Team Asha Chicago

The goal of Team Asha (funding education in India) is one very special to me. Earlier this year, I spent three months traveling in India through a gap year program called “Where There Be Dragons.” We spent two of those three months stationed in a northern Indian city called Varanasi. (If anyone watches the “Amazing Race” one of the recent episodes was shot there!) Our group spent this time living with a host family, learning the language and about the culture, pursuing our own interests through “Independent Study Projects,”  and volunteering with local charities and schools. I enjoyed working with a school in particular, called Little Stars. This organization provided a school for under-priveleged children by day, and a hostel for young girls who needed a safe place to stay by night. I loved riding my bike there during free time in my hectic schedule of lectures, outings, and ISP lessons. I tended to go later in the afternoon when school was out of session, so I really connected with the small group of lovely hostel girls. When I left Varanasi to head up to the Himalayas for a Buddhist retreat and weeklong trek, I left a little part of myself with all the people I had grown to love during those weeks. I could go on for pages and pages about all the amazing adventures and experiences that this trip offered me, but what really matters is that this trip has changed my life in the deepest and most fundamental of ways imaginable. And I want to give back to the people who made this experience so meaningful.

So what led me to Team Asha? Well, I ran varsity cross country and track throughout my high school career, and ran my first marathon on July 11, 2010 in Missoula, Montana. After returning from India in May, I had begun to brainstorm ways I could make a difference for my loved ones back in Varanasi, particularly the Little Stars school. Well, I found my solution in a very simple equation. Running + Fundraising for education is India=Running the Chicago Marathon with Team Asha! I am so thrilled to be part of this group and hope that, in some way, my efforts will help me express the heartfelt gratitude and love I have for the Varanasi community.

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Help Me Reach My Goal!

Please click the donate button to pay by credit card. Alternatively, mail cheques payable to: “Asha for Education” with “ Team Asha 2011 - christine ryan” printed in the memo to:
Asha for Education, Chicago Chapter
P.O Box 2283
Chicago, IL 60690-2283
Donations to Asha for Education are tax-deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Tax Code