My Drive For The Drive

The George Washington Carver Scholarship Fund (GWCSF) is a non profit organization where students in need of money learn how to write grants and apply for grant money through various funders. A portion of the grant money received from successful grants will be awarded to the student for tuition money and various other educational expenses. This scholarship fund is reared towards students who attend historically black colleges.

A representative from this fund came to Spelman in February to talk about grant writing. I missed the class but was interested in finding any internship opportunities that were available. I searched through my Spelman email, found the number and called up the foundation. Now, a week and a half later, I am on my way to making Diamonds In The Rough a non profit organization and funding my internship in Haiti.

Part of volunteering with the GWCSF is personal determination and work. I started attending classes on grant writing and non profit organizations at the Foundation Center located in the Hurt building in downtown Atlanta. In these free classes that I've taken so far, I've learned the basics on preparing a proposal and budgeting basics. These classes are preparing me to write for grant money to support my drive.

This week, I've volunteered two days already. I've worked closely with Mr. Marvin Williams to compose letters of request for funding to organizations and companies. So far, I have applied for funding towards my trip from three different places. Tomorrow, I will send out my letter to seven more places, in hopes that some of these places will view my drive and cause worthy enough to aid financially. So far, one donation is in the making through the scholarship fund. I'm really praying that I can find all the funds for this trip by July. Right now, I am making the last few revisions to the budget, which has increased to around $1700.00. This includes the plane ticket, lodging, a good camera for the documentary, and extra emergency money.

Tomorrow, I have an interview for tutoring services. Following that, I will finally sort through my jewelry and get a count of just how many pieces I've collected. Next week, I will be working more with the Haitian American Caucus to plan the event centered on women empowerment in Haiti.