The Words of the Byrne Family
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The Words of the Byrne Family |
Dear Friends and Supporters,
I would like to invite you to join IRFF in a wonderful opportunity to provide a basic education to elementary school children in Zambia, one of the world’s poorest nations.
IRFF has been invited to participate in GlobalGiving’s Project Challenge -- a specific fundraising challenge that would allow IRFF to be permanently listed on the GlobalGiving website -- www.globalgiving.com. GlobalGiving is an online marketplace that connects donors to projects that they care about and allows them to track the effect of their contributions. Being listed on GlobalGiving.com would greatly benefit IRFF’s ability to raise funds for our vital projects that benefit people living in poverty all over the globe.
GlobalGiving’s Project Challenge works like this: if IRFF can raise over $3,000 for our designated project -- we have selected the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund -- from at least 75 different donors from November 1st to November 21st, we will earn a permanent spot on GlobalGiving’s website, connecting us to thousands of potential funders and partners, not only for Supporting Success, but for IRFF’s many other valuable projects across the globe. In order to accomplish this, we need your help. Please go to www.globalgiving.com/pr/2400/proj2360a.html now and contribute to the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund. Only funds donated through that website for our listed project between November 1st and November 21st will be counted towards the challenge.
The Supporting Success Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to cover all educational expenses for gifted students from poverty stricken families who cannot cover the expenses of schooling in countries where education is not free or guaranteed. Your donation will provide these deserving children with school uniforms, shoes, books, supplies and tuition, opening the door of education to them and giving them the opportunity to break the devastating cycle of poverty that traps so many families in Zambia. This is a concrete way to profoundly change the direction of a child’s life. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE NOW at www.globalgiving.com/pr/2400/proj2360a.html.
For more information on the Supporting Success Scholarship Fund, visit IRFF’s website - www.irff.org -- or our profile at www.globalgiving.com/pr/2400/proj2360a.html. But remember, to have your donation count towards the GlobalGiving Project Challenge, you must donate at www.globalgiving.com/pr/2400/proj2360a.html before November 21st. After doing so, please forward this email to your friends, families, colleagues and contacts to help us maximize the impact of this challenge on the young students of Zambia. Thank you in advance for your generosity and compassion.
Many blessings,
Paul Byrne
The Supporting Success Scholarship Fund was begun by IRFF in the summer of 2006, in the poverty stricken Mackenzie Community of Ndola, Zambia. Its mission is to provide the opportunity of education to gifted students from impoverished families who cannot afford the expense of their education in developing countries where public primary school is not free or guaranteed. Without the sponsorship of Supporting Success, these students would otherwise be unable to pursue their education.
Supporting Success began by providing scholarships to students who were finishing the fourth grade at the Mackenzie Community School, which is run by IRFF and does not charge tuition. These students would have been unable to continue their education at the local public school because their families could not afford the school fees. IRFF, therefore, provided them with funding to cover their tuition and all educational expenses -- school uniforms, shoes, books and school supplies -- for one year.
Since that time, Supporting Success has expanded in Zambia and has been initiated in Bangladesh as well. Supporting Success now sponsors 17 students in Zambia -- including many of the students from the original class -- and 10 students in Bangladesh. Students are chosen based on their academic achievement, their demonstrated commitment to their education, and the inability of their family to cover the expenses of public school.
One of the unique aspects of Supporting Success is the fact that, up to this point, the majority of the funds used to sponsor its recipients have come from the students of the New York City public school system. MS 223, in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx, and the United Nations International School have contributed in substantial ways to the children of Zambia and Bangladesh through fundraisers led by students and teachers. In doing so, they have learned about the lives and challenges of children their own age in countries very different from theirs, and have come to appreciate the opportunities and privilege of their own lives.
This coming December, Supporting Success will sponsor its third class in Zambia and its second in Bangladesh. To meet the needs of these added students, your help is desperately needed. Please consider donating to Supporting Success. Just $150 will cover all the expenses of one year of education for a student who desperately needs the opportunity that an education will provide. This includes school fees at a local public school, school uniform, shoes, books and all necessary school supplies. Through your donation, you will be contributing to the life of a child in a very tangible and powerful way. By giving them a chance at an education, you are giving them a chance at a successful future.
Please donate to Supporting Success now to help IRFF reach its goal in GlobalGiving's Project Challenge: www.globalgiving.com/pr/2400/proj2360a.html
Paul Byrne
IRFF Assistant International Executive
Director
Supporting Success Scholarship Fund
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