Profile of Courageous Leadership: Jeremy Slagle

My name is Jeremy Slagle, and I own a small graphic design business called Slagle Design. I live in Columbus, Ohio with my wife Becky, our two children, and our dog, Scout.

After visiting Asia’s Hope homes in Cambodia in 2012 and again with my family in 2013, I knew I felt called to get more involved. When you think about the magnitude of the orphan care crisis on the other side of the world, it can seem overwhelming. While I was there, though, I recognized the importance of bicycles and motor scooters to the people of Southeast Asia and especially to the kids living at Asia's Hope homes. For these children, a quality education can mean the difference between a lifetime of grinding poverty and a successful, self-sufficient future. One of the biggest obstacles to getting this education is the ability to get to school, so I started EduGo to raise funds to help Asia's Hope provide safe, reliable transportation.

Last year, we hosted our first ever Road to Success Ride and were able to raise enough money to purchase almost 50 bicycles for the Asia's Hope kids. I have visited Cambodia four times now, and it is always an absolute joy to see the kids riding off to school on their bicycles, knowing that the education they receive will help them transform not only their own lives, but also their communities, their countries and the world. It makes me realize that God does really cool things when you ask Him to provide and when you're in His will doing something that is close to His heart.

I'm not one of those people who separates my spiritual life from my secular life, and this opportunity to be involved with Asia's Hope has just permeated everything in a really cool way.

As a business owner, being involved with Asia's Hope is one of the best things I've done. It gives me a chance to share my values and engage with people personally. People that I work with - clients and business partners - really get on board with the idea of saving children from trafficking and from sweat shops, giving them an opportunity to have a better life. When I run into people I've worked with, their first question is often, "How are the kids in Cambodia?" And I love that - I would rather people know me because of my involvement with Asia's Hope before I would want them to know about my involvement with graphic design. 

I also love Asia's Hope because of the opportunity to form real, long-term relationships with the children and staff. 

There are a lot of wonderful organizations you could support that are doing great things in the world. But one of the reasons we chose to go deep with Asia's Hope is because of the opportunity to form relationships. My church has partnered with an Asia's Hope home for ten years, and I feel like I've watched these kids grow up alongside my own children. It's amazing to have extended family on the other side of the world, and these relationships have brought me and my family tremendous joy. And it's even more awesome to be able to share that joy with the people I come into contact with through my business. I'd encourage you to contact Asia's Hope to find out how you can get involved too.

To hear more from Jeremy, check out the video above. 

To learn more about EduGo, visit their website.

Learn how Asia's Hope can guide your family, your church or your business into courageous leadership on behalf of the world's most vulnerable children. Contact us today.

"God does really cool things when you ask Him to provide and when you’re in His will doing something that is close to His heart."

"I would rather people know me because of my involvement with Asia's Hope before I would want them to know about my involvement with graphic design. "