Like many PoP supporters, Patricia first came across Pencils of Promise by reading the #PoPBook. She described her experience of “savoring every word and pearl of wisdom” that she picked up in the book, explaining that she became instantly engaged with Pencils of Promise and committed to a lofty goal. That goal of hers was to raise enough money for a school build in Ghana.

Patricia’s journey from making that first campaign goal to raising her last dollar was one of hard work, persistence and drive. How did she choose to fundraise? By collecting bottles, cans and pennies. In Maine, where Patricia lives, there is a program to return bottles and cans for an assortment of change. After 2.5 years, those pennies, nickels and dimes turned into thousands of dollars, which are being transformed into a Pencils of Promise school. It certainly wasn’t easy, but Patricia’s fundraising exemplified one of the PoP book mantras: “Big dreams start with small, unreasonable acts”. In this case, those small actions included numerous bottle drives, 2 yard sales, a raffle, dumpster diving, picking up discarded bottles on the side of the road and a lemonade stand.

Inspired by Patricia’s mission to help children in Ghana receive access to a safe learning environment, her family and community members joined in her efforts to reach the goal of a full school build.

“My fondest memory of this whole journey was meeting such wonderful people—strangers became my new friends—and all the support I received just humbled me.”

As she was formerly a nurse of many years, Patricia understands the ongoing need for education and the benefit of having such education, no matter what type of job you work or aspire to. “Education means so much to me. It is a life-saving tool to accomplish independence, increase self-worth and it’s a path to world peace.”

Looking back on her successful campaign, Patricia shared that dreaming big is what allowed her to reach such a daunting goal. Thanks to her support of Pencils of Promise, many primary school children in Ghana will have access to a strong, durable foundation, which will allow them to pursue their education and their own big dreams.

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Our PoP family is always growing. We’d love for you to join us.

Visit Patricia’s campaign page here.