A Conversation With Laura Bush
canadian goose jacket I recently had the chance to talk with former First Lady Laura Bush, who has, along with many members of her family, worked hard on behalf of the homeless young people we serve at Covenant House. In 2009 she received Covenant House’s Beacon of Hope Award for her life of advocacy and service to young people. In 2011 she traveled to California to meet with the young cheap Canada Goose people, volunteers and donors of Covenant House there. This year, we are creating a college scholarship program for homeless, unaccompanied canadian goose jacket youth in honor of her and her daughter, Barbara. Both women are chairs for Covenant House’s 40th Anniversary Night of Broadway Stars concert this June in New York City. I wanted to hear more about her interest in helping homeless young people and the reason she is so passionate about education. We spoke last Thursday. canadian goose jacket
K: Mrs. Bush, it’s good to Canada Goose Jackets talk with you again. You’re such a great advocate for children and young people, and it seems like you have been most of your life, yes?
buy canada goose jacket LB: I’ve always Canada Goose Parka loved children, Kevin. When I was working with children as a librarian, I loved being with them and working around them. And most of the children I met came from wonderful, safe and stable homes. But not all of canada goose them. Some children, I could tell, were suffering. They didn’t have that loving family to help them, to protect them. buy canada goose jacket They didn’t have someone to take care of them. buy canada goose jacket
Canada Goose online K: In Spoken from the Heart, you canada goose store wrote about the years you spent traveling across the nation, drawing attention to the work of organizations that were helping children and young people as part of the Helping America’s Youth initiative. Why was that important to you? Canada Goose online
Canada Goose sale LB: I have always admired organizations that help children grow and learn, and organizations that protect and shelter children when Canada Goose Coats On Sale no one else canada goose uk shop does. That’s why I so admire Covenant House you’re there for these young people when they have no one else, nowhere else to turn. And I wanted to draw attention to these organizations and recognize the contributions they were making to the country and to our children in particular. Canada Goose sale
K: You’ve emphasized education as a cornerstone for opportunity, particularly for girls canada goose clearance sale and women around the globe. Why is that?
LB: Education is the key. With a really good education, you have a much broader view of the world. Well educated people can seek help for themselves. They can help others. Educated people can make their own choices about their governments. And certainly for women, an education allows you to understand your rights. We see all around the world where women’s rights are denied, where governments don’t believe in educating their girls. There are 800 million people in the world who are illiterate and 75 percent of them are women and girls.
K: I didn’t know that. Seventy five percent?
canada goose LB: Yes, and that’s because in many developing countries, girls don’t go to school. buy canada goose jacket cheap They stay home. They are at the water wells, bringing water back and forth to the village. Or they are doing chores, preparing meals, farming. Some cultures think girls and women shouldn’t be educated, and those are very often the places where the treatment of women and girls is the worst. canada goose
K: You’re chairing the Women’s Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute and you often speak out on behalf of women’s freedom, particularly in Afghanistan. Why are you so passionate about this?
Canada Goose Parka LB: For countries to succeed, for democracies to succeed, the women and men in those countries need to be free. Women and men cheap canada goose uk need to know their rights. And women have a better chance to secure freedom and protect themselves from violence, from abuse, from injustice, if they are well educated and know their rights. Canada Goose Parka
canada goose clearance K: Your daughters are following in your footsteps, making important contributions to the world, and to children in particular. Jenna worked with UNICEF and also worked as a teacher here in the United States, and Barbara founded the Global Health Corps and serves on the Board of Covenant House International. That must make you proud. canada goose clearance
cheap Canada Goose LB: It does really make me proud. I am proud of both of my girls. They learned from their grandmother Barbara Bush and from my mother, who turns 93 in July and who I am going to visit tomorrow in Midland. And the girls learned from their grandfathers Canada Goose sale as well. All of their grandparents lived in a way that exemplified this lesson: when you reach out to others in need, when you reach out to the world, you really do have a satisfying life by helping others. I am so glad both of the girls saw it. cheap Canada Goose
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canada goose coats on sale LB: It is hard at times to be a president’s child, as George and I know very well, but it has so many advantages. The girls met so many people who inspired them. Their work today was shaped by the people they met and the causes canada goose clearance that touched them. Jenna, for example, with her interest in teaching, was just so moved when she met Wendy Kopp, the CEO and Founder of Teach for America. canada goose coats on sale
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K: Along with your Barbara, you’re chairing Covenant House’s 40th anniversary Night of Broadway Stars concert on June 12 in New York City. Thanks so much for that.
LB: Supporting Covenant House is a family tradition. My mother in law first visited Covenant House when her husband was president. And we’ve known about and supported Covenant House for many years, both my Barbara and me. I like that. I like the idea that we are contributing to work that George’s mother started. I like this idea of generation after generation helping children on the streets, kids who have run away fleeing violence. I like the whole idea of what Covenant House does, opening arms for children who have nowhere else to go, sleeping by dumpsters.
K: It’s hard to comprehend the suffering so many kids experience, feeling alone in the world, trying to survive on the streets.
LB: I think of the story you told me once about the boy who was living with you at Covenant House in New canada goose uk black friday Jersey James whose mother told him she wished she’d had an abortion. Just the cruelty of that, and what that does to a child’s heart. All the years James lived alone on the streets, not having anywhere safe to sleep until he came into Covenant House. And when you gave James his own room, a safe place to sleep, I remember how he felt this huge relief to lie down and not worry about his safety, and how excited he was to have his own blanket. I am so grateful for the relief that Covenant House offers young people, a safe and stable home. That feeling when we go to bed at night, that we’re safe, that we belong somewhere, is such a wonderful feeling. I hope every child gets to have that feeling.
buy canada goose jacket cheap K: Next month, Barbara, you and I will be announcing a new college scholarship program for homeless youth: the Laura and Barbara Bush Opportunity Scholarship. It’s a great reflection of your commitment to education, and I know it is going to make a big difference in the lives of the recipients. buy canada goose jacket cheap
canada goose store LB: It’s wonderful. Giving homeless children the chance to be educated, giving them this ticket to their futures, is so wonderful. They will have the chance to not repeat the suffering of their childhoods in their own families. They can build secure and safe lives for themselves and their children. canada goose store
Canada Goose Jackets K: Thanks for helping canada goose outlet us to make this happen. Our discussions over the past several years inspired the idea. In fact, a lot of us Canada Goose online draw inspiration from you. Who are your sources of inspiration? Canada Goose Jackets
canada goose black friday sale LB: I’m inspired by my faith of course, and all the different people around me. My mother in law and my mom. George and I were so fortunate. Our parents lived lives of service. They helped other people, that was their second canada goose uk outlet nature; it came to them so naturally. It wasn’t forced. This is their character, and it’s a big advantage George and I have, being raised by people like this, having a secure and https://www.canadagoosejacketsoutsale.com stable life, and a lot of love and encouragement. That is what I want for children in our country and around the world: safe, stable and loving homes canada goose black friday sale.
