Great cause to invest in for a holiday time gift

Dear Friends of Developing Minds,



Earlier this year, we asked a few friends to invest in a handful of neglected children who live in Latin America’s most violent slums. After several months, we became encouraged by a growing wave of support to help educate these youngsters who set out to defy the odds. Today, your donations already have resulted in 5 schools and projects initiated, with well over 1,000 kids actively learning to think for themselves, read and use computers. They also learn to work in teams, assume leadership while playing sports and become influenced by outstanding teachers.



It’s remarkable to see what all of these individual contributions can do when channeled into a tightly managed project – just check out the photos below. The kids from our programs walk through narrow alleyways, frequently have to by-pass heavily armed drug gangs and broken down people on stoops, and yet they manage to overcome the surrounding hopelessness and despair. When they enter our schools, they free up and start focusing on the possibilities. If there is one clear message that emerges from this experience, it is that nothing is impossible.



The good news is there’s plenty of money available to support more projects; the bad news is it’s still in your pockets and purses ;) We would like to ask for your continued support by contributing under the Donations section at www.developingmindsfoundation.org. Contributions will go to a literacy project for children refugees in Medellin, sports project in Mangueira favela (Rio) and additional computers and teacher salaries for our technology school in City of God. As most of you know, none of us at Developing Minds Foundation accepts a salary or any form of compensation whatsoever, enabling over 98% of contributions to go directly to the projects – among the absolute highest in all of philanthropy.



Here are photos from a couple of our projects to take you to the schools and kids you are supporting.



· City of God (Rio de Janeiro) -- http://picasaweb.google.com/phoudard/CityOfGodRioDeJaneiro/photo#s5092717189909304610



· La Cazucá & Soacha (Bogotá) -- http://picasaweb.google.com/phoudard/SouthernBogotaSoacha/photo#s5119105861107846162



Thank you for your ongoing generosity.



Best,



Philippe Houdard

www.developingmindsfoundation.org