In her own words: The History of Ashleigh’s Army
 It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. And so it was for me, a naive twelve-year old flipping through family friends’ vacation photos. Contaminated water, scarcity of food, inadequate hygiene, and hopelessness were obvious in the pictures of the poor villagers. Most alarming was the photograph of a frail girl, barefoot, crying and clutching a chicken. I had to help, so I collected and shipped over 250 pairs of sneakers to the village of Sosua, Dominican Republic…a beginning.
Inspired by the photographs of villagers scrambling for the sneakers, I was compelled to do more. I called local businesses, mailed flyers, and spoke to various groups about this developing country. The result? I collected dental hygiene supplies and over 600 pairs of shoes, and then personally traveled to the island village where I distributed the items. I witnessed firsthand the magnitude of the needs and knew that I had to recruit more volunteers. Knowing that education was the key to a brighter future, I added school supplies to the donation list and collected funds to help build a school, equip a clinic and set up training facilities. I spoke to student groups in order to educate them about poverty and inequalities in other countries. Their response gave me hope.
 By 2002, my “army” had grown to thousands of adults and children from across the globe. I had built an army of volunteers, raised over thousands of dollars for safe housing and provided over 11,000 educational, medical, and dental hygiene supplies for the village. I founded Ashleigh’s Student Army based on the belief that teenagers could change the world and that “the future begins with us.” Pictures of teenagers building the walls of a home dramatically demonstrate the power of will and commitment, vivid reminders that walls of ignorance can be torn down by the giving of oneself.
By helping to change a small corner of the world, by proving that teenagers can make a positive difference in society, and by educating people to reach out, I now believe more strongly than ever that “You can if you will.” Thanks to the efforts of Ashleigh’s Student Army, children are being educated, parents are learning job skills, and families have safe housing and clean water. The photos tell it all…living conditions have dramatically improved and the future looks brighter.
How it all began...
 On a scorching hot day in the spring of 1998, a tiny Haitian girl stands barefoot on a gravel road wearing a torn dress and clutching a chicken as tears run down her dirty face. This photographic image is the way I was introduced to the world’s inequities and the poverty that infested the small village of Sosua in the Dominican Republic. Here, people live in musty tin shacks, sleep on dirt floors, drink contaminated water, are malnourished, and all have a look of despair. These inequities ignited a flame of determination that changed how I viewed and lived life.
Incensed, yet inspired, I founded Ashleigh’s Student Army. It began when I showed classmates the photo of the girl that resulted in the collection of 250 pairs of sneakers. Empowered by how much my friends and I accomplished in a short time, I vowed to do more. In 2000, I traveled to Sosua and visited Villa Redencion, distributing hundreds of supplies to the Haitian refugees who lived there among the Dominican poor. As my family left the compound that day, adults mournfully outstretched their scrawny hands through the barbed wire to touch us one last time. The line of inequality was obvious, but I had been one of the first to cross that line. The trip would change my life forever. My goal, in time, was to make the line fade and eventually disappear.
 With the village’s major benefactor, I solicited donations and the help of medical professionals. My Army organized volunteers, collected and distributed over 15,000 medical, educational and clothing items. In time, we helped to build a community - a school, a playground, new shelters, and refueled lives full of hope for a brighter future. The Army’s motto, “The future begins with us” lives in everything we do. In the past five years, I have networked with over 3,000 student and adult volunteers, building bridges of support, understanding and hope.
While it has been complicated dealing with island politics and human ignorance and indifference, the results of each service trip prove any difficulties to be worthwhile. In 2002, after soliciting thousands in donations, I led a group of teenage girls to Villa Redencion where we physically built four two-room cinder block homes with running water and electricity. As we built the walls of hope, I realized that we were simultaneously tearing down walls of ignorance. On our annual service trips each spring, teenagers transform their thinking, actions and lives as they begin to realize the awesome potential they possess, the impact they can have, and the pride they can take in changing one little corner of the world.
That original flame of determination continues to burn bright within me and has affected all that I do. My college plans include continued work with Ashleigh’s Student Army, because the message of hope for all people lies in the belief that “The future begins with us.”
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