Friday 29 November 2013

Holiday Cheer from WELNepal!

Women using sewing machines
This year has been good for WELNepal. We have now helped over 4,000 women in the lowlands of Nepal learn to read and write in their language for the first time in their lives. We are also launching some great new projects — our vegetable shop and sewing machine projects — in 2014. None of these projects would be possible without the generosity of our loyal donors and supporters. We — and the women we work with — are incredibly grateful.

With the holiday season fast approaching, we've been thinking about how to generate more help for more women in our project area. While searching for ways to raise funds and awareness, we came across a new and inspiring movement — Giving Tuesday.

According to Giving Tuesday’s website, “It is a new Canadian movement for giving and volunteering, taking place each year after Cyber Monday. The ‘Opening day of the giving season,’ it is a day where charities, companies and individuals join together to share commitments, rally for favourite causes and think about others.”

When we first heard about this movement, we knew we had to get on board. The event, which takes place on December 3, will allow our supporters to make a donation to WELNepal on Giving Tuesday’s website.

If you’re interested in making a holiday donation, simply visit the website and click on “Give to Any Charity.” Once you click, simply type in WELNepal and wait to be taken to a link to our donation page. You can donate any amount. A little (just $25 teaches one woman to read and write) goes a long way in Nepal.


In other holiday news, WELNepal is also offering supporters a chance to make a donation in honour of a loved one. Anyone who wishes to give to WELNepal on a friend or relative’s behalf will also get the opportunity to send an original WELNepal Christmas card (featuring photos of the women we work with) to the person to whom the donation is dedicated.

So, if you donate $25 in your mother’s name, we will send her a card letting her know what your donation will do for the women we work with.

To dedicate a donation to someone, follow these instructions:

1)    Donate Online by clicking the Canada Helps button on the page.

Simply follow the instructions and indicate the amount you wish to give.

In the message/instructions box, please provide us with:

-The donor’s name
-The recipient’s name
-The recipient’s mailing address
-A personalized dedication (optional)

And last but not least, WELNepal wants to give a BIG THANK YOU to All Saints Catholic Elementary School in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Earlier this fall, David Daai proposed hosting a small clothing drive for the children in our project area - a village where so many children shiver through icy evenings and chilly mornings because they lack warm clothes in good condition.

WELNepal managed to get in touch with Dufferin Peel Catholic School Board trustee Sharon Hobin, who put us in touch with All Saints. The clothing drive was a great success! Now, children in Nepal will have hundreds of items of clothing to keep them warm over the next five to 10 YEARS!

Thank you all for giving the children in Nepal a tremendous Christmas gift that will last many, many years.


Happy Holidays!