Greetings! This will be my last issue until the end of summer. In less than two weeks I will be flying to Amsterdam and then to Vilnius, Lithuania, where my friend from IBM days, who has gone there for the past few summers, and I will be working with school administrators under the auspices of A.P.P.L.E. (American Professional Partnership for Lithuanian Education) to help make improvements in their education system.
Although free from fifty years of Russian rule for the past eighteen years, Lithuania still faces the challenges of keeping their teens in school until graduation and confronting the problem of bullying--not so different from our American school challenges.
This year's theme for the training this summer is "Education for Social Responsibility in the Twenty-first Century." My concentration will be on training administrators on how to implement a program called "Kids Mentoring Kids," a program similar to the work I've been doing this year with "at risk" kids from a local urban high school, a rough, tough school, populated with kids from all over the world. There have been shootings in front of the school, at basketball games, and in the parking lot. Walking through the halls when the bell rings is a frightening experience to which I can attest, and yet the group of kids I worked with, training them to be mentors, was wonderful!
"Kids Mentoring Kids" produces winners on both sides of the coin. Although "at risk" eighth and ninth graders are targeted as potential mentees and are the ones who would obviously benefit from the acceptance, validation, and guidance they get from their mentors, it is the mentors who most surprised us with their comments at last week's meeting.
Here are a few of their comments on what the program has meant to them so far:
"I've met new kids and I've learned that I can be a better leader myself, for the program."
"I like the fact that I can be trusted and that I can help someone else."
"I have increased my leadership potential, increased my confidence in myself by helping someone else."
"I know that I need someone to talk to sometimes - being there for someone else is great."
"I've learned that I can be a bigger person, a person to go in a time of trouble."
If we could multiple these types of comments particularly among "at risk" kids, wouldn't that be a real coup, a really satisfying experience! We, in the United States, lose 50% of our kids before they graduate--a startling statistic, especially because those of us who live in beautiful suburban areas have 95% of our kids going on to higher education.
When I return, I'll let you know how it went and I'll start giving out more information about how to get this program into schools. I'm meeting with the superintendent of our schools in this beautiful town in August to start the program here--it's for everyone. Couldn't you use a mentor to provide total acceptance, validation, and guidance? I could!
Happy Summer,
Happy, happy,
Gail
P.S. Check out my bookstore on amazon.com.
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Feature Article:
SAMPLE LETTER OF AGREEMENT
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We are nearing the end of the information about Financial Success Through Seminars. Only one or two segments remain. If anyone is interested in having the entire 67 page e-book, I will provide that information to you in September.
When you are contracted to speak to a group, you do want to make sure you have everything in writing in order to seamlessly fulfill expectations on your part and on the part of the group employing you. Here is a sample letter of agreement.
LETTER OF AGREEMENT Between [Your name] and ____________________
Dear ,
Subject: [Title of your seminar/workshop/talk]
[Your name] will speak to your group on . The location will be
in city, state.. This presention will be in length. It will begin at and end at .
The fee for this presentation will be plus expenses, which include round-trip fare from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey; hotel; meals; and ground transportation.
You will receive one master copy of the handout material, which will be tailored to your organization's program. This will be mailed 30 days prior to the program date. This master copy will then be reproduced by you in sufficient number for each participant to receive one copy.
[Your company name] reserves the right to make available for sale books and learning cassette programs.
No tape recorder, audio or visual, may be used without the expressed, prior written permission of [your name].
Upon receipt of a 10 percent deposit of and this signed letter, the proposed date will be reserved for you.
The balance of will be given to [your name] prior to the presentation. All expenses will be billed.
[Your name] [Your company name]
By: , President By: Dated
#9 BACK OF ROOM SALES
SALES ITEMS: article reprints, special reports (5-10 pages), videos, books, booklets, bookmarks, tips sheets
Letter of agreement from How to Make It BIG In the Seminar Business, Paul Karasik. If you are in the seminar business, this book is a "must have," even though the second edition came out in 2004.
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Quote of the Day
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The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches,
but to reveal to him his own.
--Benjamin Disraeli
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