By Merritt Frey, Executive Director

Last night we had a fun Volunteer Orientation with a great group of Mali Rising supporters. It was a whirlwind tour of nine of our current volunteer opportunities, with information about how to learn more. If you missed the session but are interested in learning more about the options and/or future volunteer options, please fill out this quick Volunteer Interest Form. Within a few days, we’ll be in touch with more information about the opportunities you are interested in.

We also have two more events coming up that could inspire potential volunteers. Each short online event — we call these Volunteer Evenings — will focus on one, specific volunteer opportunity. We will provide all the information you need to get started and answer any questions you may have.

The first two Volunteer Evenings are coming right up! Please feel free to RSVP for one or both now. On February 11th, we’ll discuss the details of how to volunteer for the Menstrual Kit Campaign. On February 18th, we’ll dive in on the details of participating in the Read to Mali Campaign. (Future Evenings will tackle other volunteer campaigns – don’t worry!).

The Menstrual Kit campaign volunteers help us produce kits that help our female students get to school during their period. Each kit can give a girl back a week of school each month! This campaign is great for groups or individuals. Many of the roles do require sewing skills, so if you know how to sew or are willing to learn we could really use your help! Our goal is to create 200 new kits in the next few months, so please RSVP today to learn how to volunteer for the Menstrual Kit Campaign.

Read to Mali is a new volunteer effort at Mali Rising. The campaign will officially launch the third week of February. The basic idea is to have volunteers read short children’s books or poems aloud, and record themselves on video doing so. Our English teachers will uses these videos in their teaching curriculum! This is a great volunteer option for individuals or families. Our goal is to record at least 50 stories in the next few months. Sign up to learn about the details of participating in the Read to Mali Campaign.

Thanks again for being willing to help Mali’s kids. We are so glad to have your help and energy!