I'm so excited to say that I put the deposit down for my first excursion a couple of days ago meaning as soon as I get confirmation it is all booked!
This trip is the one with RealGap to Zambia and Botswana, and I'm especially looking forward to this one as it's reminiscent of the trip my brother Glen made with Camps International to Tanzania a couple of years ago. At the time I was so jealous of him! I'd been researching and planning a big project trip like this for a while before he went- but it worked out well for me as he now has all the kit I'll be needing so I won't need to buy it! Although he doesn't know this yet..!
Friday 28 September 2012
Thursday 27 September 2012
Donating made easy...
Here's a clever tool I found that allows your donations to come straight to me through PayPal. I hope through writing this blog I can inspire you to support my trips as you get to know me and my causes. Thanks!
http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/6f70f4f2092e82bc
Fundraising- harder than it sounds!
In my future career, I'd love to work for a charity.
Teasing money out of working people's pockets for good causes is definitely a worthwhile way to spend your life, as far as I'm concerned. It benefits everyone- the charities through raising awareness and furthering their work, and it gives the sponsors something to feel good about.
However, people only like to give their hard-earned cash away to something they feel is a worthy cause, especially when economically times are hard. Which is why fundraising is having to become more dynamic and adventurous- people like to see that they are getting something for their money too, whether it is a fantastic event or concert, a world record breaking attempt or just something they haven't seen before.
Everyone has sponsored a run or a cycle- so it's up to fundraisers to come up with something innovative and interesting.
I've always noticed that the charities that get the most attention in the media or at music festivals are actively giving something back to their supporters, whether this is with free stuff at stalls (stuff that people will actually find useful like a blanket or a hat, rather than a logo pen), or through actual human interaction on a personal level.
This is my challenge as I attempt to fundraise a large sum of money for my gap year. I need to get out there and get to know my supporters so they feel connected with my cause. After all, while this is my gap year and a great experience for me, I'll ultimately be helping vulnerable communities that need volunteers.
My ideas so far include getting my (rather small) local community involved in an event, such as a themed night at the local pub, as this will be a great way to emotionally connect my potential sponsors with the communities I'll be helping abroad.
If you are feeling inspired to donate, send me a message and we can have a chat!
It begins!
Hi everyone! So this is it- the fundraising for my gap year has begun!
Just as an outline I’ll explain my general plan for next year after I graduate- I’ll be doing a mixture of organised project volunteering and travelling around the world for just over a year. Obviously I’m not going to ask you all to sponsor my travelling, as it’s pretty much just a scary way of going on holiday, but for the project volunteering especially the ICS project which is government backed, they require at least some of the funds to come from fundraising I’m doing myself, as a way for me to learn valuable experience and skills, which is particularly helpful for me as it’s what I want to do as a career when I get home from my adventures. The three projects I’ll be working with are:
• ICS (3 months) on community development projects either in Palestine, Burkina Faso, Bolivia or Ghana (TBC). This project works to protect and promote the rights of women, people with disabilities, children and young people, and people living with HIV and AIDS. As an ICS volunteer with International Service, I could be doing practical and hands-on work, for example helping local people and getting involved with activities and workshops, or I might be more ‘office-based’, for example doing research or designing training and contributing to strategic work that reaches hundreds or even thousands of people.
For more info: http://www.ics-uk.org.uk/who-runs-ics/international-service.asp#0
• Real Gap (1 month) doing community volunteering, such as building homes and volunteering in a local school, in Zambia and Botswana.
For more info: http://www.realgap.co.uk/zambia-building-and-wildlife-experience#highlights
• Outreach International (10 weeks), which supports a vulnerable community on the Pacific coast of Mexico through giving community support and helping children, teaching English, administration, fund raising and marketing of their craft products.
For more info: http://outreachinternational.co.uk/mexico/projects/the_rubbish_dump_community.html
The grand total for these three projects including flights, and therefore my fundraising target, is
Just as an outline I’ll explain my general plan for next year after I graduate- I’ll be doing a mixture of organised project volunteering and travelling around the world for just over a year. Obviously I’m not going to ask you all to sponsor my travelling, as it’s pretty much just a scary way of going on holiday, but for the project volunteering especially the ICS project which is government backed, they require at least some of the funds to come from fundraising I’m doing myself, as a way for me to learn valuable experience and skills, which is particularly helpful for me as it’s what I want to do as a career when I get home from my adventures. The three projects I’ll be working with are:
• ICS (3 months) on community development projects either in Palestine, Burkina Faso, Bolivia or Ghana (TBC). This project works to protect and promote the rights of women, people with disabilities, children and young people, and people living with HIV and AIDS. As an ICS volunteer with International Service, I could be doing practical and hands-on work, for example helping local people and getting involved with activities and workshops, or I might be more ‘office-based’, for example doing research or designing training and contributing to strategic work that reaches hundreds or even thousands of people.
For more info: http://www.ics-uk.org.uk/who-runs-ics/international-service.asp#0
• Real Gap (1 month) doing community volunteering, such as building homes and volunteering in a local school, in Zambia and Botswana.
For more info: http://www.realgap.co.uk/zambia-building-and-wildlife-experience#highlights
• Outreach International (10 weeks), which supports a vulnerable community on the Pacific coast of Mexico through giving community support and helping children, teaching English, administration, fund raising and marketing of their craft products.
For more info: http://outreachinternational.co.uk/mexico/projects/the_rubbish_dump_community.html
The grand total for these three projects including flights, and therefore my fundraising target, is
£5537
So please, if you would like to support my adventure please donate!
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