Givology Spiders hold letter campaign in Forum

For students at the Circle of Peace School in Uganda, something as small as a book or pencil makes a tremendous impact, said senior Samantha Reis, president for Givology Spiders.

Richmond students had the chance to make an impact when Givology Spiders held a letter campaign in the University Forum from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

"The letter campaign is an opportunity for students to write letters to children at the school," Reis said. "Richmond students who wrote letters last year will also get a chance to see what students in Uganda wrote back."

Markers and stickers were provided for those who wrote letters, Reis said.

"We think that's what the children respond best to," Reis said. "We just ask that students write about things the children can relate to."

Sophomore Chelsea DeRose, a Givology Spiders member, said last year had been the first time the organization had held the letter campaign.

"We stopped students on their way to dinner and had them write and decorate letters," DeRose said. "We encourage kids, staff and faculty to stop by again this year."

The Circle of Peace School was founded by Joanita Senoga in 1994. Senoga is a former librarian at Richmond who also helped found Givology Spiders. Reis and senior David Davenport both said she had been a key reason they had joined the organization.

Davenport has been working with the organization since his freshman year. He even visited the Circle of Peace School in the summer of 2011.

He also encouraged students to recognize the young audience they would be writing for.

"We talk about very basic stuff [in the letters]," Davenport said. "We say hey to the kids, ask their favorite colors and encourage them to continue with their studies and work hard in school."

Davenport said last year's letter campaign had meant a lot to the children in Uganda.

"It exposes them to a world that exists outside of their village," Davenport said. "It lets them know that there are people outside the country who care about them and want them to do well and succeed."

The campaign collected around 50 letters from Richmond students last year, Davenport said. He has no empirical goal for this year's campaign.

"Personally, I don't have goals," Davenport said. "Every letter counts for these kids. I'll be happy if we get 10 letters, 50 letters or 100 letters."

Contact reporter Scott Himelein at scott.himelein@richmond.edu