A holiday update, for any connections that may be interested:
Having grown from 20 newly minted high school grads and four communities just two years ago to 300 and 60 communities this past summer, the American Exchange Project is rather convincingly demonstrating that there's hope for depolarizing America, one high school at a time. In any case, it's great for the kids who participate in our exchanges, from Little Rock to Anchorage, Montana to Maine, the Bronx to Kilgore, Texas, as our website (https://lnkd.in/dUVpqcK) and the media coverage there attests, particularly the CBS Sunday Morning segment link and this shorter -- please forgive the industry lingo -- "sizzle reel": https://lnkd.in/e7DsqvVv
But to scale AEP, we need to fund vastly more exchanges. Yes, we're in 50+ locations, but as I learned when researching the total to be reached, there are 19,500 incorporated communities in America.
We've gotten help from foundations like the Rockefeller Brothers fund and MacArthur, philanthropists like Mike Milken and Steven Spielberg, but we need way more support. And we need a whole lot more people to know about how we're helping communities send and host.
So here's the pitch: that you share this and help us get your community involved. host a luncheon, dinner, cocktail party or other event to which you and we can invite people who might be interested. And/or donate, either by check to AEP, 38 Balcom Road, Sudbury MA 01776, or via our website. Remember, we’re a registered non-profit, so folks can contribute directly from their Required Minimum Distributions, reducing the taxable amount. That's what Jan and I do.
For those of you wanting more detail on what we need to sign on a new community:
1. An Exchange Manager--a local educator who can run the program
2. The blessing of the principal to work in the high school
3. A community leader--a connected adult who can help us put together a great itinerary and connect to folks in the community
4. A host family coordinator--a local adult, usually a parent, who can recruit and assist with host families
5. A plan to raise funds in the community to help support the program, if possible
The relevant contact: Jessica Golden (jgolden@americanexchangeproject.org)
Thank you.
Paul