Dear Friends, Family, Colleagues,

 

It's time for me to get the legs pumping again!  As you know, I joined our fundraising cycling event through the Pyrenees last year...see pictures!  You can see I worked hard and was in sufficient pain!  Well, I am excited and proud to do it again and I hope for your support.

Background:

Each year Starwood’s Road to Awareness Associates Fundraising campaign raises money for a different area of UNICEF’s work. In 2008 and 2009, the initiative raised respectively over $270,000 for a child-to-child radio project in Mozambique and over $200,000 to protect and improve the lives of children living and working on the streets of Egypt. Now in its third year, Road to Awareness is part of the wider Check Out for Children partnership between Starwood Hotels and UNICEF.

Building on the success of the 2 previous years, the Road to Awareness campaign will, this year, revolve around our now legendary bike-ride. A team of 24 cyclists and fund-raisers including myself will be climbing the Dolomites during 3 days at the end of August.

The 2010 Road to Awareness campaign aims to raise at least US $200,000 to support UNICEF’s ‘Schools for Africa’ project in South Africa. ‘Schools for Africa’ is a UNICEF programme that works in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Institute to accelerate access to quality basic education to 8 million children in 11 African countries

The donations will support Phase 2 of the Schools for Africa campaign in South Africa, including the following:

 Support for 1,500 orphans and vulnerable children in 5 rural schools to stay in school and complete primary education;

 Sport for Development activities in 18 schools across South Africa;

 Training for 70 teachers in child-friendly teaching methodologies (creating a safer and more caring school environment), and leadership training for 20 principals.

Education transforms lives and breaks the cycle of poverty that so many children are caught in. When we ensure that children have access to quality education, we create a ripple effect of opportunity that impact generations to come. However, there are currently more than 100 million children worldwide out of school. Children are often denied the right to be educated because they are poor, orphaned or simply because they are girls or live in a remote rural area.

Every donation you help us raise will make a massive difference. Thanks to the support of associates, suppliers and networks of Starwood Hotels in EAME, next year 1,500 children will receive a better education and improve their prospects for the future.

 

Thank you all already for either supporting me financially or in spirit...and ideally both!!  Oliver