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Fundraiser set to send girls to Brazil

7/9/2015, 2 p.m. | Updated on 7/9/2015, 4:24 p.m.
Twenty girls from the Richmond area have high hopes they’ll be able to travel to Brazil in August to participate …

Twenty girls from the Richmond area have high hopes they’ll be able to travel to Brazil in August to participate in the “Essence of a Goddess” cultural study program.

The girls, ages 12 to 18, have held car washes, bake sales and bowl-a-thons during the past year and are selling flip-flops at a Richmond flea market to help fund the trip slated for Aug. 6 through 21.

In Brazil, the girls will spend time in various regions, including Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and other historical sites and engage in social justice projects, workshops and various hands-on activities, said Angela Patton, CEO of “Girls for a Change,” one of five nonprofit organizations seeking to help make the dream trip come true for the girls.

They also will attend a festival celebrating a highly active spiritual society of African-Brazilian women, the oldest sisterhood in the Western Hemisphere, she said.

So far, the girls have raised about $25,000 of the $50,000 needed to make the trip, Ms. Patton said.

The nonprofits have scheduled two more fundraisers under the theme “Get Active for Brazil.” Both will be held at Trinity Family Life Center, 3601 Dill Road, on North Side.

At a cost of $25, one can choose a full body workout by instructor Maria Jones of “Body by Maria” from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 19, or a Zumba dance party by instructor Kimberley Reese of “Keeping You Moving” from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 26.

Both events will feature a fitness class, a healthy vending market and door prizes.

Anyone who purchases passes to both workout sessions will be entered in a chance to win a 2015 Kia Sol automobile, Ms. Patton said.

For more information on the events: www.girlsforachange.org or (804) 852-4385.