Hello friends!

Summer arrives in just a few short days and it is sure to begin on a busy note around here. Preparations are under way for a return trip to Uganda, this time on behalf of The Grow Hope Foundation. It will be a different trip this time around- arriving in a country that is already familiar, meeting with people who have become friends and hitting the ground running in order to accomplish all of the things we hope to before it is time to depart. Right now we are in the process of making schedules and itineraries, assembling things that will be brought on the trip, continuing to narrow down our mission statement so that it is clear and concise and really captures exactly what it is we hope to do in Uganda. I think that it will continue to be refined until after the trip, when we have seen what progress has been made, what has worked, what hasn't had as much impact as we had hoped, and most importantly, until there have been in-depth discussions with the SCHEP team in Uganda. Through them I hope to "catch-up" quickly so that when we visit the different areas we have been working in, I will be prepared to capture it with my camera as well as connect with the residents there. It is going to be a very busy trip but surely a productive one as well.

Upon returning from Africa the plan is to host an auction to kick off a fund-raising campaign for The Grow Hope Foundation. With your help we hope to take this little seed of possibility and grow it into a thriving network of self-sustaining groups that are able to independently provide a healthier life for their families and their community. We hope that by empowering the villagers we are working with in Uganda they will, in turn, take what they have learned and share it with others. This is the beginning of something amazing my friends and I hope you will be here with us to see what can happen when we dream big and do good!