Dear friends,

Throughout my junior year at Santa Cruz High School I’ve had the privilege to make a direct and meaningful impact on our community here in Santa Cruz County. Working with Global Student Embassy, a youth empowerment and foreign exchange program, I have helped to create a community garden that provides an abundance of fresh organic produce annually to those in need.

This summer, a group of my classmates and I will have the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge we’ve gained to an international habitat restoration project in Nicaragua. We will stay in Chacraseca and work alongside our Nicaraguan peers, and support them with hands on work and shared learning experiences in their school garden projects. Our work will include some combination of building/restoring simple structures (greenhouses, garden beds, fences, seed-starting boxes, etc.), planting trees (mango, cashew, papaya, bananas, avocados and more!), seeds and short cycle plants, and tending to garden maintenance.
I love speaking Spanish and after four years of study, I’m excited to practice my language skills with young people in Latin America. What inspires me most is knowing that the simple act of planting a tree can dramatically improve the environment for future generations.

Part of Global Student Embassy’s vision is to promote youth leadership and self-advocacy. Writing this letter and asking for community support is just one piece of my learning experience. I need to raise $2,400 before May 23rd if possible, and any contribution helps me to reach my goal. All donations are tax deductible and GSE’s tax ID is: 27-1662008. I hope you will support me as I continue to pursue this exciting opportunity!

Sincerely,

Eliza Kern
elizakern10@gmail.com