Saying Thank You

´´When we fail to acknowledge or dismiss the contributions of others, regardless how big or small, we miss an opportunity to strengthen the core of our community; the value of what people bring to the organization.´´ -Jimmy Casas
Acknowledging others help or contribution no matter how big or small it is, is crucial for success. It is important to understand that without others support you will never be as successful or be able to accomplish it all. By allowing others to participate and help you not only reach success, but you also inspire others to do the same. When you dismiss the contributions of others, you miss the opportunity to strengthen the core of your community; the value of what people bring to the project or whatever it is that you are doing because the more help you receive the faster you achieve yours. In both of our projects, we have received so much more help then we expected. We have received help from many of the members of our community and also people in different countries. For the yearbook, Willa Demasi was crucial if not the most important person that helped us in the project. She was always so nice and willing to help us 24/7 at whatever it was that we needed, and I am so grateful for that. Now, for the Boston Project Abby was the missing key. She has been our saving angel and the source of motivation for Ashley and I. This last trimester, and the year I am so proud of everything we have accomplished in both projects. In the yearbook, the fact that we can now say we are done and that we are almost getting them is so uplifting for us. We are so proud of all the hard work and dedication we put into the making, creating, designing, marketing, negotiating, delegating with other business, and communicating of this project. Now, for the Boston exchange project, I am so happy and proud for raising half of the money we need and for putting a lot of effort into the communication aspect of the project. To get here we received a lot of help from Abby Erdman and from donors all over the world. We have felt the support of people from not only our community but all over the world. It is powerful to see how we can all come together for one reason, the love for others. It’s powerful to see how one project can generate so much unity and can inspire people to help. Due to this, this week I will be writing thank you letters to people that have supported and contribute to our projects throughout the year.

Dear Donors,

Our names are Ashley Gonzalez and Melanie Ureña Duarte, we are two La Paz 11th grade students. In 2007 a door was opened for us, we received a scholarship to assist La Paz Community School. This opportunity not only changed our life completely, but it also opened many other doors for us. Two years ago, we both received the opportunity to travel to Dallas, Texas for an exchange program. This trip was life-changing in many ways; we learned so much and our dreams came true. We realized we were very fortunate and that not many people receive opportunities like these in their life. Therefore, we decided to do something about it. Willa and Mileidy came up with this wonderful idea of a project and after seeing how well it worked out, they decided we were the right candidates to take over the project this year. We honestly don’t know how to thank each and every one of you enough for what you have done. We started this project not knowing how we would raise all that money. That’s why I am so grateful for Abby because without her we wouldn’t have had your support. We want to thank you all for contributing to such an important project. Sometimes what people don´t understand is that to change the world, you don’t have to do something big. You just have to make a change in your community and inspire others to do the same. Our goal for this project is not only to make an impact in the lives of these children and prepare them for the future, but also to ultimately inspire more students, families, and organizations to do the same. We are very excited to announce that with your help we have raised around 1500 dollars!!!! When Ashley and I received this news we couldn´t believe it, we cried tears of joy, and all the hard work was paid off. I remember we would call each other as soon as we received a new donation. All this happiness was because of you, so we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing this with us and for supporting not just our project but us and all those children with dreams. As for now, the project is on a roll, we already have the 2 girls who will be forming part of the project, and we will start their visa processes soon! Whereas for funding, we are planning some fun events for our community in order to raise the other half of the money. Thank you again for everything you do, we will share with you updates of the project’s progress so that you can also be a part of our journey. If you have any questions or want to know more about the project, feel free to contact us!

Thank you,
Melanie and Ashley

Dear Abby,

Hi, how are you! I just wanted to take a minute to let you know that the project is on a role, we already have both of the girls. Their names are Nayeli Vallejos Barrantes and Alison Pamela Vallejos Gutierrez. They are both outstanding students in their high schools and are leaders in their communities. We will meet with them this upcoming week to talk to them about the logistics of the project and to start doing the visa process. I also wanted to take a moment to thank you for all your incredible help in this project. This week in CAS we are acknowledging the importance of others help, which is why I thought of you! Our saving angel, Ashley and I couldn’t have raised half of the money without your help. Thank you for being so positive and believing in us since day one! Since the day that Willa and Mileidy introduced us to you, you haven’t stopped to motivate us and support us. Thank you for being our bridge and for making sure we are making progress in this project, I am just so thankful for you! It was inspiring to me to see how fast people all over the world not just here in our school are motivated to support projects like these. Because what people don’t know is how much of an impact an opportunity like this has on you. An opportunity like this not only makes one of your dreams come true, it also opens your eyes to the world and motivates you to do whatever you can and work hard to be successful and to be able to have a better life. That’s one of the main reasons why Ashley and I decided to continue this project, because of what it signifies to a person. These girls will have this opportunity, and it’s all because of your hard work effort and support. Believe it or not, you are going to change these girls life for good! To be honest, Ashley and I were a little worried in the beginning because we didn’t know how we would raise all the money needed. But you came in and saved the day, you inspired us to keep working hard and not give up. Thank you for always being there to support us, and we are so happy to continue to work with you! I will be in contact to let you know how the project is going and I hope to see you soon!

Much love,
Melanie

Dear Willa,

Hi! How are you? I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for everything you have done to help us be successful in this yearbook project. I want to thank you since day one for believing in Ashley and me to take lead in this project and in the Cepia Boston exchange project. I want to thank you for helping us, in the beginning, come in contact with both April Reed from pictavo and Abby Erdman for our Boston Exchange project. I also want to thank you for all your advice, it helped us so much more than you could ever imagine. Thank you for always being there so willing to help us and for taking the time to do it. Thank you for making the document and guiding us step by step in the process of making the yearbook. Thank you for making the process easier for us, and for sharing your knowledge with us. You were a crucial part of the success of our project, and we can’t wait for you to see the final work. Thank you for everything! I hope I have the chance to thank you in person. I hope that you are enjoying the break from school, and I truly wish you the best in college. I know you will do so many great things and I want you to know that you are a role model to me and many other girls at school!

Thank you,
Melanie