Whether you’re in the city of San Diego or in the remote communities of Bali, at its core, education equips people with the skills, knowledge, and perspective necessary to secure better opportunities and build a brighter future.
Children in poverty are often denied access to quality education. The results are not just about unmet academic potential, but also about perpetuating cycles of poverty.
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty.
For countless families, poverty isn’t a one-generation problem. The bottom line is, education provides job opportunities that pay enough to guarantee food on the table and a bed to sleep on.
Many low-income children find themselves in schools that are under-resourced, over-crowded, and, frankly, under-performing. School systems that lack the basic fundamentals that enrich a child’s learning experience hinder not only their academic success, but their connections to mentors, internships and creative opportunities that are just as valuable to breaking free from the shackles of poverty.
Quality education doesn't just teach children to read, write, or solve mathematical problems. It instills in them the ability to think critically, solve real-world challenges, and tap into their creative potential.
Beyond academic and financial skills, education instills a sense of self-worth and confidence in children. Believing that they can achieve success and create a reality different than that of what they have seen is crucial. This is difficult to do if the only influence a child is seeing is scarcity and fear.
While the journey out of poverty is complex and multi-faceted, there is hope for change. Many people around our Earth come together to support children in need so they can help themselves get out of poverty. With over 1 billion (yes, billion) people living on less than $1 a day, deciding to donate $5 today affects families quite dramatically. This can ensure a meal tonight, support education or fund the basic medical care that is needed.
Let’s work together as humans to do what we can to help.
In college, volunteering at mobile clinics in TJ, Mexico and organizing drives for San Diego’s homeless population slowly became a passion of mine. I saw an extreme need in not only in the low income communities, but the organizations that were trying their best, working day and night, to help.
Simply put, there is an obvious cap in how much an organization can help their respective organization based on the amount of funding they receive, either through the government or through personal donations. Some of the most intentional and selfless organizations are limited because they don’t have the resources to fundraise successfully, which therefore limits their reach. A limited reach means that the people they are trying to serve starve, die from malnourishment or continue to be faced with homelessness.
I got really tired of seeing little kids continue to struggle with getting daily meals or dying from basic infections because of lack of basic hygiene. What was the difference in them surviving or not? A few hundred dollars. This sounds extreme, but it’s true. And yes, those few hundred dollars are only a bandaid to their root situation but it is the first step in the process to progression.
What really got me fired up is that… it is so easy to raise $1,000. A simple Instagram fundraiser can do this. So why are some philanthropic fundraisers struggling so much? There is a foundational lack of resources within the non-profit realm. This means there usually aren’t enough people that are being paid to give their full time effort in marketing and fundraising, which ultimately results in lack of consistent funding.
After years of successful, small-scale fundraising projects… $1,000 here and there… I realized how impactful this was. I also realized how easy it was for the community around me to donate $5 here and there, especially when they trusted me and the organizations this isi going to. So what happens if we make this large scale and ask our global community to join the mission?
Think about how many lives $12 a year will help. It sounds insignificant, but it makes the biggest impact when other join in. In addition, let’s skip all the sad and sappy marketing and begin to feel empowered with what we can do to help. It’s such a beautiful thing to contribute even a little of our energy for the betterment of humanity, so why not CELEBRATE this! For everyone that participates, I want to share exactly where your contribution goes and who it helps. I want to show you how impactful you are doing without having to do the most. Things go viral everyday, why not normalize being a part of a struggling families progress?
It isn’t going to happen, it already has begun. Join us!