[For A Cozy, Creative Community] Final Update!
WE DID IT!
In less than four days, we reached our fundraising goal. Moreover, in the following days, we SURPASSED the goal, accumulating a final total of $3060 (€2587) from 24 donors. The original goal of €2000 will be allocated as I described before (detailed in the pie chart below). Your support and generosity will go a LONG way, and help to fund the expansion of the Green Streets activity, the continued excellence of our Events, and the new Tea Time that is sure to warm residents and volunteers alike through the winter! The extra funds will go toward the general Project Elea budget for whatever needs may emerge; from buying toilet paper for volunteers (I swear, we go through an eight-pack in two days!) to supplies for bicycle workshops with residents to biscuits for the women’s self-expression group, you will be helping to meet so many different needs and further the community’s empowerment.
As my time at Eleonas was drawing to a close, I knew that I wanted to launch a crowdfunding campaign to address some of the emerging needs at the camp. However, I doubted if it would have as much of a reach as the previous campaign towards clothing purchases that I made back in June.
Would my network want to donate again to Project Elea, just six months after donating?
Should I not start a campaign so that a future one can have more oomph?
Will people care about the same causes that I care about?
Oh ye of little faith. The support — both monetarily and through words of encouragement online and offline — was more than I could have hoped for! I have a renewed faith in the power of awareness campaigns and the generosity of human beings.
Perhaps the greatest lesson learned from all this is that if you care, someone else will care too. A personal touch to any fundraiser or awareness campaign is what makes all the difference. I’m thankful that people could sense my sincerity, trust my testimony as a volunteer, and give to a cause and organization that they otherwise know little about. I’m not saying this to brag, but to encourage all to fight hard for the causes that you’re passionate about.
As a shift leader at Project Elea these past three months, I’ve had the opportunity to pick some quotes of the day to read up front during our meetings before commencing the day’s activities. I became known for having ‘back-up quotes’, ones that I had ready to go stored as screenshots on my phone. One that I never got to share there is one that I would like to share now:
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” — Elie Wiesel
May we live our lives in such a way that no one can claim we are indifferent to the needs of our fellow humans around the world.
Thank you for taking a stand with us and playing a part in making a difference at Eleonas!
Continue supporting Project Elea by following our Advent campaign on Facebook! Each day we will be featuring a facet of our work, with many of the pictures taken by yours truly! :)
