2023 Year-End Newlsetter
Dear Friends of Blessed to Be a Blessing,
Thank you for your continued support and interest in Blessed to Be a Blessing. We have now begun our fourth year of operations and made significant progress in Year 3, which I am excited to share with you now.
Programs:
In 2023, we achieved full functionality of our Equal Access Pipeline and reached the highest number of students yet!
Over 100 local students have now been introduced to B2baB and our programs through in-school informational sessions at Denver East High School and Colorado State University. With this, our free online programs are growing in popularity, and we hope to increase the number of courses offered in 2024.
We more than doubled the number of GAP Program participants, with twelve students completing the program so far this year for a total of twenty in the past two years. We are coordinating with DPS schools, East and DSST: Green Valley Ranch, to have programs held at their schools with a small group of students in the early part of 2024. Within the GAP Program, 90% of students have already used their passports, and 100% would recommend the program to a friend.
Finally, we awarded our first-ever study abroad scholarship and have begun to have our scholarship listed with universities across Colorado. The current goal is to provide five scholarships per semester. Therefore, we will continue to raise the necessary funds and work to increase awareness of this niche scholarship to help more and more students access their dreams of studying abroad.
Blessed Scholar Update: Daphney in Seoul, South Korea
As I am coming towards the end of my semester studying abroad, I am grateful for all of the memories and all of the challenges I pushed myself to achieve during my time abroad. This adventure is going by fast, but I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow in South Korea. South Korea is a fantastic place where I was able to explore and learn of the Korean culture, both modern and ancient; I’ve had the chance to participate in traditional ceremonies, explore famous cities, enjoy the delicious cuisine, and have the chance to be a queen for a day and wear the traditional clothing Hanbok while walking around the Gyeongbokgung Palace. I am also grateful for the chance to explore and experience college life as a Korean student. Being a student at one of the top 3 schools in South Korea has been exciting, such as experiencing the Yonsei- Korea University games and cheering events it was interesting to see how both schools promote various activities that students participate in and have a distinctively unique cheer battle of both universities. Being able to help the community has also been a goal for me, and being able to volunteer and make Kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish for senior citizens and those in need, being able to immerse myself in this cultural experience to make a positive impact on the local community in Seoul. With all the memories I have made during my time here, I am glad that I have made an impact in my life by experiencing many new things, and I am extremely grateful for all of the help I have had during my journey abroad.
- Daphney P.
Financials
Overall, B2baB is in a good spot and is poised to continue our growth and impact. With your support, we finished the year, once again, in the black! We have available funding for our upcoming GAP Programs with East and DSST: GVR. We have started putting money aside to create an endowment to guarantee that this scholarship will always exist for our students.
Additionally, we just received news that B2baB has qualified to be one of 30 organizations across the state to receive Grant Writing Support/Coaching through a new GrantCorps Program offered by the CommunityResourceCenter (CRC) in Colorado. This is great news as we aim to fully fund our programs through grants and build our scholarship fund with donor support.
As we approach the end of 2023, we enter the giving season and have begun our year-end campaign to raise funds to continue providing passports, travel knowledge, and scholarships to our students. I invite you to join people across the state, country, and globe and participate in Giving Tuesday (Nov 28th), Colorado Gives Day (Dec 5th), or any time from now until the end of the year to give and show support for local organizations working to better our communities. To support B2baB, you can do so directly HERE or through the Colorado Gives Day Website.
Thank you once again for partnering with B2baB. Together we are creating opportunities for underserved students to see the world and access all the benefits of an international education.
With gratitude,
Shawn Wall
Founder& Executive Director
Blessed to Be a Blessing