Can you help spread the word?

We’ve been recruiting M’ijas for the Class of 2015 for 2 weeks now and things are going really well.  We have 11 M’ijas signed up (meaning we have their forms in hand) to provide mentoring, programming, and scholarship support for the Hijas of the Class of 2015.  Their commitment combines for 1 and a half scholarships.  Our ultimate goal is to be able to provide this program to 10 girls in the Class of 2015 starting this September.  So we need to have the rest of those spots secured by the end of August.  Our goal is to have 3 of those scholarships accounted for by the end of June.  Can you help us out by spreading the word?  If you Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, blog, mass email, or anything else that reaches out to people and grabs them, and if the Circle de Luz story touches you, could you please consider sharing the mission of Circle de Luz wherever you can?  You are welcome to use any of the information below, and I’m happy to offer any other information that might be  helpful.  If you are able to share the information wherever you post, blog, share, I’d love to know.  Of course, if you are able to personally join this effort, we’d love to have you!      

Information about Circle de Luz:        

Latinos have the highest drop out rate of all racial and ethnic groups.  

Dropouts have an average annual income of $22,000. High school graduates will earn an additional $300,000 over the course of their career. College graduates will earn $2.1million in a lifetime.

Adolescent girls who had a serious school failure- like dropping out- are significantly more likely to suffer a severe bout of depression.  In fact, thirty-three percent of girls who drop out later become depressed.  Researchers believe this might be because girls more acutely suffer the worst consequences after dropping out like higher poverty levels, higher dependence on public assistance, and lower rates of job stability.                                                           

 Latinas between the ages of 12-17 are more likely to attempt to take their life than any other group.  Twenty-five percent say they have thought about it.  Fifteen percent have attempted suicide. 

A third of Latinas who dropped out cited marriage or pregnancy as the reason.                                          

 Fifty-three percent of Latinas will become pregnant at least once before the age of 20.                                       

Circle De Luz radically empowers young Latinas by supporting and inspiring them in the pursuit of their possibilities through extensive mentoring, programming, and scholarship funds for further education.  

This fall, we will select the Circle de Luz Class of 2015 from the current seventh graders at Ranson Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina to begin the program.  From now until the girls reach high school graduation, we will support them with mentoring and comprehensive programming to help them achieve their goal of graduating from high school and pursuing further education.  When they graduate from high school and enroll in the educational opportunity of their choice, we will support them with a minimum of a $5,000 scholarship provided to them by women, we call them M’ijas, from all over the country that pool their resources in a giving circle for the six years the girls are finishing their secondary education.  Our goal this year is to have at least 75 women enrolled as M’ijas in the Class of 2015 by August 15, yielding a minimum of 8 scholarships. 

We need your help in radically empowering these young women to live the lives they have imagined.  M’ijas can have any background and can live anywhere.  As a M’ija, you make a commitment to donate a minimum of $90 a year for six years to the scholarship fund that will support the Class of 2015’s Hijas (our scholarship recipients who are selected as seventh graders).  You do not need to make your donation for the 2009-2010 school year at this time.  In fact, all we need right now is your Letter of Commitment.  We then ask that ½ of your year’s commitment be paid by September 15 and the other half by March 15, 2010 (don’t worry, we’ll send you a reminder when the time comes!).  All scholarship donations are placed in a CD account designated for our Class of 2015 Hijas so interest can begin to accrue and provide them with an even more robust scholarship by the time they graduate.  The Letter of Commitment is attached, and you are welcome to mail, scan and email, or fax it by following the directions on the form.  Please take a look at our video at www.circledeluz.org to understand why this effort is so important.         

Thank you for helping us radically empower the lives of girls!