This letter was written by me this past fall. I had an opportunity to travel to St. Louis, Missouri in January and Mexico City in March over my spring break, and these were both events in which I fundraised for. In about six weeks, I was able to raise nearly $2,000 and I was able to cover the costs of attending these trips. I printed out and signed this letter and mailed it to nearly 50 families, consisting of both family and friends. I think that at a first glance, this artifact demonstrates great communication skills and persistence. Asking people for money is a very intimidating thing to do, and it is something many people avoid or something that they will try to beat around the bush for when making the actual ask for money. In my letter, I am pretty direct with making the ask for financial support, and I think the physical act of mailing out fundraising letters to close family and friends shows a persistent mindset of doing something and being active about it.

On a deeper level, I think this letter is an extraordinary example showcasing what has become the most important thing in my life, my faith. This artifact is one of the truest, most heartfelt things I have written, because I shared part of my own testimony of how my faith became a large part of my life. It puts a huge emphasis on the values important to me, such as service, which I think is beneficial for any reader viewing my portfolio to see. It is authentic of me talking about how I feel called to serve others and why this is significant, and it clearly demonstrates how I incorporate serving others into what I do in my life.