Top Spring Student Fundraiser Receives Free Trip to Honduras
Most students fundraising for Students Helping Honduras this past spring set personal goals of $300, $500, or even $1000. These numbers, already difficult to reach (especially in a bad economy), were testaments to their commitment to advance SHH's work in Honduras. However, one student decided to raise the bar a tad bit higher. Her goal: $5,000.
When Jackie Aldrich, at the time just a freshman at the University of Mary Washington, e-mailed her fundraising page to her family and friends, they remarked that she was "crazy" to take on such a monumental task. After all, her personal goal was more than entire goals set by several other chapters! That didn't deter Jackie; she fundraised past her goal in less than two weeks after receiving a very generous donation from a relative. The donation, in the amount of $4,999.00, came with a simple note, "I hope you reach your goal."
What made Jackie so special was that she could have stopped fundraising after reaching her monumental goal. Yet she actually revised her goal upwards on her fundraising page, eventually receiving 24 donations worth a grand total of $6,571.35. Wow.
Had Jackie not have received her check for nearly $5,000, she still would have been one of the top fundraisers for SHH. Her hard work and sheer drive are truly appreciated by everyone with Students Helping Honduras, and she received an award from SHH as "Top Student Fundraiser of the Year" for 2009. The prize for this award consists of an all-expenses paid trip to Honduras (with the exception of airfare), which Jackie has chosen to redeem this coming December. Jackie will be able to witness the groundbreaking of our education center, funded in part by donations made on behalf of her.
Jackie even served as an official SHH Intern this past summer. While holding down a summer job, she worked nightly and on weekends for SHH helping to arrange colleges and club fairs for SHH to visit during our recent Fall Tour of colleges up and down the east coast.
SHH wishes to again thank Jackie as well as everyone else who did such a remarkable job fundraising this past Spring. Jackie exemplifies the expression, "This is the power of what students can do."
