Update-- The children are in school!

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the Reach for the Stars fund! The children are in their first semester of high school, and the director of New Life says they are happy and grateful.

Thank you again!

Thank You!

I just wanted to give a shout out and a thank you to Gayle and Godwin at G is for Ghana for their help at publicizing our raffle! Definitely check out their site, they've got some great information about Ghana.

The Raffle Winners!

Okay, folks, the raffle is over! I had Random.org pick the winners, and here they are:

Prize Pack 1 goes to Emily!

Prize Pack 2 goes to Kristine!

Prize Pack 3 goes to Michelle!

We were able to raise $230 thanks to everyone's generosity. We've still got a ways to go, but it's a start!

Winners, I'll be contacting you in the next few days. Prizes will be mailed out next week, as I will be out of town until then. Everyone who donated will receive a thank you letter.

Thanks again, everyone!

Five for Five

What have you spent five dollars on lately?

I've spent it on a new book. A lunch salad from Bajio's. The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVD.

I shell out five dollars or more quite regularly for the things I want. I'm lucky to have that five dollars to spend. Sometimes I feel incredibly poor, like the months when we barely make rent. It's the life of a student family, I suppose. But I still spend that five dollars at least once a week without thinking, because it's really not that much to me.

I'm guessing it's really not that much to you either.

To these five kids from Ghana, five dollars can pull them out of slavery. The slavery of poverty, of a life where they can earn five dollars in a whole week. The education that will give them freedom only costs about $5,000. If a thousand people gave five dollars, that's all we'd need.
Five dollars isn't that much. And a thousand people is less than the number of kids that went to my high school.

Can you give $5, and make a sandwich for lunch tomorrow instead of going to McDonald's? Can you be one of one thousand? Can you tweet or Facebook your friends to add to that one thousand?

Wherever you're at in life, I bet you make more than $5 a week. I bet you could do those things.
Five dollars for five kids. It's really not that much. Make a tax-deductible donation now through our raffle, and you can even have a shot at getting something out of it.

What will you spend five bucks on today?

Raffle for Education!

NOTE: The raffle has now been extended through July 31st!

Okay, folks, we are holding a fundraising raffle to help the Star Kids reach their dreams of high school!

The Rules:

A donation of $5 gets you a virtual raffle ticket. Donate through PayPal (see sidebar) or by check. (All donations are tax-deductible through Literacy for Life, an official 501(c)3 organization.)

Every additional donation of $5 gets you another virtual raffle ticket.

After an initial donation of $5 for your first ticket, you can help us spread the word and get an additional raffle ticket for each of the following:

• Blogging about the raffle
• Posting a button on your website/blog
• Tweeting about the raffle
• Facebooking about the raffle

Leave a comment on this post saying you entered the raffle (you don't have to say how much you donated) so we can check our donation records for your name, and provide links to your blog post/tweet/Facebook so we can verify your additional tickets. You can also do this by email to shallee.mcarthur[at]gmail[dot]com.

The raffle ends on July 31st! Three winners will be selected by using random.org (each person is eligible to win only one prize).

The Prizes:

All prizes are authentic handmade items from Ghana.

#1: Handwoven kente scarf; bead bracelet; bead and seed necklace.

#2: Handwoven kente scarf; bead bracelet; bead and shell necklace
#3: Handmade batik coin purse; bead necklace; bead bracelet; hand carved wooden necklace

Help the Star Kids Reach Their Dreams

Five kids. One dream.

All they want is to go to high school.

Believe it or not, high school is not a given in Ghana, West Africa. Because all high schools are private, they are expensive, and many children never have the opportunity to progress beyond junior high-- if they get that far at all.

At New Life International Children's Home, dedicated Ghanaians have given everything to ensure the most vulnerable children have a home and a basic education. However, in order to send the oldest children to high school, they need your help.

Daniel, Michael, Grace, Abraham, and Joseph-- the Star Kids-- are excited to take the next step that could change their lives.

Are you ready to take a step to help them achieve that? Whether you sponsor one of them completely for a year, give five dollars, or post our button on your blog to spread the word, you're helping. And all these five kids need is just a little help so they can Reach for the Stars.