One Here…One There Announces Partnership with Stetson University for Pilot Program

Tampa, Florida, December 15, 2005 - One Here…One There, a Tampa-based charity devoted to educating children in sub-Saharan Africa through partnerships with American universities, has announced that Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, will run a pilot program to test its student-to-student fund-raising strategy.

Stetson has included a supplemental donation insert in its regular tuition billing statement to students for the spring term. The insert offers students and their families a chance to help educate a child in Africa through just a small $20 donation to One Here…One There. Students and parents are encouraged to donate at the same time they make the student’s tuition payment.

“Stetson students, families, faculty, staff and alumni will be given an opportunity to participate,” said University president Doug Lee. “The University made this decision based on its mission-critical commitment to integrate values and active forms of social responsibility into its program. The One Here…One There partnership provides an opportunity to educate our total constituency in the practice of global community service.”

Monies collected by One Here…One There will be distributed by its all- volunteer team, to carefully selected Non Government Organizations in Africa which support education. The funds will be distributed to help cover tuition or other education-related expenses of primary and secondary school children.

“The concept is simple yet the potential enormous,” said Jan Latour, president of the non-profit group. “With approximately 10 million students enrolled in US colleges, even a 10 percent participation rate in the program could raise $40 million a year to help educate children in sub-Saharan Africa.”

According to Peter Urscheler, Stetson Student Government Association president, the student body has embraced the One Here…One There program. “Students today are socially aware. We know what goes on in the world and we want to effect change. To a student here, $20 isn’t that much. To a child there, in Africa, it could be everything. We can do this student-to-student,” he said.

Lu Prats, Stetson Alumni Association president, confirmed that the pilot program was unanimously endorsed by the Association’s board of directors at their annual meeting in October. “We are proud to support such a worthy cause,” said Prats.

One Here…One There. Inc. will focus on developing partnerships with other Florida Universities for implementation during the fall 2006 billing cycle. The group then plans to expand the program into other states.

Latour can be reached at the group’s website, onehereonethere.org, or by calling 727-514-OHOT.

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