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One Here…One There - A Student-to-Student
Charity Formed to Educate African Children
Tampa, Florida, October 1, 2005 -
A Bay-area group has formed a non-profit organization
to help fund education of sub-Saharan African children.
This charitable organization, 501(c)(3) pending*, administers
a program for college students in the United States
to make a donation with their tuition payment to help
cover the cost of a child’s education in sub-Saharan
Africa. The basic concept is that one student here can
help to educate one student there, hence the organization’s
name: One Here…One There.
According to Jan Latour, president of the non-profit
group, “The opportunity to help educate a child
in Africa for as little as $20.00 is such a compelling
case, we felt like we had to act.” After seeing
a report on television spot-lighting the plight of African
children, Latour gathered friends and former college
associates to decide how to help.
It was determined that the key to success was developing
a program to generate a steady stream of funding. The
unique aspect of the program advanced by One
Here…One There is to partner with colleges
and universities to allow students to make a $20.00
tax deductible donation with their tuition billing statement
each semester. With 10 million students in four year
schools across the country, the group hopes to raise
several million dollars each year as a continuing resource
for education of African children.
To evaluate the potential of this unique fund-raising
concept, Latour met with government officials in Washington,
D.C., university administrators and student government
representatives. Based on the enthusiastic response
from those meetings, One Here…One There,
Inc. was born.
Washington officials embraced it as a desperately needed
grass roots initiative to supplement federal programs
in Africa. Most governmental aid is directed toward
health and economic issues. The objective of One
Here…One There is to focus directly on
education. According to USAID, there are 42 million
children in Africa with no access to formal schooling.
Since coming up with the idea, Latour has recruited
a national board of directors, formed a non-profit Florida
corporation, been licensed by the State to solicit funds,
and developed a website (www.onehereonethere.org)
and collateral materials to help enlist the support
of universities. “We think we should start right
here in Florida,” Latour said. “With its
diverse population and many colleges and universities,
Florida is a natural setting to test the concept. The
group hopes to appeal to colleges with global community
goals as part of their educational mission.
One challenge the group faced was determining a reliable
channel for distribution of funds so that the greatest
benefit can be achieved with the least administrative
cost. Steps are underway to qualify several non-government
organizations in several African nations to serve as
partners for the delivery of educational services.
One Here…One There hopes to
raise its initial funds in spring of 2006 and be able
to fund an initial grant in the summer. Additional Florida
colleges will be enlisted to participate in the fall
of 2006.
Latour can be reached at the group’s website,
onehereonethere.org,
or by calling 727-514-OHOT.
* WEB UPDATE: One Here...One There became a IRS-recognized 501(c)3 charity in June 2006.
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