South High School is conducting a fundraiser to help support its educational exchange program with our partner school in Siberia. We are selling dolls, which you can take a look at here: www.theportage.org/dolls. Here's how everyone wins:
1. South High students win because they will be able to travel to Siberia at the end of August for an educational exchange. Several of the students participating are from low income families, and we have two recent immigrants in our group (one refugee and one immigrant from Ethiopia). The exchange is partly sponsored by the State Department as a part of their "citizen diplomacy" initiatives, and students will be actively involved in dispelling stereotypes about the US and Americans while they are in Russia. At the same time, they will have a wonderful learning experience of their own, as they stay with host families and attend our partner school for 3 weeks. This is South's 5th year as one of about 25 schools in the country participating in these exchanges, and nearly all of the students who have participated in the past have called it "a life-changing experience." 2. Doll recipients win. Maybe you want a doll for yourself or someone you know. But even if you don't, there are many children from Minneapolis who would also like to have a doll like one of these, and you can donate a doll to one of the organizations we have already contacted: Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, the Ronald MacDonald House, and St. Josephs Home for Children. These organizations have indicated a need for at least 70 dolls, and we would love to be able to meet that need for kids who are going through tough times. If we find more people interested in "sponsoring" dolls, we'll contact more Minneapolis- based organizations to see where the need is. 3. Doll makers win. The organization that makes the dolls is based in St. Paul (okay, I'm a little bit off-topic now, sorry!), and they have established a home-based program employing sewers from immigrant and refugee families, helping them to become more self-sufficient. You can look at www.theportage.org for more information about the program. 4. You win. If you "sponsor" a doll, you can deduct the entire $34.95 as a charitable contribution, and you can feel good about helping 1-3 above. Well, that's the end of my pitch. If you've read this far, thank you! If you're interested in buying a doll, please email me off-list and I'll tell you how to proceed. And as a final note, we are putting together a digital slideshow to present to various audiences while we are in Russia. One of the themes of our slideshow is "Our Community". If you have any digital images that you'd like us to share with Russian audiences to show them what America and Americans (or Minneapolis and Minneapolitans, to tie it in with the list) are really like, please email them to me off-list as an attachment, and I'll add them to the show. Spasibo bolshoye (big thanks) in advance! -Amy Bergquist 9/8, Standish, South High School teacher [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
