Do You Believe in Miracles?

Do You Believe in Miracles?

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Our school needs to buy the land that it sits on or we’re out. Homeless.

Due to current events in Ethiopia, things were put on hold for a few months. Now that things are better, the owner of the land the school sits on is moving forward with the sale of the land. He has a new buyer lined up if we do not make the purchase in four weeks! We are still $219,000 short.Please help us raise the rest of the amount needed, by making a donation and spreading the word! Tweet, post, intsa. Tell your friends! Together we can keep the kids from having to go back into the streets to beg for food.

Click to Help Us Buy the Land

Fresh and Green Academy has been taking impoverished kids off the street in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for 16 years. The school educates and feeds these children at no cost to their poor, mostly single parents. With the help of Friends of Fresh and Green, a New York-based 501 (c)(3) non-profit, the school has managed to grow from a simple Pre-K and Kindergarten to now include Grades 1-8.

Relying completely on donations, the school has faced rising rent costs and the land has recently been sold to a new owner. Fortunately, this generous individual saw the good work that the school was doing in breaking the cycle of poverty, and has offered to sell the land to the school.

So we need you to help with a Miracle: raise $219,000 before May 20th so Fresh and Green Academy can buy the property it sits on. Otherwise, the land will be sold and developed and we will have to find another location that will be even more expensive or charge the kind of rent that will put it out of business and put the kids and their parents back on the street.

Please help us with any amount you can. it is people like yourself who are able to put us over the top with a US tax-deductible donation. Thank you so much!

Click to Help Us Buy the Land

 

The Power of Personality by Neil Jones

The Power of Personality by Neil Jones

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How did I end up in the middle of Africa? This was not even on my radar 3 months ago. Wasn’t Ethiopia the place where they had that terrible famine when I was a kid? Surely it’s better now but why would I want to go there? The answer: personality.

The first personality I encountered was Trish Hack-Rubinstein, at a bus stop in outer San Francisco. The kind of idle conversation where somebody casually mentions that they have a Non-Profit Organization in their pocket (run largely from an iPhone). This person radiates an energy that affects everyone within speaking distance, and suddenly we are learning in leaps and bounds about Ethiopia’s history and the challenges they face.

And then a huge collection of gregarious, generous and kind-hearted personalities at a fund-raising event in New York City, and I’m hooked! I once met Mr. Munroe Ashkenase, who founded Foster Parents Plan (now Plan Canada). His favourite expression was, “I never met a man who didn’t want to help – you just had to make it easy for him.” Well these people were making it easy for me.

Just over a month later, I have navigated the customs and immigration hall of Addis Ababa airport clinging to my only clue: “Someone will be there to pick you up.” That someone was the personality that created this whole enterprise: Muday Mitiku. Constantly in motion, keeping an organization the size of a village in her head (and on her mobile phone), she is a wonder to watch. Her staff and family provide seamless support.

And finally I meet the collective personality whom I knew before only in pictures: the beautiful children who make a stranger feel like he is part of the family. The characters! The laughter! The schoolyard games! If only I spoke their language as well as they speak mine – but they will teach me, throughout the course of a week. Amharica kwanka tamari naw – I am a student of Amharic.

I am the beneficiary of the generosity of all of these personalities, these perfect hosts. That is why I do my small part to help with their challenges.

Spreading Love, Happiness and Hope for the Holidays

Spreading Love, Happiness and Hope for the Holidays

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All beings are connected and helping one can impact millions!

-Michael Mike-E Ellison

Fresh and Green Academy is proof that it is simple to make a difference. Since the school opened in 2000, hundreds of children have been saved from having to live in the streets. The school is operated and the children are fed and educated entirely by the generosity of others.
Holiday donate button

Your end of the year donation will continue supporting the beautiful and energetic children at Fresh and Green Academy in Ethiopia.

One of our favorite compliments from our donors and supporters is that our children look happy! Yes, indeed they are. The reason for this is because of years of care that includes nutrition, education, and unconditional support that these children would not have if it were not for donors such as yourself.

Tales From the Field by Trish Hack-Rubinstein

Tales From the Field by Trish Hack-Rubinstein

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Couldn't be happier!

Couldn’t be happier!

November 21, 2014

I arrived in Addis Ababa, very early on Thursday morning and after checking in to a very beautiful and cozy guest house, headed to the school. The children are thriving! The care and love they receive at school is overwhelming and is what keeps me coming back to the school time and time again. Because of the work Muday is doing with this one school in Ethiopia the world is already a better place.

We have 10 new students this year which brings the number of children being kept off the streets to 170. Some of the students have returned after having attended kindergarten but not being able to continue their education because they were students at Fresh and Green before we started increasing grade levels. It is wonderful to see children, that had the cards stacked against them after kindergarten, with an increased sense of enthusiasm and a renewed spirit.

 

Education is a Right not a Privilege

Unfortunately, in many developing nations education is not available to all children. While compulsory and free in Ethiopia, schools are not attended by all children. Books and uniforms must be purchased and meals are not provided. Many children work at an early age by shining shoes, selling trinkets, or begging to help feed their families. In the rural areas of Ethiopia many children work as sheep herders but dream of attending school and going to the city for a better life.

Thanks to many generous donors, the children at Fresh and Green are getting a chance at that better life. And with the gift of education anything is possible. These children can truly make a difference in this world and have already made a difference in my life!

Peace-Trish




You Helped So Many While Having So Much Fun!

You Helped So Many While Having So Much Fun!

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Thank you to all who came out and made a difference in the lives of the children while having a great time doing it.

It takes a lot to keep a school of 160 students that also provides meals for the children and their families running. While the task can seem daunting, it is a lot easier when we throw fun into the mix. We did just that, last month, when we hosted our 6th annual Poker/Casino Night fundraiser in New York City!

The night was filled with excitement and competition and six lucky winners took home amazing prize packages donated by so many generous companies.

The top three blackjack and poker players took home prize packages valued over $1,000 each and the final tables all received premium wine from NY Vintners and Tommy Vanik as well has haircuts from Cutting Edge Fred and massages from Physical Advantage Massage Therapy and Georgette Williams.

Our lucky raffle winner received a Proenza Schouler hand bag valued at over $1,600!

We were fortunate to have NYC Fair Trade Coalition Blogger, Amber  Harkonen, in attendance. See what she had to say.

Thanks again to those who made it out and a special thank you our many sponsors. Please be sure to patronize these business:

Proenza Schouler, Dirty2Purdy, Joe Joseph’s Photography, Duxiana Bed Co., Dr. Gregg Rubinstein, Rituals Cosmetic, Red Bass Brewing, The Shubert Organization, NY Vintners, Kate Hildebrandt Structural Integration, Da Marino Restaurant, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Crema Mexican Restaurant, Louis Licari, Desmond’s Steak House, H2 Windsurfing, Aperitivo, Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Da Noi, Dana Matthow, David Allen Marketing, Advanced Skin Care, Tony Robles and Amsterdam Billiards, City Crab, Big Daddy’s, Duke’s, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with David Letterman, Robert Essel Photography, Movement Fitness, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, Richart Chocolate, 46th Street Stationhouse, Georgette Williams, and Wall Street Walks

A great time was had by all and you helped us raise $11,000 for the children!

You can continue to make a difference by sponsoring a child or creating your own fundraising page and getting your friends and family involved too!

Together we can change the world!

YES I WANT TO CONTINUE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!