When Givesome launches in a couple months we will not be another site asking for your money. We won’t expect big cheques. We won’t even send reminders that mention money. And we promise not to hound you or guilt you or bite. We want to work with you. We realize how important each person is when it comes to pooling our resources and making a difference. We believe in you. And we believe that deep down, regardless of the pressures and responsibilities that come with each day, you want to be someone who makes an impact, who matters, who cares.
That’s why I thought it was important to create a donation site for people, not donors. For now, lets forget about the charity or the money needed or the shortfall to overcome. If it’s true when it’s said that there are enough resources and money and people to overcome the local and global dilemmas we all know exist, then it makes sense to offer an opportunity that includes everyone. Something with a different emphasis and a different goal. A friend of mine said it perfectly a few days ago when he said, ‘I’ve never really been a person who gives because I’ve never really looked at it this way before.”
When there’s pressure and expectation I find it hard to be happy when I give. But when I discover an opportunity or something or someone I connect with I actually find myself enjoying it.
So what if for now, we forgot about the charity, the amount needing to be raised and the pressure to give. And what if we focused on the person and a specific opportunity. When I got the chance for the first time to connect with what interests me I met people like Kamati and Niki and Wayne and Happy and Moises and Villo and Joe and ‘Mama’. A guy nicknamed ‘Teach’ and Mr. Ovukipe. These were people who became friends and showed me that helping, serving and giving doesn’t need to be blind. I discovered there were people and projects that really interested me. I was drawn to projects that fit who I was and what I loved and even more so when I could see who was being impacted. As soon as giving moved from a cheque that I wrote to a person that I could see, everything changed.
The first of the 5 things that makes Givesome Givesome, is that we want to introduce people to other people. And we want to offer an opportunity to help with a specific project or need. We’re partnering with good charities that are doing good work, but right now it’s about the ability to connect with a person or project that interests you. No pressure on what charity to work with or big theme to get behind. That will come later. This is a chance to meet people, find out about specific needs, see what kind of ‘stuff’ out there interests you. Is it school supplies for a classroom? Soccer balls for a sports team? Clean water for a community? Medication for a sick person? Is it shelter or crops, education, nutrition or bicycles? Maybe it’s something substantial like a surgery for man named Andrew. Or something simple like a pair of shoes and a blanket for a fourth grader.
Whatever it is, we want to help you discover what gets you excited. You’ll see all kinds of different projects and people that you can help for just a few bucks. You’ll learn a little about them beforehand and afterwards you’ll see exactly what you did by helping. You can get involved in a whole bunch of different projects for different people and see you’re making a difference.
There’s a million ways you can help and matter to someone else. We all have it within us. And we can’t wait to show you.
