It’s an exciting day here at the office. Our ten leadership students are here to kick off the launch of our Hero Holiday Junior Leadership Program. These are students, or recent high school grads, who have participated in a previous Hero Holiday. Apart from the fact that it’s a happy reunion to see them again, we are excited […]
...continue readingArchive for June, 2007
South Lincoln High School: Christal’s message is truly inspiring!
Published by June 18th, 2007 in School Testimonials, Testimonials and Mainpage. 0 Comments
On May 31st, 2007, Christal Earle was invited to speak at South Lincoln High School in Smithville, Ontario. The assembly was hosted by the Youth for Change group and included a presentation by Christal with displays by various organizations such as World Vision, International Justice Mission, Grimsby Life Centre and Captured by TaSha.
The purpose of the event was to establish awareness about issues facing children in developing nations and to impart the idea that this generation can make a difference.
Christal’s message was simple: Your life has value and you can make a difference. This was a message that truly hit home. By the response of the students, the assembly was a success. Christal was able to relate to the students and speak to their level. Capturing their attention with her stories and the visual presentation, she inspired them to look inside themselves and realize that they are valued.
Christal’s presentation would benefit people of all ages as her message transcends every generation and touches every heart who hears her speak. Her message is clear and is delivered in a manner that inspires us to reach inside ourselves and do what we can to positively affect one other persons life.
The work being done through Absolute Leadership Development is inspiring. To be able to enhance the lives of others through this type of work, to help us see with clarity what those less fortunate are suffering and to be able to teach the youth of today is truly a gift.
Christal’s message is truly inspiring and would be an enhancement to the lives of those who listen.
Sincerely,
Wendy Coit
Youth for Change - Staff Advisor
South Lincoln High School
NiagaraThisWeek.com: Article: Youth challenged to get involved in global community
Published by June 15th, 2007 in Press, Faculty Site, Student Zone, Hero Holiday and Mainpage. 0 CommentsNiagaraThisWeek.com: Article: Youth challenged to get involved in global community
By Scott Rosts
West Lincoln
Jun 15, 2007
SMITHVILLE — Christal Earle wants youth to know they can make a difference.
The co-founder of Absolute Leadership Development, a Hamilton-based charity that encourages hundreds of students to engage in humanitarian relief work, says youth need to understand that they can follow their “dream of what (they) want to be and do”. Earle recently visited South Lincoln High School in Smithville to spread her message during an assembly presented by the Youth for Change.
“You and I can make a difference,” Earle told the students and special guests from organizations such as Grimsby Life Centre and International Justice Mission.
After a tumultuous time during her youth growing up in Saskatchewan, Earle said one day she decided she wanted “something more”. Looking around the world today and some of the global issues such as aids orphans and children dieing from starvation, Earle said her and her husband Vaden “decided we wanted to do something about it”.
From there, Hero Holiday was born. The program provides opportunities for high school students to participate in a humanitarian relief project by bringing practical assistance to those living in extreme poverty. Activities include everything from building homes to distributing supplies to working with children at risk. Last year they even built a school.
“People like you and me are going to Third World countries and making a difference,” said Earle.
The stories, she admits, are touching and their outlook on life changes as they see first-hand what people living in other parts of the world go through.
In 2005, the first year of Hero Holiday, about 180 students went to work with Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic. She said the refugees lived in a garbage dump, a site that “blows your mind”. She warned the students to ensure they wore their shoes while spending the two hours with their refugees there, so they would remain safe while walking through the dump. When the time was over, she noticed one student wasn’t wearing their shoes. She looked around and discovered none of the students had their shoes anymore.
“Every one of the students that day gave their own shoes off their feet to the refugees living there,” she said. “They made a difference.”
Earle challenged students to get involved and “make a difference”. She said programs like Hero Holiday are an “invaluable opportunity” to show how lives can change and provide “brand new beginnings” for those in impoverished countries.
Opportunities exist this summer, she said, with Hero Holiday. Upcoming trips include the Dominican and Mexico. Information on the organization can be found at http://heroholiday.absolute.org.
“You will never regret it,” she said of the experiences.
We just sent a fax blast today to schools across Canada. You can click here if you are now looking for more information about our motivational experience.
For this advertising campaign we wanted to try a different approach- addressing a nice cover page to the secretary (a.k.a “most influential person in the school”) to get them to sweeten up to us and pass on the info to the proper contact. If nothing else, hopefully they get a bit of a chuckle out of it. We thought we would take this route so that the school will realize that it is a legitimate fax before tossing it in the trash.
We find that in sending faxes and making phone calls to schools that is really easy to get mistaken for telemarketers or solicitors and to be treated coldly because of that. We are now trying to get across to schools that it is actually the opposite: as a non-profit we are financially giving a lot more to schools than we are receiving (see pricing here) . Like most educators, we do what we do because we care about students and believe in them - enough so that we a willing to send the odd “junk” fax to a school to be able to reach more of them with a message of hope.
Recent Comments