by Tim Boyd
President, Theosophical Order of Service USA
From time to time in our attempts to do good an opportunity comes along for us to make a profound difference for a worthy cause. For the Theosophical Order of Service in the USA we find ourselves in that position today. However, in order for us to make this opportunity a reality we need your help.
Through the generosity of John Kern and the Kern Foundation we have been offered a $30,000 matching grant to support the Golden Link School in the Philippines. What this means is that during this calendar year any donation to the school that is made through the TOS/USA will be doubled. I am sure that many of you already know about the Golden Link School and its work and perhaps already support it. For those of you who are unfamiliar I recommend that you visit the webpage for the school at http://www.theosophy.ph/goldenlinkschool.html, and also read the inspiring account of our TOS International Secretary’s recent visit to the school at http://www.theosophy.ph/diana_visit.html.
The Golden Link School is an evolving educational effort, which since 2002 has been providing a transformational education for less privileged children. Many in the theosophical world regard it as a rare jewel – a model of Theosophy in action. While addressing core academic subjects, the school also focuses on deeper issues of character building, integrity, and self confidence in an effort to develop students who will be agents of social and personal transformation.
The school was founded and is operated by the Theosophical Society and the Theosophical Order of Service in the Philippines. Because the Golden Link School seeks to assist the less privileged sectors of society, it does not derive its income from the tuition of its students. It is supported by the kindness and generosity of individuals and organizations who sponsor students for their tuition and fees, or who donate to the school in other ways. Currently the school serves children from preschool through high school. The timing for this fundraising effort could not be better because next year they are planning to begin a college curriculum which will require an extension to the existing building, a library, laboratory, and other college facilities.
I invite you to help us help the Golden Link School. Contributing is easy, and any amount is welcomed. Keep in mind that whether you give one dollar or one thousand, it will be doubled up to the $30,000 grant limit. Two ways to donate: 1) the old fashioned way, just send a check to Theosophical Order of Service P.O. Box 660 Warrenville, IL 60555 USA (be sure to write “Golden Link” in the memo line); or 2) you can go to our website from anywhere in the world, http://theoservice.org/donate, in the pull down menu select the “CEF Golden Link School (Manila, Philippines)” option, and using any major credit card donate using our secure PayPal account. All donations are fully tax deductible.
We welcome your response and thank you in advance for your generosity.
Running
How much money has been collected?
I think it would be interesting and useful to make public how much money has been collected so far for Golden Link School. The amount could be published in Tim's article, and updated periodically.
Golden Link contributions
At this point we are a little past one third of the way to our goal of $30,000, having just passed the $11,000 mark.
When we started back in March we wanted this to be an international effort. Historically the TOS in each nation has operated in a self sufficient way – fundraising for local projects and sending some donations abroad. Last year for the first time the TOS/USA and the Theosophical Society in America sponsored an international TOS gathering. Members from around the world gathered to meet each other and to share stories about the variety of TOS work going on in the world. We all came away with a sense of global identity. We felt connected to a global network. As a result we chose to view this fundraising opportunity in a different way, as an opportunity to widen our circle and reach out to the global TOS and TS community. The response has been nothing short of inspiring. To date we have received donations and commitments from France, England, Canada, Italy, Spain, the Philippines, and the USA.
If possible, I would like to post a graph of our progress on the site which could be updated periodically. Tim
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