Teri Saydak, the Development Coordinator for Concern America, rallied hundreds of Southern Californians together to ”Walk out Poverty” in support of those in developing countries who often walk over two miles a day to fetch water alone. With the hope of raising $10,000 online prior to their event, they surpassed their goal by $3,000 and were pleased with the event turnout.
Keep reading for the rest of the story!
Can you tell me more about Concern America?
We are an international organization focused on long-term community development. We work with communities in impoverished regions to develop long-term solutions to poverty, training locals to be their community’s long-term solution to rising above poverty.
Concern America has been around since 1972, and in the last forty three years we have been in fifteen different countries teaching people about health care, water systems, education and generating income.
We know the local people are the community’s greatest asset, not us. This is why we train them to diagnose and treat diseases, carry out procedures such as minor surgeries, and prescribe and provide medicine.
Do you have a personal interest in Concern America?
When I was younger my mother would tell me about Concern America and her experience attending the “Walk out of Poverty” event, so I grew up hearing about it. As I got older it piqued my interest, and, determined to learn more, I went to a Concern America workshop about social justice. This is the point when I began to notice my desire to work abroad with them. Before long I was packing my bags! I got to spend three and a half years with Concern America in Guatemala. One thing I love about my job as Development Coordinator is getting to stay in touch with the people I built relationships with when I lived there.
What was different about your fundraising approach this year?
This was our first year trying CauseVox. Someone recommended CauseVox because they donated to another cause that was using CauseVox’s platform, so we wanted to try it out! It was very easy to use and customer service was great!
We had more individual fundraisers this year than in years past and I think that was due to CauseVox’s usability. Similar to other fundraising approaches, we tapped into social media outlets and increased visibility of our upcoming event by advertising the event through emails, posting to Facebook, and engaging the younger generation through speaking engagements. We had 940 people show up for the “Walk out of Poverty” event and we were very pleased with it!
Our online fundraising goal was $10,000 and we raised $13,000! All in all we raised $72,000, with most of the fundraising happening in walker sponsorship before the main event.
We usually raise around $60,000-$70,000 each time and this year we met that and then some. A month before the event we hand out sponsorship envelopes so walkers can ask their neighbors, co-workers, family and friends to sponsor them for the “Walk out of Poverty” event.
How will the money that was raised benefit impoverished communities?
The money is used in a variety of ways, but as someone who was on the field, I can tell you it goes a long way! Here are a few ways the money will be used to help people:
- $1000 trains one community health promoter to over 500 people
- $6,600 sends one medical professional to the field to train locals for two years
- $2,000 trains one person to be a midwife
- $10,000 is the average cost to install and maintain a water system
Thanks to hundreds of generous people in Southern California (and the walkers!), dozens of people in impoverished communities around the world will receive training to help their own people rise above poverty.
