JBFC on the Road

November 11, 2013 4:34 pm Published by

Twice a year, JBFC goes on the road. Every November (and April), I leave my home in Tanzania and come back to my home country to visit friends and family, connect with our incredible network of supporters, and spread the word about JBFC.

We fly, drive, and catch trains in nearly half a dozen states in at least two different time zones. It’s a whirlwind of speeches and seminars, coffees and conference calls, and hugs and handshakes. It’s exhilarating and I’ll readily admit a little exhausting at times, but well worth it if we can convince one more person to help us in our fight to end extreme rural poverty in Tanzania. Here’s a little glimpse of what we’ve been up to this trip:

Miles Traveled This Trip: Roughly 18,580 Miles (Give or take a few)

U.S. States Visited: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts; Next Stop: Oklahoma



Masters School, NY

Speeches Given: 7 in 9 days



JBFC Ambassadors in Bronxville, NY
People I’ve talked to about JBFC: 1,050 in 9 days
 
 
Tower Hill School, Wilmington, DE
 
 

Travel Buddy: Ashli Sims, JBFC’s Director of Development and briefly my parents, Carene & Ron Gates who joined us for the Delaware leg

Road Trips: 2 and we’re making our 3rd up to Deerfield, Massachusetts at the writing of this blog.

U.S. Senators I’ve talked to about JBFC: 1 – Sen. Chris Coons, from Delaware

Funniest Question Asked: “Aren’t there really big scorpions there?” – A Bronxville, NY 5th Grader

Number of times my boys have called since I left Tanzania: 3

Staff emails I’ve received since I left Tanzania:

Number of times we’ve shown the JBFC video: 6 times

Number of technical difficulties with the JBFC Video: Only 1!!!!

A big thank you to all of our hosts in the U.S. – Margaret & Andy Paul, Ruth & Mark Wood, Andrew Jones and his parents for hosting the Bronxville Ambassadors, Jenny Brorsen, Kelly & David Gates, Deerfield Academy, Tower Hill School, Masters School, Bronxville Schools, Penny Ashford for the beautiful photos at our Delaware event, Gail & Brian Frederick of Joseph Frederick & Sons, who donated our beautiful event space in Delaware, Jim Agnello, Sarah Lawrence College, Jake Dollarhide of Longbow Management who will soon host us in Tulsa, Ok and last but not least my loving parents – Carene & Ron Gates.

Find more JBFC on the Road pictures on Facebook and Instagram.

I’ll be back in April. If you would like me to come speak to your school or church, please email info@jbfc-online.org.

 

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This post was written by Mainsprings