Love Letters: Tracking Thrive Backpacks Around the World
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
- Winston Churchill
For as long as I can remember, this ideal has been an essential element of my DNA. I was blessed to grow up in a service-oriented family who believed in loving and giving BIG---not “giving back” out of duty or obligation—but with an infectious attitude and yearning to truly make a difference.
As a matter of fact, my school’s motto was “Make a life. Make a living. Make a difference.” The gravity of the correlation between these tenets of success (and their formulaic order) is not lost on me. Rather, this driving force is the why behind the why—why Whitehead Learning Group even exists. Former collegiate baseball player turned motivational speaker and mental conditioning coach Riley Tincher encourages readers to “create what you wish existed.” That’s why Whitehead Learning Group is in Atlanta today. Passion has aligned with purpose.
Indeed, we aim to live out pastor Andy Stanley’s challenge—“do for one what we wish we could do for everyone.” To that end, we’re honored to partner with Thrive Global Project, a Charlotte-based 501c(3) charity committed to providing access to quality education to learners around the world. From outreach in inner city schools right in our Atlanta neighborhoods to supply drives that benefit refugee students in Afghanistan and early learners in Kenya, Thrive equips students with the educational resources to empower them in the classroom.
We believe that we have more in common than our differences. Creating—and acknowledging—a sense of awareness that even though we cross the finish line at different rates or via different methods—we all still want to get there. Students around the globe and in our neighborhood schools both have dreams they want to pursue and potential they will fulfill. WLG students have the opportunity to design a postcard to tuck into their donated backpack—which will go to benefit a domestic or international student (their choice)! This leads to a powerful dialogue about learning, educational resources, and how we fit into the bigger picture. This week, 6th-grader Jim had the opportunity to fill out an encouraging postcard to a friend who may be on the other side of the world. His kindergarten sister even helped with the artwork, too!
Atlanta students get the opportunity to send encouraging postcards in with their donated backpack to a vulnerable student in need.
We're praying for this postcard as it finds it way to a young learner who lives in a Loves Does-sponsored safe house in Mogadishu, Somalia. The other five girls who live with her are all victims of gender-targeted violence. We're hoping that this small token of encouragement reminds this sweet learner that she is loved, championed for, and valued.
As Andy Stanley remarks, “it’s not enough just to make a point. It’s time we made a difference.”