Two weeks away...

I just returned from Sojourn to the Past, a trip that retraces the Civil Rights Movement by traveling through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee and visiting important battlegrounds in the fight for equality. I spent 10 days with many teachers, speakers, and over 100 high school students in a very powerful and enriching learning experience. By learning about the past, we all learned what we needed to do in our communities to make a better future. The common theme in the trip was, “ordinary people doing extraordinary things because it was the RIGHT thing to do.” People like Minnijean Brown-Trickey and the Little Rock Nine, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the courageous people protesting in Birmingham, Representative John Lewis and the countless marchers in Selma, and many more who fought for what they believed in and put their bodies and spirits on the line because it was the right thing to do.

I know that everyone was wondering how I was able to keep up training while traveling. Given that it snowed in Atlanta and was freezing cold and very windy everywhere else we went, I was in the hotel gyms on treadmills and bikes, and running sprints up and down long hallways, and doing intervals going up emergency stairwells. With our very busy schedule, I had to sneak out very early in the morning or go workout late at night. Sometimes when I had an hour in the middle of the day (which was rare), I sprinted into a workout or at least stretched. It was very tough, but hearing the stories of everyone we met kept me motivated.

The speakers we met and the stories we heard inspired all of us to continue to fight for social justice. Going on this trip as a high school student in 2002 inspired me to become a social studies teacher. Being able to return as a teacher and experience this along with some of my students and 100 “adopted” students from the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and New York, showed me how people want to make a change. The trip was demanding of the students, but they diligently worked through the material and delved deep into the lessons. The stories impacted everyone so much, that it was rare to see a dry eye every time we met a speaker. To see the students so thirsty for knowledge and wanting to learn so much reminded me of why I decided to start Upward Bounce. I wanted to help students who have that deep desire for higher education in order to learn more, by giving them the opportunity to attend college. These students want equal opportunities, but the high costs of the application process can be too expensive for some. By raising money, we are helping students achieve their dreams. My goal has always been to break the world record; however, this has turned into something bigger than that. I knew that by me attempting such a bizarre and crazy feat, it would draw attention to the cause. People would hear about the running and dribbling, but that would only allow us to further spread the message of the need to help bring equal opportunities for higher education to students who do not have access to these opportunities.

The Civil Rights Movement was not successful because of one individual; it was the collective efforts of thousands, even millions, of individuals who brought about change. With a collective effort in donating (even a little bit), we can help more students reach their dreams. All we need to do is get them to college, and they will flourish when they arrive. Everyone who has been helping and supporting Upward Bounce for the past six months has devoted countless hours to the cause because we deeply believe in equal opportunity and education. We hope that you will continue to support us. But even more than that, we hope that this will help inspire you to fight for social justice by helping someone, marching for a cause, protesting, speaking out, or any other means of support—simply because it is the RIGHT THING TO DO.

Much love.