The Affero Blog

CURE International Is August’s Winner!

By Lucas Parry in News

01Sep, 2010

Dear Affero members,

What an exciting 5 months it has been since we launched!

First let me announce this months winner…. CURE INTERNATIONAL.

Earlier this year Marc Krejci, Peter Rees and I had the opportunity to spend time at CURE Internationals hospital in Uganda.  You can read about that trip HERE. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life! This hospital sees over 2,500 patients a year and treats them for hydrocephalus and spina bifida. Literally saving thousands of lives. Together we have helped to fund some of these operations.

We sat and talked with the mothers of the children at the hospital, and with eyes of tears expressing the deepest gratitude, they send a heartfelt “thank you” to all of our members who have given and contributed to this cause. Affero helped to save their children’s lives!

WHAT WE’VE DONE THIS YEAR

It has given me great energy and joy to be a part of our small but growing community these past 5 months. I want to take a moment and share our success’s and marvel at what we’ve been able to achieve.

  • We’ve given over $3,500 to 5 different organizations engaged in combating poverty and injustice
  • 141+ registered monthly donors to date
  • Donors in three countries: USA, Australia and New Zealand
  • 14 Artist and Celebrity Endorsements
  • Launch of the “I’M IN” Campaign
  • Sponsored the Alive Festival in OH, Branding to over 20,000 people, 16+ volunteers, 400+ people signed up for the “IM IN” Campaign.
  • Average of 20% growth each month in number of donors and funds released.
  • Launch of the Affero blog, now with 6 guest weekly bloggers.
  • 7 volunteer staff
  • Completed our first international scout trip to Uganda
  • 5 categories filled with partner organizations; Lifewater International, Lifesong For Orphans, CURE International, The Home Foundation and Doulos Discovery School for our first round of funding.

WOW! We’ve come a long way and we have much more ahead.

Over the coming months we’ll be in contact about many new initiatives we’re launching including; Affero website 2.0, The Pepsi Refresh Project, upcoming Affero Adventure trips for 2011, tours, events and much more. We’ll be asking you to ‘dive in’ and help us grow our community so we’re able to give away more money and impact the world in greater ways.

September 1st brings all 12 Categories up for voting… so be sure to check out every one of our partner organizations and the amazing work they are doing around the world that we get to be a part of.

Thanks for joining together in community to change the world.

Together we’re changing lives,
Lucas Parry

Relationships That Work

By Rob Harvey in News

14Jun, 2010

What is poverty? It has been said that poverty is a result of relationships that do not work and that are not just.

Consider the poverty of pre-earthquake Haiti. Before the earthquake that shook Haiti, 75% of the people already lived on less than $2/day and over 50% lived on less than $1/day. Half of the people had no access to potable water and over 50% were illiterate. They had the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world outside sub-saharan Africa. 1/3 of women have been violently sexually abused and there are high rates of child abuse and trafficking. Clearly, relationships in Haiti need help.

Last week I met a courageous young missionary raising support so that she can serve full time as coordinator for Ten Days Mission Experience. When Kerren Barker was in high school, a friend invited her to join him on a missions trip to Haiti. This trip changed her life and set the stage for serving others through short term mission trips.

A local doctor, Dave Vanderpool, owns lave md, a practice that offers laser and vein esthetics. Dave uses his business to fund mobile medical disaster relief, meeting the medical needs of the vulnerable and underserved people in the United States and throughout the world. Every month, this doctor works three weeks stateside and one week serving in Haiti. He’s fostering relationships that work.

Next week, Marc and Lucas are taking The Affero Project to Africa. Watch for their posts to track with them and the good they are up to. Perhaps you’d like to go on a short term trip with us sometime? Kerren and Dave will tell you it’s life-changing.

I was reading a First Fruits report this week that made me think of you. Together, we are  pioneering new ways to do philanthropy. We are a community vetting and evaluating partnerships that alleviate poverty and fight injustices. The Affero Project is a community educating and empowering one another, building relationships that work. In some ways we serve as an aggregator for good news. In other ways we act as a micro-donor advised fund where you bring your creative energy and circle of friends to the table so that we can do more good.

Don’t forget to share this post with your friends and tell them “I’m In.” If you haven’t already, join now. $1 can actually change the world. With your help, more people will give and more people will serve. More relationships around the globe will work. And it will make all the difference in the world.

Peace.

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(Last Updated February 8, 2010)

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