Exactly eight years ago today, JamQuest had its first event ever: a small basketball tournament at the Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield, Connecticut. Just a simple service project for an eighth grade assignment. Fifty people came out to support. We raised something like $2,700. That's where it was supposed to stop. We had no intention of continuing it into the next year, but God had different plans.
Since then, JamQuest has raised just under $65,000. After April we will have had 24 events in 13 different U.S. and Canadian cities. Over 30 students in Kenya have had the opportunity to go to school. Families have been changed. Communities have been changed. Futures have been altered. In 2010, we were featured on television. Mark Ottenweller came and held local school assemblies, speaking to thousands of kids. We were recognized by celebrities like Dikembe Mutombo, Phillip Rivers, and Jeff Van Gundy. We got to speak about changing the world in front of large conferences, camps, and schools. The story has spread globally.
We have become an official 501c3 non-profit organization. We have been able to go to Kenya and see first hand the work that is being done. We have helped or will help kids in the slums of Kenya, in crisis in the Philippines, through the Philadelphia Saturday Academy, through the U.S. STEM Academy, in orphanages in Indonesia, at camps in Pennsylvania, and at schools in Cambodia. Other efforts such as "Camp Stock" in Pennsylvania and new HOPE worldwide programs in Chicago have started because of JQ's story. We have expanded way beyond just being a basketball tournament. We hired two incredible interns. We hired an official part time employee. We have assembled an epic team of world-changers. And more!
But this is just the beginning.
We truly believe that it is possible to change the world. One of the biggest things we learned over the last eight years is that we can make a difference in the lives of others if we just decide to care.
To celebrate our eighth birthday, we are unveiling our brand new JamQuest video. Thank you for your amazing support over the years. We wouldn't be here without you. We hope that as you watch it, you will think about ways in which you can use what you love to serve others and will join us in our fight to help one billion kids break the cycle of poverty. It doesn't take something huge, it just takes something.