by Merritt Frey, Executive Director

I recently turned 50. (Seriously, ack.) But it was the most satisfying birthday I’ve ever had. Why? I donated my birthday to the kids of Mali Rising! You can do that too!

It is so easy to do. I personally love biology and learning about the natural world, so I decided to raise funds for natural science (like our biology class) textbooks for students at a Mali Rising school that had ZERO natural science books. My goal was to raise funds for 50 books, but in the end my wonderful friends donated 180 books! I was overwhelmed with the generosity — most people donated $10 or $20….the price of sending me some over-the-hill gag gift :) but the dollars added up quickly.

You can do this too! Mali Rising can create a personalized giving page just for you and your friends with any goal you choose. Whether you want to raise $50 or $500, it will go so very far in our schools. You can decide where you want the funds to go too. For example:

• Raise funds for textbooks at $10 a book — we need hundreds of French, English, science, math, history, geography, etc. books.

• Sponsor a one- to three-year Inspiration Scholarship for a student for $500 total — scholarship students study in high school or in vocational programs for nursing, agriculture, tailoring, construction, and more.

• With a $100 or more goal, you can sponsor one or more girls for a year in our successful Girls’ Project to help them get into school and thrive there.

• Etc., etc. We can set up your birthday goal just as you like!

Once you have your goal and your page, all you need to do is spread the word. I posted about 10 days before my birthday on social media and then again on the actual day. I also emailed a message with a link to people I knew weren’t as active on social media. I was nervous about it, but it was honestly the most fun I’ve ever had with fundraising!

To learn more and sign up to donate your birthday, visit the Donate Your Birthday page today.