For Immediate Release:
Media Contact:
Tamika Morrison
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Atlanta Nonprofit Partners to Encourage Orphans at Holidays of Hope at Chateau �lan One Hundred Days joins with Orange Duffel Bag to Encourage Young Adult Orphans During the Holidays
 Atlanta, GA - November 21, 2011 - For some young adults, the holiday season dishes up painful memories, not pleasant reminders. For those who grew up bouncing from one foster home to another, in group homes or orphanages, traditional holiday gatherings, bountiful tables and meaningful gifts are seldom offered or enjoyed. A very similar experience shared by many orphans ravaged by the Rwandan genocide. One Hundred Days, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping to build restoration in Rwanda, is joining forces with Orange Duffel Bag (ODBF), along with the gracious assistance of other Atlanta-area organizations in their new initiative - Holidays of Hope Nov. 23-27 at Chateau �lan Winery & Resort in Braselton, with accommodations, food and other amenities provided to these young adults by Chateau �lan Winery & Resort, media sponsor Points North magazine and other organizations.
Holidays of Hope will provide college students and select others (who have aged out of Foster care) the opportunity to spend the Thanksgiving holidays free-of-charge and local volunteers and Foundation mentors will tend to these young adults during the holiday break.
Linda Cox, author and board member of One Hundred Days, will share a special presentation on the Friday after Thanksgiving, encouraging the young adults in their very unique journey specifically through telling the story of her personal friends, who were orphans in Rwanda and is the basis of her book, "They Had to Run". Cox shares, "I am moved by the 'Holidays of Hope' initiative presented by Orange Duffel Bag Foundation. It mirrors a lot of what we are accomplishing in Rwanda through our organization - giving hope to a nation of orphans that they will rebuild their lives into something greater than its beginning and that's the encouragement I wish to share with the young adults of this organization."
The ODBF was founded by Sam Bracken and Echo Garrett, who combined to tell Bracken's story ("My Orange Duffel Bag: A Journey to Radical Change") of going from abused child to All-ACC Academic Football Team performer at Georgia Tech, missionary, dynamic public speaker and business person. "Sam Bracken has such an incredible story and it mirrors our goal to help communities create sustainable solutions by meeting the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the people. And by partnering with individuals and organizations like Orange Duffel Bag, we are able to use our resources and talents to help bring about lasting change," Cox explains.
A special Thanksgiving dinner buffet is slated for Thursday Nov. 24 at 6:30 p.m. A special rate per person (plus tax and tip) is available, but only for those individuals who support the OBDF financially or by volunteering their time and support to the young adults in the program. For more information please visit their website at www.OrangeDuffelBagFoundation.org.
### About One Hundred Days One Hundred Days is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded by a group of friends and neighbors in Atlanta, GA who were compelled by Christ to play a role in the restoration of Rwanda. Although we have a high level of expertise in global health and African culture, we believe that the best solutions come from trusted partnerships with indigenous leaders. Therefore we currently are partnering with Simon and Kedress Nziramekanga of the Good Shepherd Community Church in Kigali to build the only pediatric health care facility in Rwanda. To learn more please visit their websites at www.OneHundredDays.org and www.TheyHadtoRun.com. About the Orange Duffel Bag Foundation The Orange Duffel Bag Foundation provides coaching, training and ongoing mentoring to at-risk youth; support to their guardians and caring adults; and service to the community in a spirit of offering hope and enriching young lives. The 501c3 nonprofit, launched in February 2010, delivers professional level life plan coaching from certified life and executive coaches to youth (ages 12-24) who are in foster care or who have aged out, homeless youth and youth at-risk. Via a proven methodology, ODBF guides them through the process of creating their own life plans that result from the transformational change process they experience during the course. Our curriculum has been piloted in various formats with youth in foster care and at-risk middle and high school students in both Georgia and Utah. The curriculum is based on the multi-award winning My Orange Duffel Bag: A Journey to Radical Change, and its 7 Rules for the Road, a nonfiction book about a homeless teen who became a successful executive and his self-help advice for success.
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