Interest grew quickly. When Christian set up an Instagram account for his finance club, the Centennial Finance Club followed it. At first, Christian thought the club was from a Calgary high school; however, he says they “got to talking and I realized they were in Southern California.” The Centennial Finance Club had registered a non-profit to try and connect high school financial clubs from around the United States. They welcomed the Capital Minds Club into the 15 Club Federation, and Christian invited club members to participate in Invest for Sight.

In all, 55 students from across North America took part. Christian says he embraced the peer-to-peer aspect of fundraising by “really encouraging everyone to get their families and friends to support them.” Sponsors provided $1,000 in prizes for students for various challenges, such as submitting the top investment strategy. Together, the students raised $5,018.  

Fundraising hones leadership skills and contributions to the global community

The experience of setting up a fundraiser helped Christian learn skills and experience he will use throughout his student life. “Fundraising is a good opportunity for students to experience leadership at their young age, and it helps in giving initiative to their passion. You develop skills when you develop a project.”

Christian had to manage the fundraiser, stay on top of grade 12 schoolwork and incorporate activities and sports. “I became way more efficient at managing my time and activities – and it really kept me driven in what I was doing,” he says. “At university, there’s so much more schoolwork and extra-curricular activities. Fundraising is a great thing for young high school students to do.” The initiative will be noted on his application for university finance programs in the United States.

Peer-to-peer fundraiser appreciated

Robyn Wilson, our Manager of Donor Relations, says, “We are thrilled to have worked with Christian over the summer and are deeply grateful for his remarkable talent in both fundraising and building connections. Through his efforts, Christian not only secured financial support to bring people the gift of sight but also inspired and engaged his peers, helping us connect with the next generation of supporters.”

Thank you, Christian and team, for your creative support! Interested in organizing your own peer-to-peer fundraiser? Learn more at operationeyesight.com/fundraise. 

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“The gift of eyesight is the best thing you can give to anybody. It just changes their whole world,” he says. “You can make donations for food and things like that, but it disappears after two days. Eyesight stays forever.”

The longtime donor first heard about Operation Eyesight as a member of the India Club of Vancouver. The group raised more than $100,000 for our programs over the years through annual walkathons in Stanley Park, with Vijay overseeing the event during his years as club president.

Supporting Operation Eyesight has also been a family affair for the Vermas, with Vijay’s wife, Shiksha, and their three grown children all involved in fundraising activities. Now, a third generation is also making a difference. In the past few years, two of the Verma’s grandchildren raised $575 apiece through online fundraising campaigns.

Thank you, Vijay and family, for your incredible support!

The post A Vancouver donor’s dedication to the Gift of Sight appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Did your new year’s resolution actually start on February 1? (I’ve seen all the “February is the new January” posts in my Facebook newsfeed.) If so, Operation Eyesight has great ideas to help you achieve your fitness and lifestyle goals!

Often people resolve to lose weight or get in shape, and that’s easier to do if you have a specific goal to work toward or event to look forward to. That’s where we come in.

Many of our donors organize runs or hikes to raise money for Operation Eyesight. They make a plan, set a fundraising goal, and tell their friends and family all about it, which is a great way to create a network of supporters to help keep you motivated.

So if you’re looking to get fit – and want to have fun and support a great cause while doing it – be sure to check out our Fundraising Toolkit. It has everything you need to get started: brochures, activity ideas, posters, sample emails and more.

You can even create your own fundraising page online, making it easy for you to collect donations and keep your supporters updated on your progress. You can personalize the page with your messages, photos and videos. Get creative with it!

And if running or hiking isn’t your thing, why not try something else you enjoy? You can walk, ski, swim, jump rope, bike, Zumba or even hopscotch. The sky’s the limit!

We can’t organize the event for you (we wouldn’t want to steal all the fun), but we will cheer you on every step of the way! And once you’ve achieved your goal, we’d love to hear all about it so we can share the great news with our friends on social media. We may even feature your story in our newsletter.

The best part about all of this is not only will you be achieving your personal goal, you’ll also be helping others achieve theirs. In giving others the gift of sight, you’ll be providing them with the opportunity to do all the things they enjoy again; you’ll be giving them hope for a brighter future. What an incredible difference your actions can make!

We look forward to seeing what 2016 has in store for you. If you have any questions, or if you have ideas you’d like to run by us, just give us a call. Thank you for your support, and best of luck with your resolutions!

The post Improving your health and theirs appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Last month, Brad and Jennifer Diggens raised over $4,300 for our well programs in Zambia through their Hike for Life fundraiser. The father-daughter duo hiked for six days along the La Cloche Silhouette Trail, a challenging 93-kilometre backpacking trek in Ontario’s Killarney Provincial Park.

Jennifer explains: “On our toughest days, there were only two things that got us through: thinking about our supporters and thinking about the people in Zambia who must make difficult walks every day just to get water.”

This is the third year in a row Jennifer and Brad have hiked in support of Operation Eyesight. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for them next summer!

Back in 2013, Dean Loewen and his team from the Mechanical Contractors Association of British Columbia (MCABC) also supported our water projects in Zambia. Their Run for “Well”ness, in which each runner ran the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon or 5K, raised enough money to drill four wells in Zambia’s Sinazongwe district. These wells are providing communities with clean water and preventing the spread of the blinding eye disease trachoma. Thank you, MCABC!

On July 30 this year, ultra-runner Norma Bastidas completed the Badwater® 135, the world’s toughest foot race, in Death Valley, California. She ran 135 miles (217 km) through extreme heat and intense elevation changes, all in support of Operation Eyesight.

“I have never worked this hard for a race,” says Norma. “But I knew the further I went, the better off someone else would be.”

Norma raised over $17,000 for Operation Eyesight’s programs in India and Africa. Thank you, Norma. And congratulations!

We’re extremely grateful to Norma, Brad, Jennifer, MCABC and our staff who are supporting Operation Eyesight in creative ways – and who are inspiring others to do so, too! If you’re interested in organizing a fundraising event, please check out our Fundraising Toolkit. We have everything you need to get started.

Remember, you don’t have to be a professional athlete to organize a fundraising event. You can run marathons and climb mountains if that’s your passion, but you can also organize a walk, swim laps, rollerblade or even skip to raise money. And if physical activity isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other fun activities that you can try. Visit our website for ideas. 

For more information, email events@operationeyesight.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

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