As the first waves from the tsunami triggered by the massive earthquake in Chile have now reached U.S. soil, both the U.S. government and non-profit organizations like the American Red Cross have pledged their support and are standing by waiting to assist the Chilean government if asked.
For those looking for a loved one in one of the regions impacted by the disaster, the Red Cross asks you to submit inquiries through their Safe and Well List. Lots of updates on the quake and the potential after effects spreading along the Pacific Coast are available on Twitter by following @RedCross, @breakingnews, @cnn and others.
A video update from Tracy Reines of the American Red Cross’ International Response Operation Center is below.
Each year, the Phelophepa Train of Hope travels the length of South Africa for 37 weeks to provide critical medical care to 45,000 people who would otherwise never see a doctor. The train covers more than 9500 miles of railroad a year, serves 250 meals a day and issues 24,000 prescriptions. Last year, three high school students traveled to spend a week with the train, and produced a film about the train that has now been endorsed by leaders such as Reverend Desmond Tutu and recently won the Accolade Award at the 2010 Accolade Film Festival.
We interviewed two of the students (both named Arabella), who graciously took time out from their studies to share their story with us:
Q: Tell us a little bit about your story… How did you become involved with this project and what inspired you to make the Train of Hope Film?
A: (Arabella Weston-Smith) In April last year, my mom’s good friend from Africa told my mom about the Phelophepa Train. Our friend, Jenny Newman, knew that I was interested in making a film during the coming summer so she told us about the train and how to get in contact with the people who ran it. When I found out about the train, I thought it would be a really great idea to make a movie about it because not only did they need an updated fundraising movie, but I also just really wanted to help to create awareness for the train. So soon after my mom and I decided that we wanted to make a movie for the train, I asked my friend Arabella Watters to come with us, and my mom’s friend’s son Jason Vietch decided to come too. We thought the train was a great cause and we wanted to help it get the publicity it deserves and also help it raise the money for a second train.
Q: Tell us in your own words what the Train of Hope means to you and why it’s important?
A: (Arabella Weston-Smith) The train means a lot to me because after being with it first hand for a week, I really experienced something life changing. Being with the people who live in poverty and despair everyday, the people who rely on the train as their source for hope, made me look at life from a different, more humble, perspective. It was a shocking reality check for me as a privileged American teenager to really learn about a completely different side of the world. The train is really important because it gives everyone who comes full attention and helps to treat them in any way they can. Not only do they help the people with medical problems, but they also give emotional support and form bonds with all the people they help.
Q: What challenges did you face along your journey to raise money and awareness for the Phelophepa Train and how have you been able to overcome them?
A: (Arabella Weston-Smith) Well when we first started fundraising, we raised quite a lot of money pretty fast from our first round of emails to everyone we knew. Recently, because of the flim festival I think, we have had some more donations, but for a little bit we were struggling to raise money. In order to keep sending money to the train, Arabella and I started organizing bake sales at my school and garage sales with our “Laguna Blanca Phelophepa Club. ” We have kept a steady flow of the weekly sales coming in and therefore were able to overcome the slight drop in donations.
Q: You are well on your way to raising $10,000 to support your cause. Once you are able to raise the full $10,000, what will that money be able to provide those in need through the Phelophepa Train?
A: (Arabella Watters) The $10,000 we are hoping to raise is going to towards the Transnet’s project of building a second train in order to cover more ground and reach more people during the year.
Q: How have you been able to leverage social media and online donations to drive awareness and fundraising? How were you able to balance promoting through these different channels with such limited time and resources available?
A: (Arabella Watters) Our website has really been a huge facilitator in getting our message across, but Givezooks! has been the engine that has made our fund-raising possible. The accessibility of Givezooks! directly from the website, the widget, the vivid graphics and the ease it takes people to find the donations page has really been fundamental in getting people to donate. Additionally, we have also promoted more awareness by starting a club for the Phelophepa, promoting the train at our school. We also have a Facebook page with hundreds of friends, and are Tweeting too. I think the biggest way which we can promote both the film and the train is simply by word of mouth, online and offline, getting people to talk to others about our project to each other is what really gets the word out and helps our fundraising.
Q: What has been the most successful part of your fundraising campaign (i.e. social media campaigns, online donations, film screenings, promoting through schools or other organizations)?
A: (Arabella Watters) The majority of our donations have been collected online from our website, and handled by Givezooks!. People like the ease with which they can donate by credit card, check or even gift cards. For us the fact that all correspondence is automatically sent out and tracked is a huge help. Offline, I think the most successful campaign which Arabella and I have completed singularly was a garage sale which we had last weekend, selling our old clothes and books. We were able to make nearly $250; every dollar we earn goes further towards our ultimate goal. So far we have raised $5,000, half of our target.
Q: Do you have any advice you would like to share with other causes who would like to spread awareness and make a large impact?
A: (Arabella Weston-Smith) I think that it’s really important to just keep working, and most importantly, to not forget what you’re working towards. Although fundraising to make a large impact can seem intimidating, it all starts with ideas. Even the little things like weekly bake sales will add up. Spreading awareness through everyone you know in every country. I think that people should always remember that if they truly feel strongly about what they’re supporting, then they shouldn’t hesitate at all to work their hardest towards helping what they believe in.
Through their grassroots campaigns, online and off, the students have raised $5,000, exactly half their goal. With a little more help, they can raise enough money to get a second train up and running and help others in need of this critical assistance. Learn more about the cause and their film “Phelophepa, Train of Hope” below.
Nearly 5 years after Hurricane Katrina decimated the city of New Orleans, the city is getting a boost of hope from a project started by a teacher at George Washington Carver High School.
Fresh out of college, the now 24 year-old Brian Bordainick joined Teach for America to help make a difference for kids growing up in the inner-city. When he showed up for his first day at G.W. Carver High School, he didn’t see a school - just eight trailers in the parking lot of an abandoned school.
Shortly after starting at G.W. Carver, Bordainick was asked to step in as the school’s athletic director - and become the youngest athletic director in Louisiana history. Hoping to help reshape a program that was once great (the football program won multiple district championships and has an alumni roster including NFL-great Marshall Faulk), Bordainick faced many challenges as the school did not have resources to support the program.
But as Bordainick began to piece together the program, he learned of an NFL grant program for $200,000 in matching grants to rebuild football facilities and decided to pursue the grant to build a state of the art football field and track for the 9th ward community - called “The 9th Ward Field of Dreams”. Throughout this process, Bordainick eventually found an architecture firm to provide a budget a rendering of the project, which proved to be slightly more than he had anticipated - $1.85 million dollars.
Although told by many that this was an impossible dream - Bordainick pushed forward with the 9th ward project and over the last year has raised over $1 million dollars, has garnered support from Nike, and even scored a feature for The 9th Ward Field of Dreams on ESPN. With just a little more help, The 9th Ward Field of Dreams will be built.
“Together we can prove that against formidable odds, a few people crazy enough to believe in their own power to create change can overcome a seemingly impossible challenge.” - www.9thwardfieldofdreams.com
Learn more about the 9th Ward story in the videos below, or text “DREAM” to 50555 to make a donation and help The 9th Ward Field of Dreams reach its goal of $1.85 million and bring hope to the city of New Orleans.
