#onefor40

Some days you wake up a bit crazier than others. But sometimes that "crazy" is your conscious kicking you for playing it safe and reminding you that real progress takes risk. For most of my life, service has been an integral part of what I did. I like to help other people and the hooplah of law school and just figuring out myself put a stump on how much I could serve. Well my conscious could not take it anymore. Today I’m making a BIG COMMITMENT!


Between today and March 23, 2012, I am committing to personally raise $40,000 for the Ron Brown Scholar Program. There are a few facts I should share that factor into this BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:

• I must be out of my mind.
• Life is too short not to have BIG, HARD-TO-ATTAIN goals.
• There is no way I can do this on my own.


SOOOOOOO, I am calling on YOU to help. Yes, you, my friends, frenemies, mentors, and yes, even the many complete strangers the have friended me over the years at Facebook. I am calling on anyone that will listen and cares about inspiring the next generation of leaders. I am calling on as many people as possible to donate any and everything to help me reach this goal.

If you are reading this blog, that means you love me. So stop reading here and just skip to the bottom to see how to make a donation (remember the hastag: #onefor40).

So why the Ron Brown Scholar Program?
You might not even know about the program so you can find the basics here. However, the most important part that you need to know is that I received this prestigious award and it did more than give me $40,000, it gave me the first taste of winning on a national level. It was a reminder that no matter my familial situation, no matter the stereotypes of my demographic, no matter any circumstances I would not only succeed but excel. Not only that I have the opportunity to meet some of the most engaging young people the nation has seen. (Learn more about them here).

I'm also doing this because over time it’s easy to become complacent. It’s easy to forget that this life is bigger than just our personal goals. No matter how many degrees received, accolades awarded or millions of dollars paid, I’m only as good as the number of lives I can improve.

I am going to raise this $40,000 by Selection Weekend (March 23, 2012). This is important to me, not out of obligation, but out of an internal need to ensure that at least one more young person feels the sense of limitlessness that I felt almost 10 years ago when I was selected. I’m doing it for the future.


So if you are with me, make a donation in the following forms and dont forget to include the hashtag #onefor40:

• Purchase a ticket or table to our annual fundraiser (American Journey Awards on March 23, 2012)
• Have your company match my amount raised (contact me at onefor40@gmail.com)
• Make a tax deductible donation to the Ron Brown Scholar Program (website)


#leggo