As a generous donor for Liberian Youth, we value your commitment to changing their lives for the better. That is why we will have your 2020 Giving Statement delivered to your email or mailbox on or before 1/31/2021. This gives you the opportunity to file your taxes early. Thank you for including Uniting Distant Stars in your charitable giving!
Thank you for being a guiding light during this most challenging year! You stepped up when we needed you to provide COVID-19 handwashing kits to Liberian Children and Youth. Again, you showed up to help 62 students receive their diplomas in August. Your continued commitment made all the difference with your students and graduates.
You generously raised $22,904 for Liberian Children and Youth during a challenging year. This includes the $3,857 from the year-end campaign from November to December. Here is the breakdown:
Uniting Distant Stars allocated $19,642 to the following programs:
Furthermore, current assets are $10,787.80 which 65% is allocated for 2020/2021 learning materials & supplies, 18% for next year’s rent and administrative needs, and 8% vocational student scholarship fund (one donor) for the 2021/2022 class. The remaining 9% is the reserve fund. If you like to compare with 2019, click on this link.
Our heartfelt gratitude for ensuring your students continue to receive the education they deserve!
Happy New Year! We hope you enjoyed your holidays and celebrated surviving a challenging year. What do you hope for in 2021 besides some sense of normalcy?
Our hope for 2021 is to transform more of our training departments into social businesses to provide additional revenue and create jobs for our graduates. As we continue to train and graduate students, more young people are led to our center to enroll. Thus the demand is high for vocational training because Liberian Youth sees it as the means for self-sufficiency.
In order to make this possible, we need to find interested partners and sponsors to help with the planning and raising the capital to buy the needed materials to make a viable business. If you know anyone interested in such a quest, please have them contact us at [email protected]. We appreciate any leads!
We hope you are feeling fabulous today! The season of giving continues tomorrow with Giving Tuesday. Without a doubt, 2020 brought on new challenges for everyone. Yet, you continue to celebrate the successes of your August 1 graduates and welcomed your fourth cohort of students on September 22.
Through your generous support, young men and women show up to each class to practice their skills. Also, this real experience allows them to start earning income in a matter of weeks or months depending on the course. With you as their Classroom Hero, you guide them to the finish line, graduation.
For this reason, we hope you will join Uniting Distant Stars for Giving Tuesday. In continuation of the Give to the Max Day, we like to reach our goal of $5,000. Only $2,730 remains to reach it. Please donate at least $10 to help Liberian Youth learn valuable trade skills. Thank you for including Uniting Distant Stars in your charitable giving!
The Year-End Giving Season has started. Please take advantage of the $600 Matching Grant to double your impact today by donating at least $10 (click here). This year’s campaign, “Give to Train Liberian Youth for Trade Careers” shows how your generous gift allows our graduates to be employed or self-employed like Viola Blaine.
Viola Blaine is one of 212 students who have graduated from Uniting Distant Stars Vocational Training Center (UDSVTC) since 2017 from nine trades. Our courses include Auto Mechanics, Catering, Computers, Cosmetology, Electrician, Event Planning, Hotel Management, Plumbing, and Tailoring. The twelve-month programs are mostly practical learning. This means that Viola was able to start putting her skills to work and earning income immediately.
Many students come to UDSVTC because they can start on the path of becoming self-sufficient. Viola was 40 years old and a mother of 3 when she received her diploma in cosmetology. Although she had had some experience working in a hair salon, she was grateful to find a vocational school where she could learn more, improve her skills, and become certified.
Shortly after graduation, Viola got a job working in a salon. However, the pandemic shut down most businesses and she lost her job. However, she continues to earn income by doing hair at her home. Although times are difficult, she has not lost hope of the dream as she articulated when she graduated, “This diploma will provide a good opportunity for me to do my own business. UDSVTC is one of the best schools you can go to and get good vocational skills. Thanks to all for the knowledge I received.”
Viola is praying, like others around the globe, that this crisis ends soon so that we can all move on with our dreams. Hers is to someday become a successful business owner. Your donation will support UDSVTC in helping students help themselves and their families through entrepreneurship, the engine of economic growth and development. Together we can invest in the future of the people and youth of Liberia.
