Maddie approached Building Tomorrow this past summer about getting involved. Her sister, Heather, has been involved with our chapter at UNC-Chapel Hill for years now. “When my sister first told me about Building Tomorrow, I became very interested. I spent lots of time researching the organization and very quickly became extremely passionate about the project… I have come to realize how fortunate I really am to be receiving an education.” Throughout the semester, Maddie has been rallying together a group of students to help raise funds and awareness for the construction of a classroom in Uganda.

They volunteered their time and resources – working a concession stand and organizing “Walk to Uganda,” an adaptation of Building Tomorrow’s “How far would you walk for an education?” campaign. Maddie and her chapter members asked students and community members to walk for two hours, reflecting on the challenges children in other parts of the world face in receiving an education.

In Maddie’s words, “the Walk to Uganda event gave the community and students the understanding of how Ugandan children go to great lengths every day to get to school. It helped everyone realize how lucky we are to have free transportation in our public system. By the end of the event, I think everyone that participated felt even more passionate about contributing to the cause because they were able to develop an appreciation for what these children go through in order to receive an education.”

For me, Maddie is a true inspiration for our model and why we work to empower young people across the country. Throughout the semester, I’ve worked with Maddie through ups and downs – it wasn’t easy getting other students on board, it wasn’t easy getting people to commit their Saturday morning or finding volunteer opportunities to raise funds, but she powered through. Even the week of the event, she went the extra mile going around her school to talk directly to students about Building Tomorrow and ask for spare change. By the end of the week, they’d raised $600 just from those efforts.

“It was so great to see my friends at school and even students I have never met be so generous towards us. In the end, we all gathered together to reach a common goal and were successful. We couldn’t have met our goal without people being so kind and generous.”

By giving The Best Gift. Ever. you will enable Building Tomorrow to continue to empower millennials all over the world to rally their communities in support of education for all.

– Liz Braden