3rd May 2020
Open Letter of Gratitude


I am writing this letter as an open letter of gratitude to everyone that has been involved in this course. From advisors and creators to future students.  We went from concept to reality in a short time and getting to this stage has been an utterly amazing journey.

It was only a month ago I had an idea.  Wouldn’t it be nice to use this time in lock down to do something positive? People seem to be taking more online courses with their extra time, so why not create one to raise money for COVID relief.  Looking at the news and seeing how developed countries are dealing with things, I could only imagine how the developing world is going to cope.  And so was born the idea.  A global course for a global problem.  I would need global instructors.

The first person I reached out to was Oz Du Soleil.  I hardly had a concept and just mentioned what I was thinking on the off chance.  It was his immediate encouragement and support for the idea that gave me the inspiration I need to take the next steps.  Oz quickly became a much-needed advisor and his opinion, guidance and insights helped shape the creation of this course and the steps taken to get here.  I will be forever grateful to you Oz for all the support and help you gave me to get this all started.
 
The second person I reached out to was Alan Murray.  Alan is an amazing networker and he helped to attract so many awesome experts to this course.  But he also became a massive part of the co-ordination and organisation.  From following up with Experts to selecting the class topics.  I have been very honoured to have worked with you Alan and to have received such support, both day and night!  You are a shining star.  Thank you so much.  You steered a lot of this boat!

Now to all the amazing instructors.  Wow.  What can I say! It is such an honour to me that you contributed to this course and have been part of this journey.  Working with so many masters and peers is rather amazing, and you have shown how strong yet compassionate the Excel instructor community is.  Each one of you took the time out to create a class for this course and you all made it as easy as possible for me to coordinate.  I love you all.  Thank you so much.  I hope that we can all look back on our lock down time and know that we did something valuable to help.

Next are the team at GOAL, and Rakesh and the crew from Zenler.  You have all provided valuable support and help in the background and I thank you for being part of this journey with me.

Finally, last but by no means least, I would like to thank the future students.  Putting a course together is one thing, but without students we cannot raise any money.  Every single cent from the sales of this course are going towards GOAL and Covid relief in the places that need it most. In places where they are struggling to find clean water to wash their hands.  You should be immensely proud of yourself for not only being productive with your time, but also for selecting this course.

In only a month we have coordinated and created an amazing course.  I for one have gained so much, including new friendships 😊.  When this all started out as an idea, I did not think this journey was going to be so awesome.

But its not over yet. We have two weeks now to do one last push. This course is going live on Tuesday 5th of May for two weeks.  Until the 19th of May.   Prices are as low as we could go with the aim of attracting numbers. And this course offers massive value. The more we can raise the more lives we can help save.  GOAL currently need €200k for PPE alone.  I am sure together we can help make a nice dint in this target. 

So, I am asking you to include this course in your newsletters, across your social profiles, within your communities. Plug it at meetups, on podcasts and anywhere you can.   Between the 26 of us Excel Instructors, we have a massive reach.  We can make a massive impact.

Thank you all for being part of this journey, lets give it the finish it deserves.

           Much love

             Xx
             Paula Guilfoyle