LIVING THE MISSION:

Beer for Good to donate proceeds

Beer for Good has been a hit across campus raising almost $300. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors have all purchased the glasses that allow for discounted beer and sodas. Beer for Good has mastered the drinking part of the program and is ready to donate the proceeds.

The student club, International Development Association, was assigned to find the best way to spend the profits on a Thunderbird for Good project. Club members held an election and encouraged the campus to vote for a project to fund. They called the election "Animal, vegetable, or mineral." The three choices were:

1. ANIMAL: Buy a goat, llama or water buffalo from Heifer International to give to a family in a developing country. The animal can help lift the family out of poverty by giving them wool, milk or labor. Visit www.heifer.org for more information.

2. VEGETABLE: Buy a tree to help remove the excess green house gases from the atmosphere. This fits into the campus greening initiative and our desire to reduce our carbon footprint as an institution.

3. MINERAL: Cold hard cash. This option uses the Beer for God profit to invest in a micro enterprise at MicroPlace. Entrepreneurs in a developing country would receive the money in the form of a loan that would allow them to invest in their business ... and hopefully turn a profit. Visit www.microplace.com for more information.

As you can imagine from a business school, cold hard cash won out. The Beer for Good money will be used to help fund a small business.

The India subcontinent club, finance association and private equity club have also been involved in the fundraiser with helping with donations and voting which project to fund.

Meanwhile, the fund-raising campaign will continue at Thunderbird. Glasses are still for sale in the ThunderShop and the profits will periodically be withdrawn for the IDA to invest in other Thunderbird for Good projects.

Letters for Peace send messages to Afghanistan

Letters for Peace, a group created to bring about understanding between the youth in Afghanistan and the United States, has sent out its first batch of letters and collages, which are now in transit to Afghanistan. Children in each country who participate in the program are invited to write letters and draw pictures for each other. The group was created by Alison Dalton Smith, a Corporate Learning program coordinator.

The letters were translated into Dari by Vernita and Yasin Khosti, speakers approved by the World Affairs Council of Arizona to give talks on Afghanistan. The letters will go to schools in Afghanistan, including many that are run by graduates of the Artemis program. The group would like the recipients of the letters to write back, but are not certain this will happen because mail service can be unreliable in Afghanistan outside Kabul.

Letters for Peace is part of a greater project called Words to Peace, which is still a creation in progress. “We create our world and our reality through words” is the guiding principle behind the project, which hopes to transform conversations people have about the world and what they are capable of.

For more information and to contribute, visit http://wordstopeace.blogspot.com/. If you would like to send a letter to Afghanistan, or would like to get children you know involved, please contact Alison Dalton Smith.

ThunderBaskets now available at the ThunderShop

This month's featured item from the ThunderShop is truly unique. ThunderBaskets from Rwanda! T-bird alumni Katie Doyle '72 and Richard Cunningham '72 work with basket weavers in Rwanda. Money from the basket sales not only helps the artisans but is donated to help save the gorillas of that country. In true T-bird fashion, they found a way to have our logo woven into these amazing baskets. Stop by the shop to see a selection of ThunderBaskets in all shapes and sizes. Each one is a piece of art.