Hello everybody,

I just wanted to send out a quick update regarding the progress we have been making on the Corey Hilber Memorial Scholarship.

We are about a month behind schedule, in part due to the fact that we extended the fundraiser deadline in an attempt to raise more money through newspaper articles. After 50+ press releases to newspapers in Wisconsin and Utah, we didn’t have much luck getting any newspapers on board. Oh well. As the French say, “such is life.”

Things have also been delayed, somewhat predictably, by “complications” with setting up a bank account in Kyrgyzstan (see image.) This is to be expected, and Mr. Miles has been valiantly battling with the banking system over there to get things going (all while speaking Russian, nonetheless!). I had a similar experience two years ago in which I had to spend three months getting a much simpler transfer sent, so I can say for sure that it’ll definitely get done after some time. The Kyrgyz banking system, I should mention, does not correlate at all with the wonderful Kyrgyz people themselves; it’s just a quirky Central Asian thing. It’ll get done in it’s own time. If you’ve ever been there, you no doubt understand what I’m talking about here.

Patches and stickers were finally ordered today. They should be going out within a couple weeks. I should have taken care of this sooner. I apologize. I’ve been going through some personal stuff that has somewhat diverted my attention. I’m sure that’s already too much information. So, watch out for those.

Other than that, things are going very well. Kids are applying for the scholarship and now most of the logistics for the project are being run by Miles, who is taking care of things on the ground in Kyrgyzstan.

I am very confident that this is going to be a success, and I want to thank each and every one of you who helped make such a huge, real difference in the lives of children in this incredible Central Asian country!

Thank you so much!

Mr. Brett

We’ve all reached 89% of our goal. We’re so close, and we only have 23 days left to make this dream happen for children in Kyrgyzstan! I want to ask you to take just five minutes to help put the scholarship over the top by forwarding the www.talawesome.com link, plus a short explanation of what we’re doing, and why it’s important, to anyone you know who might still donate. This is the way that we’re going to reach our goal. I know that you have put your faith into this dream already, and I know that you know how unacceptable, and not-Talawesome, it will be to not reach our goal after so much work.

There is also a simple, but very real, math problem here. If we reach our goal, we only have to pay 4% ($851 in fees, $20,425 raised) in administrative fees to Indiegogo. If we don’t, not only do we not send another kid to school, we have to pay 9% in fees ($1,699 in fees, $17,183 raised) to this website. The difference, $3,242, would be enough to pay for one-and-a-half years of school. That’s a lot of som. Indiegogo sets these rates to encourage people to set realistic goals (source: http://bit.ly/10F1Ve2.) I believe that we set a realistic goal, that we can achieve it, and that our big goal will make a big difference in the lives of others. We just need one last collective push to make it.

We can do this. Please forward this project on to as many people as you can. 23 days left!

UPDATES! Double your donation in 30 seconds by sharing this project! Also, there is a new perk for donors!

Thank you for supporting this project. Without your generosity, we could have never made it this far. I would like to ask for your help again, briefly. The average donor has to be contacted around 7 times before donating. It’s a fact. People want to help, but they forget. That’s life. But you can help them remember and, in doing so, effectively double or even triple your own donation to children’s education in Kyrgyzstan.

With two months to go, I need to ask you to share this project with as many people as you can. Email. Facebook. Twitter. Carrier Pigeon. Anything.

There is a new perk available for donors to the Corey Hilber Memorial Scholarship. Donors who sponsor two or more weeks of school for a child in Kyrgyzstan will get a “My other car is a маршрутка” bumper sticker!

We’re so close to reaching our goal. Please share this with everybody in our communities, especially K16 and K17 RPCVs.

Thank you.

P.S. The image below is a bit smooshed. It looks much better than this.