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CHALLENGE DAY
IS COMING TO WESTERVILLE IN JANUARY!
T IS A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENTS;
ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU
Have you heard of Challenge Day? If not, have you heard about or seen the show If You Really Knew Me on MTV which is based off of Challenge Day? For those who haven’t, this is how Challenge Day affects us:
CHALLENGE DAY brings students and communities together to have an open and honest dialogue about what it means, and what it’s like, to be different. Different skin colors. Different heights. Different weights. Different upbringings. Different family life. Different socioeconomic status. Very little is off limits for discussion.
CHALLENGE DAY sessions become filled with emotion as the quivering voices of students and adults describe how it feels to be bullied, to be made fun of, to feel inadequate or to be judged by others. Everyone has been there. At some point in their lives, everyone has been made to feel inferior or ostracized just because they don’t “fit in” to someone else’s biases of how they should be, should look or should live.
CHALLENGE DAY participants soon realize that we are all not that different from one another. They come to understand that by sharing the commonality of being different, we are actually all the same. Barriers are broken. Bonds are formed. Differences are pushed aside and replaced with compassion, understanding and respect. Participants leave as different people- better people- than when they first began their journey together.
Ø Nearly 30 PERCENT of Westerville Schools’ students are minorities.
Ø More than 300 non-English speaking students were enrolled in our schools five years ago. Today there are more than 1,200 CHILDREN who come from 70 COUNTRIES and speak 72 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
Ø 20 PERCENT of our 14,000 students are ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED.
Ø Nearly 20 PERCENT of our students are GIFTED AND TALENTED.
Ø Over 11 PERCENT of our students have a DISABILITY.
Ø People are DIFFERENT. Our world is CHANGING. We want our students to be PREPARED to live in it.
CHALLENGE DAY is coming to all three Westerville high schools in January. Sessions are facilitated by highly trained experts. Bringing the experience to our schools and our community will pay dividends for us all. For more information about Challenge Day, visit:
www.challengeday .org
www.oprah.com (search for “Challenge Day”)
HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
If you are ready to make the difference in the well-being of our students and the welfare of our community, please help make Challenge Day a reality in Westerville Schools.
We need financial support, in-kind contributions and volunteers. The cost of the program for one week in our school is approximately $15,000. Donations from individuals, organizations and businesses are critical if we are to bring this experience to our children. Sponsorship opportunities include:
o $35 sponsors one student
o $100 sponsors three students
o $350 sponsors 10 students
o $1,000 sponsors an entire class
o $3,500 sponsors an entire day’s program
Food and beverage contributions are greatly appreciated, and we are open to other ideas for additional in-kind goods and services that can make this program even more special for our students. All contributions are tax deductible. We will provide you with the proper documentation to verify your donation.
“BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD” -Gandhi
“A friend is one to whom you can pour out the contents of your heart, chaff and grain alike. Knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.” –Unknown