My dearest friends and family,

CorStone, the nonprofit where I work, has hit an unexpected delay in funding and will have to close its doors without your help.

We're on the verge of launching a really innovative initiative called Girls First that I helped design and pilot that will improve the health, education and employability of 50,000 high-poverty girls in urban slums in India.

Please help us launch this program and remain open by donating whatever you can! We really need your support and every dollar counts!!

Please forward this widely and make sure to tell all your friends. You can even set up your own page with your own fundraising goal on Crowdrise by clicking "Join Team" at right.

If you want to help more (or just offer any words of encouragement!), please email me or give me a call at 410-952-8819. I can't wait to hear from all of you.

You can read more about the program below or click here to read a more detailed letter from our director.

Much love to all,

Kate

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CorStone wrote -

Right now, 50,000 impoverished girls in India are ready and waiting to participate in CorStone's Girls First initiative--a life-changing program proven to improve the health, education and employability of adolescent girls in urban slums.

The program is set to begin next month, but anticipated grant funding has been suddenly delayed.

Without your help, Girls First will not launch and CorStone will be forced to cease all operations for good.

Girls First improves school achievement, employability, mental and physical health, coping skills, and motivation. The program provides badly needed training for girls and young women in topics such as mental and emotional health, reproductive health, gender-based violence, communication skills, financial literacy, and leadership skills—all taught in peer support groups led by local community women and teachers that are trained and certified by CorStone. Girls First is low cost, measurable, and sustainable, and we know it works.

Please visit www.corstone.org to learn more.

We all want to make a positive change in the world…to leave it a better place than when we arrived. It’s not often that we have the chance to contribute in a way that will have an immediate, deep and widespread impact.

Today, we have the opportunity to stand together to touch the lives of 50,000 girls and young women in need, if only we all join hands.


Here’s how we’ll do it.

1. Give the largest gift your heart allows. If CorStone is forced to cease operations, we will refund your donation or donate it to a local partner in India who is helping slum girls, according to your wishes. Give $25, $100, $1,000, $10,000, $100,000—no amount is too small or too large.

2. Forward this link to five friends. Choose wisely! I believe we all know who would like to help if given the opportunity. Give them the chance to be part of this movement and make a genuine difference.

3. Make your own fundraising page to raise money for CorStone using Crowdrise. Form a team and set a goal. Just click "Join Team" at right to get started!

4. Get in touch—with us, with each other, and with our girls in India. Post words of encouragement on this page, our Facebook page, your own Facebook wall, or send us an email. Tell others why you donated. We need your help to get the word out! Call us (415.388.6161) and ask us how else you can get involved!

On behalf of CorStone—and the girls and young women whom we serve—thank you so very much for your emergency contribution today.

CorStone is a US registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and your donation is 100% tax-deductible.

Photo Credits: Laura Kudritzki Photography. All Rights Reserved.