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Melanie Stevenson on how you can help increase quality education & create schools in developing world
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Now want to talk about an organization.
Helping children nationwide.
Pencils of promise it's an organization dedicated to increasing.
Access to quality education education obviously is the future of this country.
Very important in the developing world as well -- pencils of promise believes that every child.
Should have access to quality education.
And we're talking globally here we're not just talking about the United States.
And in the poverty levels and we're talking about and in the lack of education these countries.
Unfortunately.
See every single day is is astounding so this organization is stepping in.
Head and hoping to change that going forward joining me now Melanie -- she's the chief operating officer.
At pencils of promise thank you very much for coming on.
At pencils of promise with.
No he at the end you know -- Twitter don't you hate that when -- try to come up Paris certainly -- It's ridiculous idea and -- 140 character Leno now the title character and -- pencils of promise but no he -- -- and my ass.
-- on Twitter and then your own personal Twitter handle is -- -- EL and it smelled today in the USA.
-- tell me about about pencils of promise for us behind a G1 hundred disorganization come about.
So -- -- promise was founded in 2008.
Via our CEO Adam bronze in the and that the time he had the big goal of building one school in the developing world and dedicate his grandmother who has a holocaust survivor.
So he deposited 25 dollars in the bank.
And he threw -- birthday party for himself.
And -- enough to build just one school and it's.
When he was able to show his friends who had donated photos of the school the adults and the children in the classrooms they just couldn't help but be moved to keep supporting him and so he.
Could his job and cons of the promise and now just under four years later we've broken down on eighty schools and the reason he's -- -- You know a statistic it's a scary -- -- it over 61.
Million children.
Lived without access to education.
We take advantage of our our public school systems a lot in this country because there are people.
Around the world who who will never see an education.
How did these schools come together and what kind of work goes into building a school.
In places like Nicaragua and Guatemala for example.
Absolutely so.
It's a multi step process of course.
So we do make it real effort to partner with the government the ministry of education in each country.
-- and as you mentioned we have the advantage of public schools -- strong public schools here in the US so yeah.
We make sure that the government's -- has a stake and that these schools will be become public schools -- -- constructed.
And we form -- coalition called promise to -- any community where.
Leaders in the community business owners chiefs mayors depending on the country.
Invests.
Tennis -- percent of the cost of the -- so they really have ownership over the project.
So work hand in hand with the community members on the government to ensure the sustainability of the projects on the ground.
I understand the organ is positions birthday is coming up in October.
And celebration you launch a national campaign last month called impossible ones tells about that.
Sure so about a year ago we realized that you know we're three years -- and we had built just dropped forty schools.
And as you know are found here -- the team wanted to brainstorming what is that in most impossible thing that we can imagine achieving and found what they came up what was.
What -- we reached a hundred schools by the end of the next year and -- I'm -- has the promise forum we knew that we couldn't do it alone right so we design a campaign -- be impossible wants to really call.
Particularly when he -- action on route to start their own fundraisers.
And -- trip building up customer school with us and it's.
Today as a mentioning broken down on eighty schools we have over 300 fund -- start into the -- campaign.
And that that totals a goal of a million dollar Trace the trip actually -- 220 school on its -- the whole campaign is about achieving your own personal on possible so that collectively.
We can achieve the impossible quality education for all.
I understand a couple celebrity's getting involved as wealthy guys are getting a lot of attention even from Hollywood right telling about the celebrities and vowed to stand for sure one of our biggest celebrity ambassadors is Sophia bush -- is incredible.
She has been on the ground and number of times with our organization she -- -- and she recently visited Guatemala.
-- and when she went to Guatemala she was incredibly moved to needy children who.
You were forming lines of eight children holding hands crossing a four lane highway just to gain access to their school.
-- -- -- was because their school had been shut down so.
She committed that she wanted to go to school for the issue raised -- birth.
The 60000.
Dollars yeah thirtieth birthday that's awesome yes she dedicated her thirtieth birthday to president promised you the impossible -- campaign and her ball is 30000 dollars and she doubled it.
So we're building two schools -- thanks to her.
In the people who -- O'Connor and also ran a five K.
Yeah who ran a five -- We've had and number of people around five -- we had a senate gets sponsors for each mile is that how or exactly and we had a seventeen year old girl actually just complete.
Cross country bike ride.
And that she pressure is 101000 dollars Kennedy -- -- she's just about -- -- her golf so.
If you -- visit impossible one -- are you can donate her fund raiser.
Yet there's a there's a popular blog as well you guys are all over social media here and couple Twitter handles web sites in this blog -- possible HQ.
Dot com.
And it tells you more and if you go on to that blog about.
The actual the runs that the five K and and then the bike trips and all of the stuff that people.
Anyone can get involved with us anyone can get involved -- just play your own personal and possible challenge this one in particular that you mention it possible HQ is a supporter of ours named children and yeah actually running an ultra marathon counts ultra marathon fifteen K I believe something ridiculous that I can't -- imagine.
But he has just -- his life torrents of -- coming -- coming -- possible -- So he's written a blog and he's trying to campaign but you can do anything we have a girl -- memorizing SAT words so she's pledging Theresa -- thousand dollars a dollar for each warrant that she learns some positive preparation for thinking so no matter what -- impossible challenge in this.
Outlet overcoming physical challenge -- -- -- donating a birthday.
You can get involved and well and there's also apparently several prizes involved to use it as motivation here aside from the fact that you're doing some good.
For others in limbo the -- is all about yes we believe that could should.
The reward manhunt.
So the prizes are if you raise 25 dollars we'll send you -- an apostle -- teacher -- if you write a hundred dollars you're entered to win a college scholarship.
So we believe that if you're providing access.
For education for how -- a broad.
We can help you gain access and what -- its top fund raiser where -- -- price that's him as a big price for about one you get to what I'd take a trip went Sophia bush.
And mark Foster of Foster people to Guatemala to visit the schools and she's fun -- well you -- the top fund insects and then there's also scholarships.
Yet there's about 5000 dollars available in college scholarships.
And there's also a full semester at sea scholarship hunt and that's valued at 23000 dollars and it's a full -- worth of credits for college and I'm and he gets to picture from the world.
I remember when I was in college hearing about semester at sea and thinking man -- -- -- some nasty it's a live on the water on a cruise ship engineers studying at the same time.
So I mean if that's not an incentive for young people to get involved because a lot of people.
In college they don't have some anyway don't have jobs full time jobs are going to school so they can get involved in some like this.
I certainly would look awesome and -- -- and volunteer work is huge.
And if you can also get a semester at sea out of it why the heck not right and put a bullet point in there about achieving the impossible yeah pretty act you know.
Anybody competitive job market parents say if I was an employer I would definitely look at that and say this person really does stand out now where can people learn more information can people just donate to the organization they want to do that we don't have time to necessarily.
Get involved in an impossible task.
That's a lot to -- yeah so absolutely you can donate to us that pencils of promise dot org content on it you can also.
Join -- possible once campaign at a possible one step toward.
You can also browse various fundraisers that individuals have started and donate to them if you wanna donate to Kennedy's -- there you can browse fundraisers and find Paris.
I'm so there's a lot of ways to get involved.
Okay cool all right well thank you so much for coming in and talking to us about -- -- Let us know how it you know goes down the road where do you see this going by the way down down the road I -- what it was the ultimate goal would be impossible goal.
And the organization and the impossible -- -- for that 61 million number to be easier around.
And in the meantime beautiful land we're talking how many schools here.
Good -- I would have to do a lot of math but I and I couldn't into thousands thousands thousands of schools absolutely -- -- -- eighty right now eighty right now.
Where contract could get -- that hundred golf I think impossible once.
Flounders by yet in the meantime we also just wanting gauge ended this whole country and citizens plan to be by -- what they -- -- Challenging themselves to become a bit more Philanthropic.
Content so that's another goal of ours dropped currently think is so much for coming -- talk to us that -- -- -- she's the chief operating officer pencils of promise and once again.
On Twitter she's -- USA and Neil.
USA on Twitter and pencils of promise PRO and I've asked him eat.
-- -- -- because they didn't different characters to put her entire title on there that's what you get for being so successful I think he's so much for talking until I think you and think you all at home.
