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Kaileigh French had a passion for helping others and had plans to volunteer on an 8-week project in Guyana with Youth Challenge International (YCI). Shortly, after she began fundraising for her mission, she was diagnosed with cancer and had to postpone mission. Kaileigh lost her battle in June 2007. The Kaileigh French Reaching Out Globally Society (KFROGS) group was formed in memory of Kaileigh in August of 2007.
KFROGS’ vision is to see more young Nova Scotians volunteering and learning in countries around the world. Their mission is to host an annual community event to raise funds to help sponsor young people in Nova Scotia who dream of reaching out globally, and helping others by volunteering on a mission. Each year recipients from Nova Scotia who have applied with a registered, recognized organization for a volunteer mission and have been accepted, may apply for the “Kaileigh’s Kindred Spirit Award”, which is an ongoing financial award.
Past participants in the KFROGS Day for Global Change!
On June 10th, 2012, I will take part in the annual KFROGS Day for Global Change Event. One of the highlights of this event is the 5 & 10k Legacy Run, where I will take on the 5k. I have paid my registration fee and have been collecting pledges to help raise funds for the Kaileigh’s Kindred Spirit Award, as all participants are encouraged to do. All proceeds from this event go directly to local youth on a volunteer mission.
In September 2011, I embarked on a 3-month journey to Ghana with YCI to acquire field placement experience for my graduate studies in International Project Management. While I was in Ghana I worked closely with the YMCA Vocational Institute and Youth Empowerment Synergy building capacity within the two organizations, and organizing and implementing education campaigns and events. Traveling across the globe to help others and lend a hand was always a dream of mine, and with the support of KFROG I was able to make that dream a reality.
To learn more about KFROGS, their events and initiatives, and whether you are eligible for KFROG funding, check out their www.kfrogs.ca
-Melissa Spencer, Youth Ambassador, Ghana 2011, Recipient of funding from KFROGS.
If you would like to support KFROGS and their efforts to provide young Nova Scotians the opportunity to volunteer overseas, click HERE to donate!
When I got the news that I had been selected to be a YCI Communications Innovator in Zanzibar, Tanzania during the winter 2012, I was ecstatic. However, like most volunteers, my main concern was money. How would I get enough to cover my volunteer experience? I have worked for many years in Public Relations and Marketing roles, but was the first time I had to ask people for money for one of my own projects. Would they support me? I wondered.
Using Social Media and online tools, it was pretty easy to reach a wide audience of potential donors. It takes a bit of organization and some creativity, but anyone can build a good campaign that lets people know what your intentions are, gets them excited and willing to help you out and is a good way to educate people about development issues. Here are some tips that worked for me:
- Research and create a list of potential donors. Think of immediate and extended family members, friends, past and present employers and colleagues, teachers and students if you are in school, business contacts, clients, and customers or people you interact with daily if you have a job, as well as community groups. Your Facebook Friends List is a good place to get ideas – a quick glance through this list will remind you that your network is actually bigger than you realize. I also included some community groups that I wanted to target, such as groups I volunteer with or volunteered with in the past, my city council, my Member of Parliament and my Member of the Legislative Assembly. Take the time to write down all the names you come up with – this is important because it will make you think of ways to reach these people. For example, I knew my friends could be reached through Facebook, emails or in person contact, while some family members such as aunts and uncles would probably prefer a phone call. You can also use this list to track donations as they come in and know who to remind to donate later on in your campaign.
- Get connected. A website is a great way to let people know about your volunteer project. Having an address to give people for more information also helps when soliciting donations – they can read up about your project and donate on their own time. In my case, my entire campaign revolved around a blog: http://nathalieinafrica.wordpress.com. Blogging platforms like wordpress.com or blogger.com are very easy to use and can let you create professional looking websites in a snap, especially if you plan on blogging or posting photos later on from the field. If you are uncomfortable using websites, take full advantage of YCI’s TIG fundraising page each volunteer receives and have all the relevant information you want to share with your potential donors on there. Your site should also talk about any events, special draws or contests you are organizing in regards to your fundraising. My website included a short biography, information on my project and why I wanted to participate as well as a section telling people how to donate to my fundraising campaign. Upon donating to help me in my endeavors, most people came back to track my progress or read about my adventures.
My blog/website received over 1,976 hits
- Decide how you want to receive donations and make sure this is clearly explained on your website. Links to your YCI TIG fundraising page should be clearly indicated for online donations. Giving people the option of also sending in donations by mail or in person via cash or cheque is a good idea and works well for family members and businesses or community groups who tend to prefer this method – so let them know how to reach you and where to send the money. Keep in mind many people feel intimidated when they are asked for money not because they do not want to give, but because they are unsure what amount to give or feel like you expect large donations. It’s good to suggest amounts and reassure them than ANY amount will be well received and helps out a great deal. You can motivate people by enticing them to buy a kilometer for a certain amount of money or find another virtual good. For example, people always enjoy living vicariously through your experiences, so $20 could buy them a postcard (make sure you send each donor a postcard though!), a picture of you in front of known landmark, a promise to get them to learn words in the local language upon your return, etc.
- Spread the word. Make sure to tell everyone on your contact list about your campaign and to visit your website. Use different tools to reach different audiences. For my friends, I created a Facebook Event called Fundraising Campaign: Nathalie’s Volunteer Project in Tanzania, then invited EVERYONE in my Facebook friends list to join the event, from which they were directed to my website. For my extended family members, I wrote an email with links to my website and sent it to them, following up with a phone call or visit. For businesses and community groups, I wrote a formal letter using the YCI letter template, included links to my website, and either emailed the letter or sent an actual hard copy by mail. My best marketing tool by far though was a business card I made using a free MS Publisher template. My business card featured my blog address on it and the tagline Donate and follow my adventures. For an entire month, I carried these cards with me everywhere and gave them out to people I would meet – at grocery stores, at parties, at work events, etc. The cards also served as little reminders to people to visit my website once I was in Tanzania and read my blog.
My Facebook posts as well as my Facebook event allowed me to reach a large network of people and remind them often about my campaign as well as track progress.
My business cards, which I designed using a simple MS Publisher template, were generously printed in kind as a donation to my campaign by a friend and local business contact, Broken Coast Media Group.
- Monitor your donations. It’s important to keep track of your donations as they come in and promptly thank your donors. I sent each donor a thank you card immediately upon receiving their donations and noted down their name and address so that I would remember to send them a postcard from the field. Finally, I reminded each person and business or group on my list who had not given at least once about my campaign – up until the last minute. Sometimes people just need a little boost! One reminder was enough for me as I did not want to pester, and often times that is all people need.
Postcards sent from the field – over 30 of them!
- Diversify. Organizing events, draws and contests are a great way to complement your fundraising campaign and reach a broader audience. They can also serve as fun ways to educate people about development issues. Thanks to the generosity of some local businesses and the help of my colleagues, I was able to put together a draw for gift certificates donated to my campaign. We sold tickets for 5$ a piece and brought in a few hundred dollars.
Finally in Zanzibar, Tanzania! Me along with fellow YCI Volunteer, Lonny Chen, teaching some web marketing skills to YCI partner organization ZANGOC.
When you fundraise, you have to get over that whole idea that “nobody will donate” or that you are “bugging people”. When you believe in and are excited about your project and travel plans, it will show. You just need to channel that energy and enthusiasm in your campaign and you may well end up being surprised and very touched by the generosity of those around you.
-Nathalie Landry, Youth Innovator, Tanzania 2012
Nathalie shared her fundraising experience with us for this blog, but you can read all about her whole experience on her personal blog, Nathalie In Africa. For more fundraising tips from our previous volunteers, check out the Fundraising section of our blog.
We know, it is easy to say fundraising is fun, exciting and fulfilling but hopefully the fundraisers you are doing actually are fun! It is understandable that new volunteers can feel overwhelmed at the prospect of fundraising goals, but remember it is all part of the experience. Using your personal flair and imagination can lead to really successful personal fundraising activities and it is an incredibly valuable skill set to have for future employers. Here is a small list of FUNdraising ideas we want to share in the hopes they will inspire others to be creative in the efforts.
1) Make a video!
This is easier than it sounds. Any small camera or phone can be used for videotaping these days and often the home made video look will be endearing to your friends and colleagues. The trick is to show a bit of personality and make it memorable; tell the audience who you are and what you are fundraising for. If you are at all theatrical you can make it quite a production. You can then share the video through your social networks very easily and link it to your fundraising page. Here is an example of a video we whipped up in the office one day in support of an Aeroplan fundaraiser:
2) Throw a party.
People like to attend events. Friends and family are likely to give small amounts to attend a fundraising event you are hosting. At your events you can generate more money towards your goal by including raffles, silent auctions and prizes. Here are some alumni events that have worked:
Another volunteer from my group and I did a fundraising event at a pub in Toronto. We had bands playing throughout the night, a cover charge at the door and we also had raffle gifts throughout the night, which were donated by various companies around the area. -Lisa D’Alimonte, Youth Ambassador, Ghana 2010
I threw a dinner! All you really need is people to help you out, but I rented a hall and had a silent auction and made well over half of what I needed! I even made YCI pamphlets so everyone knew exactly what I would be doing. It was a long day but totally worth it. 
-Maggie MacDonald, Youth Ambassador, Tanzania 2010
I put together some open mic events! People were keen to support my efforts and it helped that really talented folks performed! -Sagal Abdulle, Youth Ambassador, Costa Rica, 2005
3) Odd jobs.
This one sounds funny but it has worked for our previous volunteers. Offer your services to people in return for their donations. This could be anything from babysitting, cleaning house, painting or dog sitting. The last one was successfully done by on of our volunteers who documented his experience on his blog:
Oakley, Matt Leslie's fundraising ally.
I dog sat for a friend. Oakley, a 7 month old Yellow Lab, was very excitable and a tad rambunctious at times. He was incredibly goofy and mostly enjoyed plowing his face through the snow to try to escape his collar. To show just what I would do to raise money, I thought I’d document the experience with Oakley on my blog: http://mattanzania.blogspot.com/2011/04/matt-leslie-dog-whisperer.html -Matt Leslie, Youth Ambassador, Tanzania 2011
4) Take a small donation and turn it into something BIG.
One volunteer in the past used a small donated item and turned it into a serious money maker. Her trick was having something that meant a lot to the community she was from:
I was a given a free pair of Rough Rider tickets (in Saskatchewan it’s like gold) and had a raffle for them. Just made my own raffle tickets (I think I found a template online) and got people to fill out there information then I pull out of a hat and called up the winner. Each ticket was 5 bucks and I made about 1,000. It’s all about connections, use the people you know to assist you in reaching out. -Julie Geremia, Youth Ambassador, Ghana 2008
5) Remember your childhood.
Chances are at some point in your elementary school career you participated in a fundraiser. What worked then will probably still work now. Game nights, cake walks, candy sales, wrapping paper sales, car washes, bake sales, bottle drives, shake a can (you know those cans with slots in the top where people put their change, did anyone else call it that?), and so, so many more. These are all feasible and if you have a buddy (or another volunteer on the same project) planning and hosting them can be especially fun. One of alumni had the great idea to do a little contest on her desk at work:
I did a jellybean fundraiser at work. I found an old school Heinz jar at an estate auction; in fact, I got it for free! Had to buy the beans but jellybeans aren’t too expensive. I had the contest running a few months before I left. I didn’t expect to raise tons of money from it but I saw it as a way to draw people’s attention to what I’m doing and hopefully direct them to my fundraising page. -Kendra Seignoret, Youth Ambassador, Guyana 2012
The deadline to donate Aeroplan Miles to YCI is this Sunday March 4th. If you have not already donated you have all weekend to send in your pledge form. This week we had a very successful visit to KPMG and raised 30,000 miles! Thanks to everyone who donated.
Please take some time before Sunday to Help YCI Go the Extra Mile!
Why Donate?
- You feel like spreading some goodwill
- You want to use your Aeroplan Miles to fund meaningful travel to support youth development projects
- You want to help youth
- You believe that young people have a meaning contribution to make to international development
What are you going to do with my Miles?
Donated Aeroplan Miles will be used for staff travel to partner locations in order to implement ongoing monitoring and evaluation activities. YCI will also use Aeroplan Miles to enable outstanding young volunteers to travel overseas to donate their time to help build communities and leaders through global youth development.
Click HERE to get your Charitable Pooling Pledge Form now!
The deadline to donate Aeroplan Miles to YCI is fast approaching. If you have not already donated you have until March 4th to send in your pledge form. So far we have gotten a lot of support from out Board Members, both through personal donations and through their networks, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them. YCI volunteers and Board Members Stephen Brown and Daniel Abichandani were able to raise over 200,000 Aeroplan Miles at Deloitte on Friday February 17th. We hope to be just as successful when we visit KPMG on March 1st with the support of our Board Member, Paritosh Gambhir. This past week, Paritosh was able to raise 100,000 miles in 24 hours!
Please take some time this weekend to Help YCI Go the Extra MIle!
Why Donate?
- You feel like spreading some goodwill
- You want to use your Aeroplan Miles to fund meaningful travel to support youth development projects
- You want to help youth
- You believe that young people have a meaning contribution to make to international development
What are you going to do with my Miles?
Donated Aeroplan Miles will be used for staff travel to partner locations in order to implement ongoing monitoring and evaluation activities. YCI will also use Aeroplan Miles to enable outstanding young volunteers to travel overseas to donate their time to help build communities and leaders through global youth development.
Click HERE to get your Charitable Pooling Pledge Form now!
We want to send a big thank you to Lindsay Page and Daniel Abichandani for giving the first two donations to our Go the Extra mile Campaign! They generously donated their Aeroplan Miles to YCI this week.
You too can donate your Aeroplan Miles to YCI in the coming weeks. To assist you in doing so, we here at the office have made a simple ‘how to’ video to guide you through the process. Please enjoy our film debut!
Youth Challenge International (YCI) has recently been accepted into the Aeroplan Charitable Pooling Program, wherein YCI can actively solicit Aeroplan Mile donations for a one-month period each calendar year. Help YCI go the extra mile! Given YCI’s commitment to achieving meaningful development results, YCI will launch our first ever Aeroplan Mile Recruitment Drive as part of the Charitable Pooling Program to correspond with International Development Week, which commences on February 6th. YCI will solicit Aeroplan donations from February 6th to March 4th, 2012.
Youth Challenge International has a long tradition of promoting youth innovation to drive positive change. Building on over 20 years of experience, YCI programs are designed to meet the needs of youth affected by poverty through four integrated sectors: livelihoods, health, leadership and the environment.
YCI’s dedicated youth volunteers implement substantive youth development programs in coordination with local youth and partner organizations in Ghana, Tanzania, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Guyana. More than 31,000 hours were contributed by volunteers to global development programs last year and more than 10,000 young people directly benefited from YCI programs.
Why Donate?
- You feel like spreading some goodwill
- You want to use your Aeroplan Miles to fund meaningful travel to support youth development projects
- You want to help youth
- You believe that young people have a meaning contribution to make to international development
What are you going to do with my Miles?
Donated Aeroplan Miles will be used for staff travel to partner locations in order to implement ongoing monitoring and evaluation activities. YCI will also use Aeroplan Miles to enable outstanding young volunteers to travel overseas to donate their time to help build communities and leaders through global youth development.
Click HERE to get your Charitable Pooling Pledge Form now!
My name is Melissa Spencer and I have been in Ghana now for almost four weeks working with Youth Challenge International (YCI) and funded by KFROG. I am here with two other ladies to complete the field experience that is required to graduate from the International Project Management Graduate program at Humber College. The YCI Ghana project fits well with my goals and expectations of what I hope to achieve. It is important to me that I utilize the skills and knowledge that I learned through out the year during my field placement.
As part of preparations for the Ghana program, YCI volunteers are required to achieve a fundraising target to support YCI’s international projects and to cover certain personal costs, including vaccinations and our flight. Since I am from Kentville, Nova Scotia I had some existing knowledge of the Kaleigh French Reaching Out Globally (KFROG) organization. KFROGs mission, to help support Nova Scotian youth in their dreams of being connected with youth around the world, to help make the world a better place was a perfect fit for myself. YCI also recommended that I reach out to KFROG and so I submitted an application and about a month after applying, I received a response that they would be happy to help fund my trip. I’m very thankful for their contribution, which helped make this project a reality for me.
We have now completed our first full week of workshops at the YMCA- Vocational Training Institute in Takoradi. We started with the fourth year students and finished with the first year. They were all really great, everyone participated and showed an interested in what we were talking about. We started with an icebreaker, which involved telling everyone your name and something you like to do, adding an action. For example, my name is Melissa and I like to dance and so I would have to do a little dance. They all seemed to really enjoy this and had a lot of fun and laughs with it.
The first part of our workshop focused on the female and male anatomy and how women can and cannot get pregnant. The students got involved with a group activity and discussion about what makes up the female and male genital area (for example, the cervix, the vaginal opening, testis, scrotum, etc.). Different types of birth control methods were discussed, as well as oral sex, and abstinence.
Female and male anatomy lesson with the first year students of the YMCA, Takoradi, Ghana.
Following this, we talked a lot about STIs. The students have been taught about HIV/AIDS extensively in the past so we wanted to focus more towards STIs, still touching on HIV. We discussed what STIs were, symptoms, how it is spread, testing procedures and treatment. Students worked in groups to review information about specific STIs and presented their findings to the rest of the class. After this we talked about condom use. We explained how and why condoms are used, we talked about the female condom as well as the male condom. To be honest I have never seen a female condom until this workshop. They are quite interesting looking. Most students mentioned that the Condom portion of our workshop was their favorite. I think this was because each student had the opportunity to practice with a male and female condom on the appropriate props.
Female and male condom use with the students of the YMCA, Takoradi, Ghana.
Another big hit was the question box. We gave the students a chance to write down anonymously, any questions that they might have and did not ask because they maybe felt uncomfortable or embarrassed doing so in front of their peers and answered them to the best of our ability.
My favorite activity has been the Sexual Health Workshop, largely because many of the students had little knowledge about STIs. It was very rewarding to see them walk away feeling empowered and more confident in using female and male condoms.
I very much appreciate the support I have received from KFROG and believe that with their support more and more youth will become involved with young people from around the world.
- Melissa Spencer, Youth Leadership Team, Ghana 2011
Melissa is currently in Ghana on a 12-week project to complete her international placement for the International Development Post-Graduate Certificate Program at Humber College with a small team of students from the program.
To learn more about KFROG, their events and initiatives, and whether you are eligible for KFROG funding, check out their website.
Ever wonder what type of preparations a volunteer goes through before heading overseas on project?
Matt Leslie has been keeping a fantastic blog about his experiences preparing for his 6-week project in Tanzania this summer. From fundraising initiatives (50/50 draws, bake sales and more!) to packing lists to learning about the state of affairs in Tanzania, this incredibly informative blog is well worth reading. If you are thinking about volunteering with YCI, this is great source of information! We’re excited to follow Matt through his time on project!
Matt Leslie running a 50/50 draw for himself and team member Jessie Flear to raise funds for YCI
“Its scary to think that in less than 80 days I’ll be the furthest away from home that I’ve ever been! It seems like absolutely no time has passed since I first thought of applying to this program, and now I am over halfway through my fundraising. While I’ve made some excellent progress, I still have a TONNE of work to do to prepare myself (not to mention finish writing my thesis and eventually defending it!).
While procrastinating the other day, Jessie (another volunteer going on project with YCI to Tanzania) and I looked over the list of supplies we’ll need to bring. There were a tonne of items on the list (malaria pills, headlamps, water, aspirin, mosquito nets to name a few). Most of the items I had already thought of, but some of the clothing items gave us a bit of a wake up call.
If I asked you for some advice on what to pack, what would you suggest?
Probably suggest similar things to what I was thinking: T-shirts and shorts. Our guidelines suggested a little differently ….“
-Matt Leslie, Preparing Youth Ambassador, Tanzania 2011
Click here to donate to Matt’s fundraising campaign.
Want to learn more about YCI’s preparing volunteers? Check out the volunteer preparation category. Want to get some great fundraising ideas? Learn what YCI’s volunteers are doing by checking out our fundraising category.
Lisa D’Alimonte and Devon Hamilton are students in a Post Graduate Program in International Development at Humber College in Toronto. We, along with 3 other students from our class, will be travelling to Ghana on October 4th to work along side in country partners in Koforidua and Takoradi. We will work on capacity building, proposal writing, fundraising and delivering/facilitating workshops on development topics to community leaders and youth.
Devon and I will be using this YCI experience in Ghana towards the completion of our Post Graduate Certificate at Humber College, as the program requries that each student complete a 2 month placement either in Canada or overseas.
We are extremely excited for this experience and to put our skills to use in the field.
- Lisa D’Alimonte & Devon Hamilton, preparing YCI volunteers. Lisa & Devon are part of a small group of International Development students from Humber College who will be volunteering in Ghana for 10 weeks starting this October. They will be holding a fundraiser in Toronto on September 23rd at The Emmet Ray on 924 College St that will include Live Music and Prizes!
