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News UPDATE: October 30, 2008
School Book Drive Collects 7,800+ Books for Schools & Libraries UPDATE: September 21, 2008
Read about the Visions Leadership Camp in Karaikal, India! News articles in appeared in different newspapers during our stay. Find them here:
Visions also made it on Indian TV. Watch the following news clips about the Visions Camp in Karaikal, India: UPDATE: September 15, 2008
In the month of August, Saiva Mangaiyar Kalagam, Visions' partner for the Kalagam Visions Learning Centre in Colombo, held a dance fundraiser to benefit this important project. Showcasing their impressive talents, Kalagam was able to put on a very professional show for a huge crowd in Colombo. The Visions Team could not be happier about their commitment to the Learning Centre project and commends them on this successful fundraising effort. Congrats to Kalagam on this wonderful achievement! You can read all about the show and view photos in the following online articles: UPDATE: September 12, 2008 U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert Blake, spoke on September 4, 2008 at the Carsons Undergraduate Convention in Colombo, Sri Lanka to a group of young people hoping to study abroad in the U.S. This event was a first ever, in which representatives from 22 U.S. Universities partook in an education fair organized by the U.S. embassy in Sri Lanka. These representatives were made available to meet Sri Lankan students to talk about undergraduate and graduate study opportunities in the U.S. Read Ambassador Blake's speech here about the challenges and opportunities in our globalized society, as well as the need to give back to those in need: UPDATE: August 15, 2008 The first Visions e-newsletter has just gone out! Our intent is to send out a new e-newsletter every 2 or 3 months to keep our supporters, volunteers, donors, and well wishers informed of our progress. You can find the first e-newsletter here, and stay tuned for more soon! UPDATE: July 1, 2008
"Going Global in an IT World" Conference at UCLA is first step for 3 IT Institutes in Sri Lanka Thank you to all who attended the "Going Global in an IT World" Conference hosted by Visions last Saturday at UCLA! It was truly wonderful to see so many people and organizations come out in support of the 2 proposed IT projects in Sri Lanka that were discussed. For those of you who were unable to attend the conference, we are happy to keep you informed about the conference and the way forward.
You can download the Conference Program, as well as all of the Powerpoint presentations from the conference presenters here: UPDATE: June 18, 2008
Visions Photo Shoot Fundraiser Held in San Diego UPDATE: June 12, 2008
First Visions Camp in Kenya Cancelled Dear Friends of Visions, UPDATE: June 10, 2008
Visions Sri Lanka Camp is relocated to Southern India Dear Friends of Visions, UPDATE: June 9, 2008
Local Volunteer Organizes Supplies Drive for Summer Camps Elaine Lin, a junior at Esperanza High School in Anaheim, CA, recently organized a supplies drive for the Visions Leadership & Empowerment Camps in Sri Lanka & Kenya this summer. By reaching out to other student organizations on campus, friends, and local businesses, Elaine was able to raise roughly $700 in supplies and money for Visions. Elaine took the personal initiative to contact Visions and organize this effort independently, as she was simply interested in get involved and helping others who have so little. With her help most of the items on the Visions Wishlist have now been removed, as we are near our goal of getting all the supplies for the summer camps donated. There are, however, a few items left, including many books. So if you would like to help, please visit our Wishlist here (Visions Wishlist 2008) and help us help the youth in Sri Lanka & Kenya have a meaningful educational experience this summer. Thank you, Elaine, and all those who took part in this drive. It is heroes like you that drive our organization... UPDATE: June 2, 2008
Visions is Incorporated! Today we took our first step towards becoming an independent nonprofit organization by receiving notification that we have been incorporated in the state of California. We still have much work to do in pursuing our official 501(c)3 nonprofit status, but after 4 months of waiting for notice of incorporation we are pleased to be making progress. UPDATE: May 30, 2008
Visions Expands its Reach to New York Visions is happy to announce that the "Lighting the Way" social mixer at Katra Lounge in New York City successfully raised $1200, which will benefit the summer leadership camps. Thank you to Operation USA (www.opusa.org) for their support in organizing and bringing guests to the event. There were approximately 60 people in attendance, and we appreciated the opportunity to share information about our organizations and efforts to help those in need. Visions also hosted the Sri Lanka Young Professionals Conference held at Columbia University in NY on May 25th, which was a great opportunity for Visions and other organizations doing important work in Sri Lanka to share information and network with each other. With 24 people in attendance and the participation of 4 other organizations (Operation USA, IMHO, PEARL, & Sarvodaya USA), it was a great opportunity to network and mobilize behind the common goal of helping people in Sri Lanka. Special thanks are due to Mythri Jegathesan, Nimmi Gowrinathan, Anjana Pathmarajah, Brintha Jeyalingam, Tasha Manoranjan, Michael Trainer, Dr. Sujanthy Rajaram, and Trent Holland. And thank you to all who attended! You can download the Conference Program, as well as Visions General & Visions Global Health Powerpoint presentations here:
[Visions NY Conference Program] UPDATE: May 1, 2008
FACT: Visions Summer Trips are extremely economical! According to the facts that appeared in an article that appeared in the Orange County Register on April 13, 2008, the annual Visions summer camps cost approximately 35% the amount of the average volunteer trips run by other organizations or companies. The article reads, "If you're looking to volunteer for only a few weeks, you'll be hard pressed to find a program without fees. A typical two-week program runs around $2,600...". Visions volunteers going to Sri Lanka this summer (2008) will be paying just $1295 for 16 days, and Kenya volunteers will be paying $1395 for 20 days. These trips are extremely economical, and you will be hard pressed to find any other organization that offers such a high quality and thoughtful program at such an incredibly competitive price. We invite you to join us this summer as a Visions volunteer in Sri Lanka or Kenya! UPDATE: APRIL 23, 2008
Green Belt Movement to host Visions in Kenya! We are extremely happy to report that the world-renowned Green Belt Movement in Kenya, which was founded by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai, will be hosting the Visions group in Kenya this upcoming August! With the help of an avid Visions supporter who put us in touch with this very reputable group, all arrangements are now being made with our local host organization. The Visions: Kenya group of volunteers will put on 2 Visions Leadership Camps for underprivileged youth at GBM's training facilities near Nairobi. The facilities offer 9 acres of space, lodging, and training rooms for up to 100 people…the perfect fit for the Visions Camps. This recent revelation should help to ease concerns about safety in Kenya, as we could not have asked for a more trustworthy or honorable host. Thank you, Green Belt Movement! UPDATE: APRIL 20, 2008
Student Globe to sponsor summer leadership camps The Puerto Rico-based nonprofit organization, Student Globe, has graciously agreed to act as our fiscal sponsor for the upcoming Visions Leadership Camps in Sri Lanka & Kenya this summer. Student Globe also sponsored our trips last year to Kenya, so we are very pleased to be working with them again. All donations for the summer leadership camps, either monetary or in-kind (supplies), will be tax deductible under Student Globe's tax ID #. Please still send all donations to Visions (1621 Barry Ave. #PH1, Los Angeles, CA, 90025), but here are Student Globe's details for your records: UPDATE: APRIL 17, 2008
'Fashions at the Cove' Raises $2,671.47 for Visions Summer Leadership Camps The 1st Annual 'Fashions at the Cove' Charity Fashion Show to benefit Visions was held on Thursday, April 17th at the La Jolla Cove Suites in beautiful Downtown La Jolla. Over 120 guests attended the event, which raised $2,671.47 for the annual Visions Summer Leadership Camps in Sri Lanka and Kenya. With the help of many volunteers, including 15 gorgeous models, a DJ, an MC, a few former Visions summer volunteers, and several others, the event went incredibly well. The setting and weather could not have been more perfect either. UPDATE: FEBRUARY 18, 2008 Over $10,000 raised at “Lighting the Way” Event We are pleased to announce that over $10,000 was collected after the “Lighting the Way” event in Pasadena for the Kalagam Visions Learning Centre (KVLC). Thank you to all who donated to this worthy cause. We are still $150,000 away from achieving our goal of fully funding the first phase of the KVLC, so we still need your help! UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2007 Visions launched its first ever operation in Africa last month with great success! All volunteers arrived home safely from Kenya and were extremely pleased with how well the 2 leadership camps held this summer went. We are hoping this is only the beginning of a new chapter of the Visions organization’s efforts to improve the lives of young people worldwide. Check out our Visions (Leadership) Camp: Kenya page to read more. |
