San-Diego-2

As I explained on the phone, our community outreach program benefits schools and small businesses by using a unique storytelling tool and fundraising approach. (See graphic.) Our foundation had a very successful relationship with the Vermont schools in the past, and I want to offer them a revised version of Americans All to help schools, students and their families, and your business community in their fight against the effects of Covid-19. Our program begins with the schools, but I have not been able to contact school officials--phones on auto-answer and no e-mail addresses available so I hope your office can help us reach the school leadership to let them know about Americans All. Its value to local businesses and professional service providers will only happen once the lockdown is lifted, but advance planning is desirable. Below is the text I have tried to send to the schools and I have also placed it on our website at    www.americansall.org/vermont-1.

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We want to help Vermont fight the effects of the Covid-19 virus.

Americans All, our 34-year-old nonprofit community outreach program, has recently refocused its mission from the one we used to create a successful pilot program in Vermont when Ray McNulty was Commissioner. With tools now needed on all fronts—financial and emotional—to fight the Covid-19 virus and then rebuild our lives once it has been controlled, we believe Americans All can now become an asset for students learning at home, and for their families to help continue our nation’s newly renewed sense of community.

For parents and grandparents, this is an important time to record and archive life stories. Our legacy preservation tool makes it easy to pass on family members’ knowledge and experiences to current and future generations. Without this information, children will neither understand their roots nor develop their ethnic and cultural identity.

For students, creating legacy stories, or helping others do so, is an academic exercise that improves their skills in research, writing and communication. These are the main skills needed to succeed in higher education, the workforce and our increasingly global economy.

Equally important, our legacy preservation tool will help local businesses and professional service providers recover faster once they are cleared to reopen. We will help them increase their Internet presence while providing financial support for schools. We will gift 80 percent of unapplied gross revenues from business membership fees and Social Legacy Network subscription fees to local school systems.

Schools, students and individuals participate for free. Schools gain a turnkey fundraising vehicle and, once reopened, they can to use our storytelling component and supplemental education resources for classroom instruction or as an extracurricular activity.

I am aware that you are busy, but hopefully this cartoon will put our opportunity in perspective.