I just had one of those “aha” moments (Thanks, Oprah!). My personal quest to connect schools with supporters through online fundraising
seems right on track. This past week, I managed to catch the organizer
of a Fundly campaign for a few minutes to hear first-hand about his
high school soccer team’s goal of giving at least 5 players an
experience with a community more challenged than their own. The team’s Fundly campaign kicked off just recently.
Coach Russell and the boys soccer team of Robert E. Lee High School
of Jacksonville, Florida have their sights set on a mission (of sorts)
to Haiti this Summer. Coach Russell is planning a trip with Many Hands For Haiti,
to assist with soccer camps during the day and to teach English at
night. This one-week trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these
high school student athletes.
The team had spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, and
Foursquare, already at the $1,800 mark of their $5,000 goal when we
caught up over the phone. Realizing they had not tapped the full
potential of Fundly, we decided to encourage personal supporter pages
for the players. Sure enough, the first player to jump on the
opportunity raised $400 on his own right away. That’s a significant
portion of the cost to send one boy on the trip.
It occurred to me, in a world where big dollar signs drive major
nonprofits and businesses to move mountains, all it takes to change the
life of a child in this way is a few hundred dollars. And the personal
connection of that boy to his community facilitated through online
fundraising via popular social media networks gives family, friends, and
community members around him the empowerment to help to change a life
with one simple act of kindness.
Best of luck, Lee High School Boys Soccer Team!
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