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Former President Bill Clinton To Thank Connecticut Students and
Brother's Brother Foundation for Their Efforts
to Help Tsunami Victims
September 29, 2005

DANBURY, CONN. — President Bill Clinton will make a special trip to the state to personally thank Connecticut students for their fundraising efforts on behalf of those affected by the December tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. As part of a statewide relief effort, more than three hundred pre-K-12 schools statewide engaged in a variety of fund-raising initiatives, collecting more than $300,000 in donations for the tsunami victims.
The "Celebration of Thanks" will take place at 1:15 p.m. on October 3, 2005 at the William A. O’Neill Athletic and Convocation Center at Western Connecticut State University. The event is sponsored by the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS), the organization that spearheaded the statewide relief effort and served as a clearinghouse for donations from schools throughout Connecticut.
The event is designed to recognize the students of Connecticut, whose selfless efforts in the wake of the devastating tsunami resulted in an historic act of charity. The funds raised by the students were matched dollar-for-dollar by the Brother’s Brother Foundation, one of the largest international relief and development foundations in the United States. With the support of Brother’s Brother, CAS had collected enough money to fund the construction of a 1500-pupil model school in Sri Lanka, one of the areas most heavily damaged by the tsunami.
President Bill Clinton will be the featured speaker at this recognition event. A number of local and national dignitaries -- including U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), U.S. Representative Nancy Johnson (R-CT), U.S. Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT), State Senator Thomas Gaffey (D-13th), State Representative Andrew Fleishmann (D-18th), Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, and Commissioner of Education Dr. Betty Sternberg -- will also be in attendance. Senator Dodd will introduce the former president.
In the wake of the devastation and death brought by the December 2004 tsunami disaster, CAS established the Tsunami Children's Relief Effort to unite Connecticut schools in a charitable mission to provide assistance to ailing countries. The effort began in January 2005 with a "call to action" to all of Connecticut’s schools. The response was immediate and overwhelming. Schools and districts from around the state engaged in a wide variety of creative and resourceful fundraising activities. Within a two-month period, CAS had received over $175,000 in donations.
With the understanding that the construction of a new school in the tsunami-ravaged area would cost approximately $400,000, and, with a pledge from Brother’s Brother Foundation to match students’ donations dollar-for-dollar if contributions reached the $200,000 mark, CAS made a second appeal to Connecticut’s schools. Once again, the response from Connecticut’s students was extraordinary. By the middle of April, CAS had collected more than $300,000 from approximately 325 schools statewide.
Connecticut's funds will support the rebuilding of the Ariyawansa Kanista School in the town of Beruwala, Sri Lanka, located on the southeastern coast. The project will be constructed in three phases and will consist of a total of three two-story buildings. The entire construction project will be completed in six to nine months.
CAS Assistant Executive Director Dr. Robert Carroll, who coordinated the relief effort for CAS, visited Sri Lanka in May, 2005 to break ground for the new school and to meet with education officials there.

The Connecticut Association of Schools
Established in 1953, the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) is a non-profit educational organization which supports the interests of Connecticut’s K-12 schools and works to improve educational opportunities for the students of our state. A leader in Connecticut’s education community, CAS represents well over 1,000 of Connecticut’s public and parochial schools. CAS is affiliated with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Middle School Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the National Federation of State High School Associations. For more information on the Connecticut Association of Schools, visit www.casciac.org.

BBF, a 54-year old Pittsburgh-based international charity, has provided over $4 billion of medical supplies, textbooks, food, seeds, and other humanitarian supplies to people around the world in over 140 countries. With the help of gifts from the general public, corporations and the US government, in the first six months of 2011 BBF sent product contributions to those in need in 54 countries. In the same period of 2011, BBF furnished supplies for 142 medical and humanitarian hand-carry mission trips.

Forbes Magazine, the national business periodical, ranked Brother's Brother Foundation tied for first as the most efficient charities in its online ranking of the 200 largest U.S. charities. This list rates charities on how efficiently they collect and distribute donations.
Brother's Brother Foundation received 100 % or higher rating in charitable commitment, donor dependency and fundraising efficiency.

Donations to assist with shipping costs are greatly appreciated. Credit card donations can be made by calling Brother's Brother Foundation at 412-321-3160. Checks should be made out to Brother's Brother Foundation and sent to:
Brother's Brother Foundation
1200 Galveston Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15233

For additional information, please contact:
Karen Dempsey, Vice President Development/Administration @ 412-237-2324 or email: kdempsey@brothersbrother.org

Luke Hingson, President @ 412-237-2320 or email: lhingson@brothersbrother.org