The fourth annual Letters of Hope event went off without a hitch on March 20 with 70 participants huddled together for a great cause.

All the students in the cafeteria listened intently on the CEO of African Vision of Hope Judi Bertels’ presentation about the children in Zambia. She gave a wonderful presentation with personal experiences and great information on all that African Vision of Hope has done and is determined to continue doing.

At the beginning, the students were given a card with a child in Zambia’s name, favorite hobby and favorite school subject. During Mrs. Bertels’ presentation the students thoughtfully wrote a heartfelt letter to their new pen pals.

“I really liked the letter part,” senior McKenzie Chin said. “I felt like it was very personal and a nice little token for the student I was writing to.”

Mrs. Bertels’ went on to tell the students that the children in Zambia have a great desire to learn and that African Vision of Hope provides as many clean water stations as they can. African Vision of Hope has provided the students in Zambia with graduation caps and gowns, one meal a day and in some cases room and board.

This year’s annual Letters of Hope raised an estimated $500 that will be donated to African Vision of Hope for calculators for the students in Zambia.

“I think the event itself went really well this year – I received a lot of positive feedback from the students who participated,” English teacher Mrs. Nicole Pontious said.