My challenge: To run a sub-6-minute mile while Waterford Kamhlaba is 60 years old (this year!) to raise US$6,000. Hence sub-6 @ 60 for $6.0k (110,000 South African Rand/Emalangeni).
It won’t be a breeze. Not only am I awfully close to 60 years old myself, but my recent test mile came up rather short…at 6:45. So I have a long way to go. But it’s worth it.
(For those who struggle with imperial measures, I have to run 1610m in 6 minutes, a pace of 3:44 min/km.)
Your challenge: To decide how great of an impact you would like to have. It’s amazing what your contribution can do. All funds raised will support a scholarship for an outstanding young person who cannot otherwise afford to attend Waterford Kamhlaba. Not only will the scholarship allow them to attend a fabulous values-driven school that is focused on social justice (while providing an outstanding international education), but any student obtaining their IB Diploma at WK then has the opportunity to attend one of 100 or so American universities at no cost to them! On average, that’s a value of $250,000 or more!
This is a special opportunity to get such a fabulous return on your investment, not to mention to open up tremendous new opportunities for a young person who is limited only by economic resources.
Some background: For years, WK has provided scholarships to stunningly talented young people even when the school had not received sufficient donations to cover the cost. It did this by drawing down the school’s reserves—such was the school’s commitment to ensuring economic and social diversity in its student body and its belief in the need to give back to the communities and continent that support it. However, this approach is no longer tenable and, as a result, WK had to reduce the number of scholarships (full or partial) it could offer. As a result, almost 30 fewer students receive financial assistance in 2023 than did in 2019.
Our Opportunity: To help expand the pool of funds available to support students at WK and to facilitate the life-enriching education that happens when students form wide-ranging life experiences come together and learn from each other.
My (crazy?) pledge: To give $250 (to get the party started) and to match all donations made before June 30th.
It may take me all year to run my sub-6 mile, but with your generous donations inspiring me I’m sure I will manage before WK turns 61.
If you’d like to discuss this challenge further or if the payment site doesn’t accept your card for some reason, please contact me on brightline1@yahoo.com and I’ll send you our PayPal details.
Thank you!
Andy Foose