Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Hope grows here.

For six years Dustin’s GreenHouse has been taking local high school students out of the country through our Globetrotter program. In less than one month, our 2009 team will depart on this year’s international adventure – a journey to Budapest, Hungary and the Transylvania region of Romania.

Leading up to this point we have worked hard to EMPOWER the 17 young women who make up the 2009 team. We have taken them to Cisco Systems in Raleigh where they were introduced to opportunities for women in the engineering and technology fields. We traveled to Washington DC where the DGH girls were spotlighted at Author and Philanthropist Edie Fraser’s Women and Giving event, and where they attended NC Senator Kay Hagan’s Carolina Coffee. We have exposed them to local volunteer activities through the Junior League of Greensboro and HorsePOWER Therapeutic Riding. And most recently, we took the team to the North Carolina mountains where we spent two days touring the Appalachian State University campus, hiking, cooking and talking about some of the pressures teenage students face today.

As the international piece of this year’s Globetrotter program approaches, and we begin the process of selecting a new team of high school students for next year's program, I wanted to ask for your help…

I recognize that the current job and financial markets have made things tight for everyone… Believe me, we feel the pressure as well. But as they say in show business, “the show must go on.” There are too many kids out there that need our help to slow our pace or to scale-back our programs.

Should you choose to get involved, there are a number of ways you can support this year’s Globetrotter Program, as well as DGH programs in years to come…

You can make a financial contribution. (Please keep in mind that every bit helps. Whether you are saving loose change or pledging full scholarships, every penny donated will help us carry-out our mission of cultivating opportunities for North Carolina students.)


We also have a way for donors to get involved in a more “hands-on” capacity though our Give A Gallon campaign. We invite you to fill a Gallon-Size Ziploc bag(s) with everyday, household items (things like soap, deodorant, toothpaste, tooth brushes, hand sanitizer, over the counter medicines, band-aids, razors, feminine products and more). Members of the 2009 team will be collecting these bags up until July 15th to take with them to Romania. While in country, they will share your bags with local families – offering those families an array of desperately needed household items, and even more valuable, the hopeful feeling that comes from knowing that a complete stranger, thousands of miles away, truly cares about their well being.



To learn more about either "gifting" option, you can click on one of the images above or visit www.dustinsgreenhouse.org. And thank you for caring... Dustin's GreenHouse would never be what it is today without the support we have received from so many of you.

2 comments:

Jack said...

Sounds like a great, great program. Well done. Speaking of volunteer opportunities through the Junior League, you might want to check out this video -- ahamoment.com/pg/moments/view/2551 -- it's one young woman's "aha moment" involving her experiences with the Junior League. I think you'll find it inspiring.

Thanks,

jack@ahamoment.com

Ashlie said...

I feel like I may have met Richelle at a League meeting in Boston a couple years ago... Regardless, small world!
Thanks for looking out for the Junior League and for sharing the "Aha" website with me - very cool!