Christopher in Argentina

Christopher is a senior at De La Salle High School in Chicago and a participant in the Highsight program, one of the great organizations we partner with to provide academic and social support to students from low-income families in Chicago.

In his scholarship application to Farther Foundation, Christopher said he wanted to travel abroad so he could, “assist people in need to the best of my abilities” and “open my eyes and experience what else there is in this world besides what I encounter on a daily basis.”

Farther Foundation awarded Christopher a scholarship that helped him travel to Argentina on a four-week community service program with Putney Student Travel. Upon his return Christopher shared some of his thoughts and experiences with us:

My experience has taught me that there are a lot of things to look forward to in life and that hope is never absent in someone's life regardless of their life status and positions. I have been motivated by what I experienced, thinking about the things I am capable of doing for others and if I was to put myself in a position to make a difference, how I really could.

I will forever remember the boy named Jose who told me "Cristobal, porfavor ben a visitarnos cuando te haces el presidente de los Estados Unidos... Nosotros somos tus amigos y queremos que regreses, no nos olvides". That translates to "Chris, please come back and visit us when you are the President of the United States... we are your friends and we want you to return."

Farther Foundation was formed to help students break free from the constraints of poverty and gain experiences that propel them toward their highest aspirations. We provide opportunities for eager and deserving students to travel worldwide and interact with individuals who have diverse backgrounds and experiences. They participate in programs where they are immersed in new cultures and experiences, learn and develop skills, provide community service, cultivate leadership potential and attain personal growth.

You can help support students like these to have life changing educational experiences. Visit our website to learn more about our work and to make a tax deductible gift online.

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences.

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Farther Foundation Arts Programs

While our Farther Foundation sponsored students jetted off around the world to participate in life changing programs in Paraguay, Tanzania, Vietnam and beyond, Farther Foundation founder and President, David Weindling and his family were packing up the van for a road trip to Maine.

We enjoyed a great vacation with plenty of family, hiking, canoeing and lobster, but one of the trip highlights was an overnight stop at the Putney School in Vermont.

Putney School offers a summer arts program for high school students on their beautiful campus nestled in the hills of southern Vermont. In its very first year, 2009, Farther Foundation provided a scholarship to a wonderful student, Natasha, to spend the summer at Putney. At the end of the summer, Tom Howe, the director of the Putney School summer program told us, “The teachers are encouraging me to invite Tasha to return for the summer of 2010 as a member of our Staff in Training. Tasha helped shape the character and culture of the summer. She completely embraced being at Putney and we would love to have her back.”

I had the pleasure to meet with Tom earlier this year when he was in Chicago and I mentioned my family’s upcoming trip to Maine. As luck would have it, The Putney School was practically on our route and Tom invited the whole family to visit. In a second stroke of luck, our visit coincided with the end of their summer session and the students had set up an exhibit of their works throughout the halls and galleries of the school for the student show that evening, and the arrival of their parents the following morning.

We were treated to a terrific variety of works including painting, sculpture, jewelry, glass and textile crafts, live and animated film projects, photography, metallurgy and more. The students displayed a great sense of community and eagerly told us about their craft and their time at Putney that summer.

We keep in close contact with our scholarship recipients and so we know about the quality of the programs in which they participate and the great impact the experiences have on their lives. But, it was a special thrill to get to visit Putney School, see the young people immersed in their experience and know that their confidence, hopes and aspirations have all changed for the better.

Farther Foundation was formed to help students break free from the constraints of poverty and gain experiences that propel them toward their highest aspirations. We provide opportunities for eager and deserving students to travel worldwide and interact with individuals who have diverse backgrounds and experiences. They participate in programs where they are immersed in new cultures and experiences, learn and develop skills, provide community service, cultivate leadership potential and attain personal growth.

You can help support students like these to have life changing educational experiences. Visit our website to learn more about our work and to make a tax deductible gift online.

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences.

Tia’s sponsor at Street-Level Youth Media describes her as, “A mature, intelligent, curious student. She has demonstrated not just an interest in traveling and in photography, but in actively participating in cross-cultural exchange. She is prepared and excited to contribute to a diverse dialogue, and no doubt will bring as much to the program as she will learn from others.” Tia herself says, “I’m more goofy than the average teenager, but still very responsible.”

Tia has been participating in Street-Level Youth Media’s Exposures program, where students learn the art of photography while collaborating online with students from various locations and cultures. Selected students, including Tia, have the opportunity this summer to continue their learning experience and cultural exchange on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Farther Foundation is supporting Tia’s summer program and we look forward to seeing and hearing all about her life-changing experience when she returns home. For now, we can peek in on her experience through the Exposure’s summer program blog – in this post, Tia provided a couple of photos and a quick reflection from the Pow Wow she attended.

Farther Foundation was formed to help students break free from the constraints of poverty and gain experiences that propel them toward their highest aspirations. We provide opportunities for eager and deserving students to travel worldwide and interact with individuals who have diverse backgrounds and experiences. They participate in programs where they are immersed in new cultures and experiences, learn and develop skills, provide community service, cultivate leadership potential and attain personal growth.

You can help support students like these to have life changing educational experiences. Visit our website to learn more about our work and to make a tax deductible gift online.

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences.

Go Farther!

A Great Opportunity to Visit the Great Wall

     During the course of the last three summers, 48 low-income, Chicago area high school students have participated in enrichment programs around the world with the aid of Farther Foundation grants. While on their programs, these students had unique experiences that opened their eyes to a new world of possibilities and raised their expectations for what they could achieve in their education and in their lives.

     The investment Farther Foundation makes in these eager and deserving students is paying off. In an environment where only about 54% of Chicago Public High School students are graduating, Farther Foundation supported students are graduating high school and enrolling in college at a 100% rate.

     One of these students is Ryan. Ryan and his brother are being raised by his mother alone on a very modest income. He receives academic support and mentoring through HighSight, a great organization that also encouraged him to travel abroad last summer in pursuit of new horizons. Here is what Ryan had to say about his adventure in China with The Experiment in International Living:

 They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, I have a thousand pictures, and they don’t begin to tell the story of my trip to China. I spent five weeks, thousands of miles from my hometown on the other side of the world. I remember looking around at my crewmates, who were all so homesick, and realizing that I didn’t feel homesick at all. I felt free. Don’t get me wrong, I love Chicago, I love my home, but spending five weeks on my own, trying to survive in a foreign country with a group of people I hardly knew? I felt like I was in my element.

When we landed in Hong Kong, I remember I spent about ten minutes looking out the massive Terminal windows at the city nestled beneath a mountain. I thought, “Wow, this is China? Amazing.” It turns out that I was looking at a rinky-dink town that was basically a suburb of the REAL Hong Kong. And the mountain that I gazed at in awe, wondering at its age and splendor? Pheh. That was nothing compared to what came next.

Beijing, Capital City of the People’s Republic of China. Luoyang, City of the Promenade. Guiyang, mountainous Capital City of the mountainous Province of Guilin. Yangshuo, Western Hotspot in the middle of the East. Shanghai, Crown Jewel of the Chinese Coast. All these places and more, I can still see in my head, I can still feel them in my body. I can feel the rumble of the hard-seat overnight train, I can see the tiny plane that was shorter than a 40-yard pass, I can remember the gritty concrete road under the tires of my rental bike, and the gravel biting into my leg as the tires slid out from under me. The sting of the alcohol pads, the smell of the lychees my friend stuffed into my bag, the burst of the dumplings in my mouth later at dinner were all sensations that have enriched my entire existence. There can be zero doubt in my mind that I am forever changed by this glorious experience.

Farther Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization providing scholarships to low-income students to inspire them to reach their highest aspirations through educational travel experiences.

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2011 Student Essay Contest Winners

We love when student photos and essays arrive at our office – and we are pleased to share them with you. Our students take us along on their journeys leading from trepidation to revelation. However, these journeys are more than feel-good summer distractions. They are tipping-point experiences from which our students are inspired to look only forward with their eyes wide-open and their determination awakened.

Each year we select our favorite essays and award prizes to the students. Congratulations this year go to Corbin, Ryan, Ariella and Marilyn. Click on the links below to enjoy their winning essays.

1st Place: Corbin (Peru)

2nd Place: Ryan (China)

3rd Place (tie): Ariella (Israel) and Marilyn (Brown University)

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Melissa's experience in Ghana

This past summer, with the help of Farther Foundation, 16 eager and deserving Chicago High School students had the opportunity to travel across the country and around the world. While on their programs, these students had unique experiences that opened their eyes to a new world of possibilities and raised their expectations for what they could achieve in their education and in their lives.

One of these students was Melissa, a senior at Notre Dame High School who traveled to Ghana. Here is what Melissa had to say about her adventure:

    Traveling to Ghana in the summer of 2011 was definitely the best experience that I have ever had. To be honest, I did not know what to expect. When people describe any part of Africa, they only mention the poverty, never the beauty. Ghana has a beautiful rainforest and beautiful friendly people. My host family was very welcoming and I think they were the perfect family for me. Although, some of the most touching experiences occurred in the children's home I volunteered at.