This January we have an opportunity to take 10 extraordinary kids from one of Rio’s violent and impoverished favelas (urban slums), board up a mini-van and travel over 1,000 kilometers along Brazil’s coast on a surf trip. For a kid from the favelas who grinds it out in poverty every day and has never spent a night outside a polluted slum, this is the stuff that dreams are made of.
Their journey will be about opening up the imagination and discovering what else the world has to offer them. They’ll be spending a week at Surfari Surf School on one of the world’s beautiful beaches … Praia da Ferrugem in Santa Catarina ... having a blast! Surfing all day, playing on the beach, exchanging stories with local kids, eating healthy food and sleeping in a cool beach house. Expert surfing instructors will be teaching them, and several chaperones from our school will accompany them throughout the trip.
Why are we doing this? We’re rewarding this group of 10 kids for exceptional dedication and strong academic performance at our new school located inside the favela where they live. We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we do believe it’s important for children living amid despair and violence to learn that dedication to their studies can lead to great things. These kids worked hard this year, they deserve it, and with the help of a few friends we can make it happen for them.
This note is going out to a handful of friends and personal acquaintances who I thought might be interested or know someone who would be. We’re looking for sponsors to help realize this amazing adventure. The cost is relatively low -- just $1,000 for transportation, lodging and miscellaneous expenses for the entire group. If interested, click Donations at www.developingmindsfoundation.org.
I would like to point out that this trip is happening thanks to one of my high school surfing buddies, Rick Gehris, who owns Surfari Surf Shops & Surf Schools (www.surfarisurf.com) in Daytona Beach, San Diego and Ferrugem, Brazil. Rick has offered to donate the week-long surf camp experience for these kids, an in-kind contribution of about $5,000. The kids, parents and even other residents of the favela are very grateful for this act of generosity.
Thanks for your consideration in helping make this happen.
Best,
Philippe Houdard
P.S. If you would like to see some of the kids you are helping, check out the Photo Gallery on our website: www.developingmindsfoundation.org
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