Woah, has it only been 9 days? So much has happened.
It all started with that post about Crowdrise, remember that post? Well it got me thinking, stewing, wondering about what I could do to raise money.
That’s when it hit me. Father’s Day is coming up which is always a difficult time of year because my sister and I have the best dad in the world and we’ve ran out ideas for gifts that say “Dad, you are the greatest dad in the world and you have changed our lives and countless of others, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Then, all of a sudden, on a bike ride home from work, I was struck with an idea for the greatest father’s day gift in the world. Raising money to let my dad ring the Room to Read yak bell.
What am I a talking about? Room to Read is an organization founded by John Wood that builds libraries all over the world and it just so happens to be my father’s favorite nonprofit. In fact I have never seen my dad get so excited about a nonprofit in my life. When John Wood came to Lansing for a conference I was attending I actually snuck him in so he could hear him speak. When he got to talk to John Wood at a book signing afterwards my dad stumbled over his words like a little kid and on an hour long car ride to Ann Arbor afterward he gushed about Room to Read and all the cool things it was doing.
It was that day he told me how his dream was to ring the Room to Read yak bell.
Room to Read has this yak bell that they let really big donors ring. It’s become a huge honor in the Room to Read community and it was my ticket to the best Father’s Day ever.
So I wrote an email to John Wood describing my dad and how he raised us as a single father. How he gave us everything two girls could ask for. When he didn’t know how to sew patches onto our clothes he bought Sewing for Dummies and learned. When he wasn’t getting enough flexibility at work he quit his job to find one that would allow him to spend more time with us. My father was a terrible cook when my parents divorced but he knew family dinners were important so he tried different recipes every night and now I am proud to say my father is an excellent cook who makes some of the best tacos in the Michigan.
And with that we asked him this question: If my sister and I raise $24,000 can our father ring the yak bell?
I sent the email figuring I had about 50% chance of getting a response.
We got a response. John Wood said yes, not only one yes but five very enthusiastic yeses. John Wood propelled this project into motion with his kind email and great connections. After his email my sister and I were nearly speechless and after we got over the thrill of excitement I looked at her and said “So, we’re doing this.”
My sister, never one to mince words replied, “We’re fudging doing this!” (Except she didn’t say fudge.)
So here is the hard part. We now are starting on a campaign to raise $24,000, a campaign we call The Yak Bell Project and I hope you all will join us for it
But before I make my ask there is one more thing.
Two hours ago we got off the phone with John Wood. To begin with my sister and I would have never predicted that nine days after this idea popped in my head we would be on the phone with John Wood. However it gets more exciting. A woman in Seattle, named Crystal heard our story by way of Room to Read. She had lost her dad 30 years ago. He was reason she got into Room to Read in the first place. Every time she had a problem her father would tell her to “fix it” and urge her to find a solution and now she works with Room to Read because it offers a solution to so many people. She was inspired by our story and so, in honor of Father’s Day she has decided to do something for us.
In honor of her father she has agreed to match everything we raise. That’s right when we raise $24,000 we will actually raise $48,000. All because of this idea, because of our father, because of an incredible woman in Seattle who believes in what we can do.
It’s been 9 days. Just 9 days. It is amazing what 9 days can do.
You can donate to The Yak Bell Project at:
http://roomtoread.kintera.org/rtd/yakbell
Also connect with us:
On our website: http://yakbell.wordpress.com
On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yakbell
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/yakbell
