New York City – Social impact innovator Advancement for Rural Kids, Inc. (ARK) is hosting GAME NIGHT, a legendary benefit and thrilling night of games, cocktails, delectable, and impact, on October 19, 2017 at 2E 79th Street in New York City.
ARK will be celebrating a momentous year together with its partner rural communities who want to invest in themselves and have the courage to go against the grain of handouts. This year, a partner community in the Philippines completed the three-year award-winning ARK Lunch program and is now funding the program on their own. Also, the first batch of scholars that stayed in school because of the ARK Lunch are graduating from college. The ARK Lunch ends hunger and malnutrition, gets kids back to school, buys from parents and their communities, and creates a new path for communities to secure their food, schooling and income for life.
ARK Lunch Garden – sustainable, healthy
ARK Mangoso parents work together for the project
Jen Furer, ARK’s Chief of Scholars, is excited about this year. “This year is a big deal for ARK’s scholarship program that’s why I believe GAME NIGHT is an important get together,” Furer said. “We have to celebrate those who tirelessly support ARK because without their faith in the program, 12 college scholars wouldn’t have the opportunity to go and graduate from college. Most of these kids are the first in their family to go to college.” “We also have to celebrate the ARK partner communities. “ Furer added, “These kids, they work really hard to stay in school and now – 2 will be graduating in March, and 10 are in their third year in college. I joined the ARK Team almost 4 years ago after I met Ayesha at Makilala TV. What I love about ARK’s scholarship program is that it’s not a gift or hand-out. It’s a partnership, an investment. The scholars work hard and at the same time, they give back to the community.”
What makes ARK’s Lunch program different from the other programs? Co-founder Ayesha Vera-Yu, replied, “We believe that communities want to do it for themselves. We believe that they want to reclaim their dignity and they don’t want hand-outs. We have a partner community, Mangoso, that has proven to other people right now that they can do the ARK lunch program. They’ve paid for it and they want to pay for it for themselves.”
On GAME NIGHT, ARK will also be honoring two incredible catalysts who invested meaningfully to make this impact happen: Brad Tully, Managing Director at JP Morgan, and Miguel Gonzalez, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Cortburg Retirement Planning. Proceeds from GAME NIGHT will bring the ARK Lunch to other communities in the Philippines and developing world; and enable kids to achieve their dreams to go to high school and college. (A press release from ARK. Featured photo are the ARK scholars with ARK co-founder Ayesha Vera Yu.)
Tickets start at $95 and are available at gamenight.eventbee.com. Cocktails and bites start at 6pm, and games start at 7pm. Please contact Adrian Bonifacio at partner@ruralkids.org for any inquiries and partnership opportunities. Advancement for Rural Kids (ARK) gets kids back to school and creates income with their communities starting with its 5 cent protein and vegetable lunch (ARK Lunch). ARK is ridiculously serious about creating solutions with the community. It only invests in communities that invest in themselves and only in solutions that they can afford. ARK tracks impact and cash flows, and creates a better future for all involved in the journey. ARK has been recognized by the Asian Development Bank and other organizations for its innovative approach and focus on sustainability. It is a 501(c)(3) organization in the US and welcomes support from all over the world. To learn more about ARK and its award-winning lunch program, visit www.ruralkids.org
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