In 2006 a group of teenagers gathered together to sing and jam their hearts out in Arlington, MA to raise money for EF’s first college scholarship recipient, Justice. These young men and women, all members of the Needham, MA based nonprofit group Plugged In, raised over $3,000 and enabled us to provide for Justice’s university education. Justice has now earned his BA and is considering further education in a Master’s program. His educational success would not have been possible without that initial support from Plugged In. In retrospect, EF had only just begun to work in Zimbabwe at the time of the event and to receive such overwhelming support was, and continues to be, incredibly inspiring to all of us here at the Fund.
Now, four years later we are humbled and honored to announce that once again we will be the recipient of proceeds raised through Plugged In’s bi-annual concert. The second Plugged In sponsored “I am Strong if You are Strong” benefit concert will be held Friday, January 15 and Sunday, January 17th at the Village Club in Needham, MA. All proceeds from the concerts will go towards building the infrastructure of the micro-agriculture project in Chiredzi. For two amazing evenings teenagers from the Boston suburbs will raise their voices and rock their instruments to benefit EF. If you are anywhere in or around the Boston area on Friday and Sunday, please come down and check out the concerts! For further details on the event, visit the Plugged In website here.
Yesterday we announced our intentions to win America’s Giving Challenge (AGC) on Facebook. With over 4,000 members in the EF Facebook cause we stand a good chance IF (and that’s a big if) we rally together and show some real zeal for this contest.
So to create a hub for all things EF and AGC, we decided to go live with EF’s new Fanpage on Facebook. From this page you’ll be able to receive automatic updates straight to your Facebook home. As we undertake AGC and make a bid to win 50K for Elias and his hometown in Zimbabwe, you can stay up-to-date with all the developments without ever leaving your Facebook home. What’s more, once the Challenge ends we’ll still utilize the Fanpage as tool to keep you in the loop. Tweets, blog updates, pictures and videos, messages from EF. Everything will be centralized on this page.
We’ve got to give a huge thanks to our new friend Marc Vallone from Scranton, PA (yes Office fans, it’s THAT Scranton) for throwing this together. Come check it out here. And of course don’t forget to support us in the AGC contest. You can learn more and donate here.
Thanks to America’s Giving Challenge and Facebook we have the opportunity to win $50,000 for our organization. The contest is simple: the cause with most $10+ donations wins. So starting now thru Nov. 6th we are aiming to get the most donations for the EF Facebook cause. We can also win daily awards of $1,000 and $500 for the most donations received during a 24-hour period. You can donate once every 24 hours until the end of the contest. Each 24 hour window starts at 3pm (EST) and runs till 2:59pm (EST) the next day.
We understand we’re launching this campaign being nearly a week behind the competition. So if we can pull this off it will be a true feat to celebrate. Infact, such a huge celebration that we want to take YOU to Zimbabwe!
That’s right. Should we succeed in winning the Challenge, the individual attributed as the top fundraiser ($ donated + $ recruited as recorded by Facebook) will be given the opportunity to come discover Zimbabwe alongside the Elias Fund. If you’re passionate enough to raise money and do the hard work here in the States, you should be afforded the opportunity to see first-hand the impact your efforts have in Zimbabwe. So come learn from and serve with our Zimbabwean partners by spreading the word and raising funds for our cause!
With nearly 4,000 members in the EF cause, this challenge is not impossible. You can start your fundraising efforts by making your secure donation here; and by the way, you don’t have to have a Facebook account to donate!
Finally, fundraised money from this campaign will go to our partners in Chiredzi and their micro-agricultural project. The funds will contribute to the building of a pilot/training farm that is equipping both urban and rural farmers with revolutionary techniques researched by Foundations of Farming. What’s more, our dear friend Elias will be the caretaker for this farm. So your contributions will be going directly to Elias’ empowerment.
Like a true grassroots campaign, YOU are at the center of impact. Your action, both through donating and advocating, will affect change for Elias and his greater community! Make your first secure donation here!
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