach that goal we are asking friends and family to donate one penny per meter,
or $58.95. If that does not fit your
budget then consider donating 1/2 of that ($29.48) or 1/10 of that ($5.90). More is of course welcome—a $589.50 or a $1000 donation would really light our spiritual
fire on this trek! No donation is too
big or too small.
And here’s some great news!
Nurturing Minds was recently awarded a challenge grant of $1 million by
the USAID's American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program to complete
construction of the Sega Girls School Campus in 2013. This will allow the school to reach its goal
of educating 210 girls a year. This is a
4-1 matching grant, so for every $1 that is donated towards construction, Sega will
receive $4 from USAID/ASHA for a total impact of $5. If we
reach our goal of $5,895, then together we will draw matching funds totaling $29,475,
or enough to construct a new health clinic in its entirety on the school campus. There’s never been a better time for your
donation to have a bigger impact.
But wait, there’s
more!
Friends and family donating to this great cause will be
entered into our email list, and we will be sending you exclusive updates and
photos of our trek, as well as daily personalized questions and answers as we
make our way up the mountain—unless of course we have been eaten by lions or succumbed
to the delirium of high altitude sickness.
(Yes, we should get cell phone reception for the whole climb—the marvels
of modern technology!) Imagine the
pleasure, for two weeks in February, of opening your email every day and seeing
Mark and Elizabeth smiling at back on their way up Mt. Kilimanjaro, in all their
emaciated and haggard glory! This exclusive
opportunity could be yours if you choose to support us!
How do I donate?
It’s simple. We have a
fundraising page through First Giving.
Simply follow the link below and it will take you to our specific page,
where you can safely and easily make a donation. And by
the way, your whole donation will go to support the school, as Elizabeth and I
are covering all of our own expenses.
Donating through this website is simple, fast , totally
secure, and the most efficient way to support our fundraising efforts. Your donation will flow through the Peaks
Foundation which has organized this climb and many others to help educate women
who live in cultures of extreme poverty.
All funds will then go to Sega Girls School through Nurturing Minds. To find out more about the Peaks Foundation, please go to www.peaksfoundation.org, and also
check out the video link on our fundraising page.
You will receive an automatic thank you/receipt for your
donation, which is tax deductible, so you will receive an additional tax
benefit from donating to the Peaks Foundation, a 501 (c ) 3 organization.
Thanks you again for supporting us and this amazing cause! Onward and upward!
With much gratitude,
Mark and Elizabeth Foster
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