I'm 18 years old and have lived on the small island of Orcas in the Puget Sound my entire life. I’ve always felt like it is so easy for people to get lost in their everyday routine and I didn't want to fall into that category. I know it’s a cliché to say that I want to live a purposeful life and make a difference, but that is exactly what I want to do. For the past year my heart has been with the poverty stricken children in Africa.

It started when I went to a Josh Groban concert in March 2007 and heard his song “You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up).” That song has become the soundtrack of my life. Groban spoke of campaigning to help people impacted by HIV/AIDS in Africa, and ever since then, I’ve wanted to help. It’s often hard to remember that there are millions of people who are less fortunate and it just seems like so many people go about their everyday lives without even trying to help. I’ve always wanted to do something great for the world, but it’s Groban who really got me ticking. It’s like God spoke to me right there and then, and I can’t just let that go.

I am a senior this year and at my high school, we have to do a senior project of some sort in order to graduate. For my project (which started a year ago), I wanted to put on a benefit concert to help kids impacted by HIV/AIDS in Africa. I had no idea how I was going to go about this, but I knew that if I just trusted in the Lord, amazing things could happen.

I spent the summer of 2007 writing letters to famous people, churches, friends and family to network and see what kind of help I could get. After that, God opened so many doors for me. In July, I had the unexpected opportunity of speaking with Josh Groban about my project, and he was extremely encouraging. It seemed as if God was putting everything right in front of me. During that same time, a significant amount of money was contributed to help cover expenses for the event. This was a huge shock to me, something that I am forever grateful for.

My youth pastor helped me identify an organization to donate to called Christian Ministries in Africa. CMIA invited me to take a trip to Africa and with the incredible support of my family, friends, church, and community, I raised $6,000 in a week and a half...$2,000 more than I needed to cover my expense for the trip to Nairobi, Kenya.

That experience was unbelievable. I met many of the kids affected by HIV/AIDS. They were the most incredible kids I have ever met. This trip changed my life. It made me realize that I want to spend my life trying to make these kids’ lives better.

By this point, I'd also connected with Overlake Christian Church regarding donating the concert space and I was able to get Seattle area native Natalie Grant to appear (I'd seen Natalie before and it was great). Everything was falling in to place!

It has been very crazy trying to promote the concert, but I have spread the word to over fifteen different churches and three different colleges (you can e-vite someone now)! I hope to get many people to Overlake for this concert and help these children affected by HIV/AIDS. This has become more than just a senior project, it has become something that I want to pursue throughout my life.