Thursday, July 8, 2010

Leaver's Gift Revisited


As mentioned in a previous post, I along with a fellow Ambassadorial Scholar from the US, Lauren Williamson, organized a leaver's gift on behalf of the RIBI Rotary Scholars. The purpose was to give back to a local charity and show our appreciation for this opportunity we have been given. The leaver's gift and walk-a-thon, the first of its kind, was a success, although we wish that more scholars would have joined in the fundraising efforts and/or participated in the walk -a-thon. It was a very busy time of year for us all but all in all we are very pleased that we could raise as much money as we did for a great cause. Below is the letter we sent to foundation:

As a culminating event of our time here in the UK, the Ambassadorial Scholars have organized a leaver's gift. Our purpose was to both thank the community that has hosted us during our incredible year abroad and raise awareness about one of Rotary's partnering organizations here in the UK, the Leonard Cheshire Disability. LCD aims to change attitudes to disability and to serve disabled people around the world. Our leaver's gift will benefit two of LCD's diverse services - a home for young adults with disabilities in London and the Schools4All in Africa program which builds accessible and inclusive schools so that children living with disabilities are not denied the right to an education. To learn more about LCD, please visit http://www.lcdisability.org/

For the last several months, Ambassadorial Scholars have been raising awareness about and raising money for LCD's important work. Thus far we have raised £1,700 for the organization, 65% of our goal of £2,500. We are so pleased that many clubs and Rotarians have contributed to this great initiative. If you or your club have not had a chance to contribute, it isn't too late. Please visit http://www.justgiving.com/summerwalk to donate safely. Alternatively you can contact us to get the address of where you can send a check.

Our culminating event was a walk-a-thon at Greenwich park on July 4. Approximately 30 participants - consisting of scholars, Rotarians, grandchildren, friends and supporters of LCD - joined us for the 5K walk. The weather, while not always consistent in London we have learned, was perfect! It was a great day and a wonderful way to celebrate our year in the United Kingdom.

We will forever be indebted to our sponsoring districts and Rotary Foundation for providing us this incredible opportunity. And we are equally as grateful to the RIBI Rotarians and Clubs that have welcomed us into their communities and homes. We hope that our leaver's gift serves as a small token of appreciation and demonstrates our committment to the ideals of Rotary.

Gratefully,

Yamit Taragan and Lauren Williamson
2009-2010 Ambassadorial Scholars

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