Subject: Please take a look: Great Book, Great Cause
From: "Jessica Posner Odede" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2015 17:48:19 +0300

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Family,

I hope this email finds you enjoying your summer.  I am writing to ask you
to take a quick break from whatever you may be doing to help me support Shining
Hope for Communities <http://www.shininghopeforcommunities.org/> (SHOFCO)
and the Kibera School for Girls.

I am so thrilled to share that Kennedy and I have co-authored a book, *Find
Me Unafraid* <http://www.findmeunafraid.com/>*: Love, Loss and Hope in an
African Slum* and it is being published by Harper Collins on October 13th!

*Thanks to Grant Me the Wisdom Foundation and members of the SHOFCO board,
for each copy of Find Me Unafraid pre-ordered between now and October 13th,
$31.99 will be donated to SHOFCO!*

Quickly, here is the summary: the book is the tale of two young people from
completely different worlds: Kennedy Odede from Kibera, one of the very
largest slums in Africa, and Jessica Posner from Denver, Colorado.  Kennedy
foraged for food, lived on the street, and taught himself to read with old
newspapers.  When an American volunteer gave him a book about Martin Luther
King, teen-aged Kennedy decided he was going to change his life and his
community. He bought a soccer ball and started a youth empowerment group he
called Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO). Then in 2007, Wesleyan
University undergraduate Jessica Posner spent a semester abroad in Kenya
working with SHOFCO.  Breaking all convention (and without telling my
parents), I decided to live in Kibera with Kennedy and his family, and we
fell in love.  This is our love story, but also the tale of SHOFCO and the
students of the Kibera School for Girls.

Above all it is a story of community and in that spirit I am reaching out
to you.

The book has gotten some great early reviews that you can read here:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-229285-8
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kennedy-odede/find-me-unafraid/

Shining Hope for Communities
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.shininghopeforcommunities.org_&d=AwMFaQ&c=wbMekZ1iboz3wtx3lILI8YgCUSSh7g3G58syakvKORs&r=XbyuqNYoBcp4qPT0H355llAfpclB46Hd98c_Sw15DIc&m=v6PqYaWdI0IS5SqIqAVruiUko12Bv2X-TiDFwPxLo4Y&s=SiaY4AMpZW44zyaIaxLtwJcc4bbBAKO81pcredij0SA&e=>
(SHOFCO)
combats extreme poverty and gender inequity by linking their school for
girls to high-value, holistic community services for the urban poor. In
this model, a girls’ school becomes a portal for large-scale social change
– an innovative approach to bring gender equality to urban poor communities
inviting both men and women to participate in the solution.  SHOFCO's
model expands beyond the School for Girls and broadens its outreach by
providing the community-at-large with integrated services through health
care, economic empowerment, and clean water.  Currently, SHOFCO is scaling
this model to transform urban communities across Kenya's urban slums.  The
organization plans to serve well over 76,000 people this year.

At SHOFCO, we are thinking big and have created a campaign to get
#FindMeUnAfraid on the New York Times Bestseller List.  This is not an easy
achievement and so this is where we all come in.  I have pledged to get 100
copies pre-ordered in the next month.  Can I count on you to help get me
there?

We need as many people as possible to pre-order the book.  The cost of the
book varies slightly by vendor but is approximately $13-$18 for the hard
cover.  It is available for pre-order on amazon
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.amazon.com_gp_product_0062292854_ref-3Das-5Fli-5Ftl-3Fie-3DUTF8-26camp-3D1789-26creative-3D9325-26creativeASIN-3D0062292854-26linkCode-3Das2-26tag-3Dfinmeuna-2D20-26linkId-3D6BIQG7PQP6VG4EWQ&d=AwMFaQ&c=wbMekZ1iboz3wtx3lILI8YgCUSSh7g3G58syakvKORs&r=XbyuqNYoBcp4qPT0H355llAfpclB46Hd98c_Sw15DIc&m=v6PqYaWdI0IS5SqIqAVruiUko12Bv2X-TiDFwPxLo4Y&s=F3RpvjzeUgligSZapKaLYv_4NmuKF4-zNfBuarDFwVA&e=>
or
you can use this link www.findmeunafraid.com to see all the options for
pre-ordering and to learn more about the book.  It’s also a great link to
share with friends and family to encourage them to purchase the book as
well.

So how does purchasing the book help SHOFCO you may be asking?  A couple of
ways:

1.     For every book pre-ordered there is an anonymous donor who has
committed to donating $31.99 to SHOFCO, so with each pre-order we can help
that donation grow.

2.     Amazon will also give a portion of the proceeds to SHOFCO if you
order using the pre-order amazon link above or this full link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062292854/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062292854&linkCode=as2&tag=finmeuna-20&linkId=6BIQG7PQP6VG4EWQ
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.amazon.com_gp_product_0062292854_ref-3Das-5Fli-5Ftl-3Fie-3DUTF8-26camp-3D1789-26creative-3D9325-26creativeASIN-3D0062292854-26linkCode-3Das2-26tag-3Dfinmeuna-2D20-26linkId-3D6BIQG7PQP6VG4EWQ&d=AwMFaQ&c=wbMekZ1iboz3wtx3lILI8YgCUSSh7g3G58syakvKORs&r=XbyuqNYoBcp4qPT0H355llAfpclB46Hd98c_Sw15DIc&m=v6PqYaWdI0IS5SqIqAVruiUko12Bv2X-TiDFwPxLo4Y&s=F3RpvjzeUgligSZapKaLYv_4NmuKF4-zNfBuarDFwVA&e=>

3. If you are able to order more than 5 books, please use CEO reads which
gives a discount for bulk orders and you can easily order online here.
They make great holiday gifts!
http://800ceoread.com/products/find-me-unafraid-kennedy-odede-jessica-posner-english?selected=230787

4.     Advocacy and ambassadorship.  The more ambassadors they have like
ourselves to help get their amazing story shared the more people will know
about SHOFCO and the Kibera School for Girls and with that added exposure
there will hopefully be more opportunities for the girls as they move onto
high school and college. The book is also a wonderful tool to promote the
kind of development that actually works in the world’s urban slums, *so
send this message on! *

If you or anyone in your network still needs convincing here are some great
links to check out.  Kennedy and I, along with SHOFCO have been featured on
five occasions by Nicholas Kristof,
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2011_09_29_opinion_kristof-2Djust-2Dlook-2Dat-2Dwhat-2Dyou-2Ddid.html-3Fsrc-3DISMR-5FHP-5FLI-5FMST-5FFB-26-5Fr-3D0&d=AwMFaQ&c=wbMekZ1iboz3wtx3lILI8YgCUSSh7g3G58syakvKORs&r=XbyuqNYoBcp4qPT0H355llAfpclB46Hd98c_Sw15DIc&m=v6PqYaWdI0IS5SqIqAVruiUko12Bv2X-TiDFwPxLo4Y&s=rJNsIUHS9-BiVZc7bXgZRT-8k3p9XAXzsSqc-o7PMSc&e=>
and
in Kristof's book and documentary series "A Path Appears."   Nicholas
Kristof recently called Kennedy the "next Mandela" on NPR
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.npr.org_templates_story_story.php-3FstoryId-3D250204535&d=AwMFaQ&c=wbMekZ1iboz3wtx3lILI8YgCUSSh7g3G58syakvKORs&r=XbyuqNYoBcp4qPT0H355llAfpclB46Hd98c_Sw15DIc&m=v6PqYaWdI0IS5SqIqAVruiUko12Bv2X-TiDFwPxLo4Y&s=wZ54y-WCIy3jdFm7gWn26BmGFoDXpP8CueAV_gpLhlE&e=>
.  Chelsea Clinton has visited and reported on Shining Hope
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nbcnews.com_video_rock-2Dcenter_50502475&d=AwMFaQ&c=wbMekZ1iboz3wtx3lILI8YgCUSSh7g3G58syakvKORs&r=XbyuqNYoBcp4qPT0H355llAfpclB46Hd98c_Sw15DIc&m=v6PqYaWdI0IS5SqIqAVruiUko12Bv2X-TiDFwPxLo4Y&s=uYGhqIPtnXchuJSHKNbO1woR358MxEm_jyIcpBgvta0&e=>,
and President Clinton recently honored Kenne
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__shininghopeforcommunities.org_video_kennedy-2Dat-2Dcgiu-2Dmeeting_&d=AwMFaQ&c=wbMekZ1iboz3wtx3lILI8YgCUSSh7g3G58syakvKORs&r=XbyuqNYoBcp4qPT0H355llAfpclB46Hd98c_Sw15DIc&m=v6PqYaWdI0IS5SqIqAVruiUko12Bv2X-TiDFwPxLo4Y&s=I_vHUupEqHpSjnJfkOJExElRCYg5fTpcsRx1BipVF6c&e=>dy
and
I for our breakthrough model.  Nicholas Kristof wrote the forward to our
book.

Here are a few videos that really capture the spirit and energy of the
girls we serve.

Kibera School for Girl's students sing about their dreams "I Know I Can"
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NexqrXbJM-Q>

This is a profoundly moving story called "A Girl's Life"
<https://vimeo.com/98016344>

 THANK YOU!

Jessica + Kennedy

-- 
Jessica Posner Odede| Chief Operating Officer & Co-founder

US: (860) 218-9854 x 1
Kenya: + 254 710 560 771
www.shofco.org
*Pre-Order our upcoming book Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss & Hope in an
African Slum here:*
http://www.findmeunafraid.co