It's Giving Tuesday!

Hello Echoers,

Today is Giving Tuesday and I'm writing in hopes that you'll help me support Esther Kanu and the Women in Action Development Project today. We have two ongoing fundraisers both on our website and on Facebook with donation buttons below. I also recorded a quick video (link below) to talk about our partnership with Esther and why I do what I do. Thank you for considering us today as I know you are being inundated with donation requests. Know that all of your support goes directly to Esther and her staff and students in Sierra Leone. With your help, over 400 students have graduated from Women in Action since 2012 when we founded Esther's Echo. Let's keep going!

-Matthew

Donate for Giving Tuesday!

Giving Tuesday 2020!

Hello Echoers!

I'm writing to let you all know that Esther's Echo is once again a partner for Giving Tuesday Canada this year - part of the wider global Giving Tuesday holiday fundraising campaign.

Here's a description about the campaign from the Giving Tuesday website:

"Giving Tuesday is a global movement for giving and volunteering, taking place each year after Black Friday. The “Opening day of the giving season,” it’s a time when charities, companies and individuals join together and rally for favourite causes. In the same way that retailers take part in Black Friday, the giving community comes together for Giving Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities; it provides a platform for them to encourage the donation of time, resources and talents to address local challenges. It also brings together the collective power of a unique blend of partners - nonprofits, civic organizations, businesses and corporations, as well as families and individuals - to encourage and amplify small acts of kindness. Across Canada and around the world, Giving Tuesday unites communities by sharing our capacity to care for and empower one another."

For Giving Tuesday, and into the Holiday Season, we'll be fundraising for Esther Kanu and the Women in Action Development Project - our community partner in Sierra Leone. Our goal is to raise $3,000 which will cover the remainder of the rent on the two Women in Action school locations until September 2021. Our sincerest thanks to all who contributed to the first half of the year's rent AND the supplementary fundraiser we did to cover staff wages. WiA fell behind due to COVID-19 restrictions meaning the schools could not take on clothing, and catering contracts. Without your help, the schools likely would have closed. I know it's a big ask this year to come to you again looking for donations. Please know that the students, Esther and her staff, and of course myself are all so grateful for the additional support you've shown in a difficult time. You've now helped over 400 young women graduate in Sierra Leone. I'll be providing updates on the fundraising process through to the end of the year.

Also be sure to check out our Giving Tuesday profile here.

-Matthew

A Video From Matthew on Giving Tuesday 2019

It's Giving Tuesday! Thank you all for your support so far! Between our donations through the website and on Facebook, we've raised about 800 dollars. We're aiming for $2000 for the giving season to shore up the rest of what we need this year. Anything above that will go toward 2020!

As always, thank you for any consideration of Esther's Echo and Esther's school, the Women in Action Development Project...which is now Projects plural!

Women's Education and Climate Change

Did you know that supporting women’s and girl’s education has a direct impact on reducing carbon emissions?

Project Drawdown is a research organization that has worked to identify the most impactful solutions to climate change. Number 6 on that list is the education of women and girls. Project Drawdown explains that “Women with more education have fewer healthier children”, and, with more education, women “can be more effective stewards of food, soil, trees, and water.” The overall impact? A potential reduction in carbon of 51.5 gigatons by 2050 if all young women and girls had access to education which falls just behind protection of tropical rainforests.

Project Drawdown Solutions by Rank drawdown.org/solutions

Over and over again, research shows that investing in education is one of the closest solutions to a “silver bullet” in the eradication of poverty around the world. Education is also vital in the fight against the climate crisis. This past September, I marched alongside over 100,000 people in the Vancouver Climate Strike. (My sign was a play on my astronomy work. That’s me seated at the Trottier Observatory at Simon Fraser University) I am proud that our work with Esther’s Echo can have a direct role to play in the reduction of carbon emissions. The planet, and the health of our societies, are symbiotically connected. Healthier, equitable, poverty free societies, are also societies that care for the planet. So remember that this Giving Tuesday and Holiday Season your contributions are not only supporting individual women and girls at Esther Kanu’s Women in Action Development Project, but the health of our planet as a whole.

-Matthew

My sign at the Vancouver Climate March

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Giving Tuesday 2019!

Hello Echoers!

Giving Tuesday is coming up on December 3rd. Over the last few years, we have really benefited from the generosity that you’ve all shown during the Holiday giving season. Giving Tuesday Canada is part of a global movement for giving that follows Black Friday each year. It’s a day for organizations to rally their Holiday Season donations. For the last two years, Esther’s Echo has joined a community of non-profit organizations based out of Vancouver for a campaign called #VanGives. Be sure to visit the Esther’s Echo Giving Tuesday Campaign Page!

Esther’s Echo Profile Page on Giving Tuesday Canada Site

We’re getting the word out now in anticipation of this upcoming Giving Tuesday which has been our biggest fundraising day of the year in the past. Giving Tuesday serves as a great way for us to not only catch up on fundraising for the current year, but also get a head start on fundraising for next year. Here are some things that we are fundraising for:

Opening of the Second Location:

As mentioned in last month’s blog post, Esther has started a second location! Because we are renting the location part time from another non-profit using the building, the rent on this new location is quite low compared to the main site which gave Esther a foothold into the rural region of Port Loko. The new site provides access to young women and girls who wouldn’t otherwise be able to make it all the way to Freetown. The site also came with a supply of computers that are available to Esther to use.

Operation Costs on the Original Location

Each year we help offset the costs for the Women in Action Development Project. This ensures that funds raised by the organization itself can go to upgrades, teacher’s salaries, and reducing student fees at the school. Our biggest expense each year is rent on the building. For the last several years, we have also been putting aside amounts of what we fundraise to help open a new school that belongs to Women in Action to help offset rent entirely.

Thank you all so much again for your support this year. You all helped another cohort of students graduate from the Women in Action Development Project. Since our founding in 2012, we have seen over 350 students graduate from Women in Action. YOU made this happen! Let’s get 2020 off to a strong start. Keep an eye out for our campaigns on Facebook too and be sure to check out the Giving Tuesday campaign video below.

-Matthew

Donate to Giving Tuesday Campaign