Aiko Jones, 11, has been selected to be a leadership ambassador delegate for the organization People to People and will be representing the United States as well as California.

The organization was founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 and has had eight U.S. Presidents serve as honorary chairman since. Aiko, a sixth grade student from Neil Hafley Elementary in Manteca will be going to Washington D.C. in July to participate in a leadership forum. The People to People World Leadership Forum helps prepare the world’s most promising young people for future success through leadership development and academic challenges. Candidates are nominated by their teachers then extensive screening of nominated candidates is conducted, including an in-person interview, before a leadership ambassador is selected to represent the United States.

Aiko is a multi-dimensional student with many different talents to her credit. She has achieved a 4.0 grade point average since fourth grade and recently received a perfect score of 600 in the math portion of the STAR testing. She has appeared in several ballet performances that include The Nutcracker and The Prince of Egypt.

She was a cheerleader for the Manteca Jaguars football team and ran for the Neil Hafley track team. She has also raised money for her school by participating in the Walk-Jog-a-thon.

Aiko is seeking sponsors to assist in her goal of becoming a leadership ambassador, as her goal is to raise the $2,495 tuition before May 1. If any person or business is able to sponsor Aiko so she can reach her goal, checks can be made payable to People to People World Ambassador Programs.

Their website is: www.peopletopeople.com.

Send donations to: Aiko Jones, 598 Victory Avenue, Manteca, CA 95336.