We're a national movement whose mission is to encourage and assist youth in the United States to have international experiences, particularly during the year between high school and the next phase of their lives.
We will achieve our mission by educating the youth, parents, and educational establishment about the benefits of international experiences, by informing people of existing programs, and by making the opportunity available to all segments of the population.
Our vision is that an international experience becomes a popular practice in the United States.
How does LET'S GET GLOBAL fit with existing programs?
We are not a program. We are a national movement whose goal is to create a new mindset in the country. Through media, events, social networking, and school visits, we will instill in kids, parents, and the educational establishment the idea that in today's world, experiential education beyond our borders is crucial.
We will provide a comprehensive website that presents testimonials from kids who have done gap years, describes the many programs available (cross-referenced by type of program, length, and destination), offers information and tools to help people organize, plan, and follow through on their own independent travel, and provides guidance for those seeking funding. Additionally the website will list colleges that will give credit for overseas projects and encourage deferrals of the freshman year. We will also be listing companies that consider this type of international experience a plus on a resume.
We will also be producing a documentary in collaboration with students at George Washington University.
First exciting steps
On June 20th, in Washington, DC, we launched our movement in an all-day brainstorming session. We had more than forty-five representatives from exchange organizations, gap year programs, government agencies, youth groups, public relations companies, and high school counselors, as well as other dynamic, creative individuals committed to this effort.
We now have the beginning of committees who will work in the four segments of the LET'S GET GLOBAL movement:
>Public Relations and Marketing
>Website
>Funding
>Volunteer Management
If you would like to volunteer in any of these areas, please send us an e-mail:
info@letsgetglobal.org. Let us know if you have special expertise and please tell us where you are located.
Have a look at an article about us in Ethical Traveler:
http://www.ethicaltraveler.org/news_story.php?id=1138
Donations and support
We received $10,000 as starter money which paid for a coordinator and the June 20th meeting. Now we are working out budgets for the various segments of our work. We are actively applying to foundations for grant money to carry out our projects. But foundations take many months to process grant applications, and we would like to get started immediately. We are hoping that those of you who support our cause will contribute at whatever level you can. Donations are deductible for eligible taxpayers. You can donate right here by clicking the button or use the alternate methods below.
To donate by check, make your check out to "US Servas f/b/o Let's Get Global" and mail to:
Let's Get Global
1125 16th Street, Suite 201
Arcata, CA 95521-5585
To donate by credit/debit card, please supply the following items:
The words "Let's Get Global" (to ensure proper allocation)
Donor's name, address, email, and telephone
Donation amount
Card number
Expiration date
3-digit security code
via:
- email: donations@letsgetglobal.org
- phone: 1-707-825-1714
- mail: see donation address above
