I am a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar 2009-2010 here in London, from District 5790 in Texas. I have been organizing a charity event with Scholar Yamit Taragan of District 5950 as a way to say "Thank you!" to Rotary and RIBI for hosting our amazing year or study. All proceeds of this event will benefit Leonard Cheshire Disability and their projects in the UK and abroad. We would be so pleased to have as many Rotarians as possible join us on this walk (4 July in Greenwich Park) and donate to the cause. It's very simple to do. You can visit www.justgiving.com/summerwalk and then click on the donate link. From there, it is a completely safe and secure way to donate directly to the cause. Quick Overview The Event: Leaver's Gift & Summer Walk Who: YOU, the Rotary family, your friends What: 5k walk and summer fundraiser Where: Greenwich Park, southeast London When: Sunday 4 July 2010 at 10 AM Why: Service Above Self Answering a Need Just walking around any city you’ll notice how difficult it is for disabled people to live normal lives: lack of elevators and wheelchair ramps, ill-maintained sidewalks and pedestrian paths, bustling crowds of people too impatient to assist. Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) is working to change that, to provide a way for disabled people to be more mobile and live independently. Rotary has a solid history and partnership with UK-based LCD, including past work on their Schools4All Africa projects, which improve education for the disabled in Africa and contribute to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These are the reasons we have chosen to fundraise for LCD. The money raised will be channelled to all of their beneficial programmes in the UK and abroad. Digging Deep The fundraising goal we have set is a hefty one (£5,000) and our deadline is only three months away. However, the family of Rotary is big and benevolent, and if everyone, or every club, just gives a small amount, it will add up quickly! Dozens of UK Ambassadorial Scholars are assisting with this project, so the fundraising will also be (hopefully!) coming from their home networks abroad as well. Please discuss with your club about donating to LCD and our event. Once you decide an amount to give, the donation process is very easy. Go to the website www.justgiving.com/summerwalk. This is a safe and secure site where you can donate using a credit card. The money goes directly to LCD, no other clearing entity is involved. Ideally we would love for all contributing Rotarians to attend the Summer Walk in beautiful Greenwich Park (pictured). The 4 July 2010 5K walk will be a celebration of our fundraising efforts, our health, and our year abroad. We realize travelling to London for a \ walk is a little ambitious. However, if you or anyone from your club can possibly attend, please email Scholar Lauren Williamson from District 5790 at l.m.williamson@gmail.com and Scholar Yamit Taragn from District 5950, at ytaragan@gmail.com to confirm attendance. It would be a pleasure to have as many of you there as possible! The Ambassadorial Link Rotary International Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) has a large number of Ambassadorial Scholars studying in the UK during the 2009-2010 year. It has been an amazing, life changing year and, true to Rotary values, we felt the best way to say “Thank you” to the Rotary Foundation was to give back to the community. Moreover, an event of this nature, requiring such collaboration among UK scholars, has never been done before. This will have a great local impact! An official list of all contributing Scholars plus a summary and photos of the event will be provided to RIBI and Rotary International Headquarters after the Summer Walk. Contributing Scholars will also have access to photos from the event to share with Rotary clubs at home to talk about their community involvement. Next Steps!!! (MOST IMPORTANT) Decide to jump on board with this! Check out the official donation site www.justgiving.com/summerwalk. Get familiar with the donation site. Discuss donations with your club, tell your friends and family about it Log onto the site and donate! If you can, join the Summer Walk in Greenwich Park on 4 July 2010. Confirm event attendance by emailing Yamit and Lauren We thank you so much for the contribution of your time and efforts and joining us on this charitable endeavour. Additionally, since this is the first charity event of this nature that I have ever organized, I would welcome additional ideas and suggestions on how to best encourage participation and support. Please contact me if you have any questions. Many thanks, Lauren Williamson, Ambassadorial Scholar District 5790 MA candidate University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies