Room to Read Blog

Three Ways to Celebrate International Literacy Day

Many of us don’t spend much time thinking about how literacy affects our life, but maybe we should…

Imagine being one of the nearly 796 million people worldwide who lacks the ability to read or write. It would make deciphering the contents of an employment ad, taking the proper dosage of medication and filling out a ballot form all nearly impossible.

The bad news is that most of those 796 million people live in developing countries, where access to a quality education can be extremely limited, so their children and grandchildren are likely to continue in the same path. The good news is that doesn’t have to be the case.

International Literacy Day is September 8, and Room to Read will be celebrating all month long by spreading awareness and raising funds to fight illiteracy in the developing world. Here are three things you can do to help:

1. Make a donation. Thanks to our partner, Better World Books, all gifts to our library program in September will be matched up to $40,000. That means that your gift and all others like it will have twice the impact!
2. Spare 140 characters. In today’s world, information travels fast…if you can read it, that is. Help give the twittersphere a taste of what a world without literacy would look like by tweeting an “illiterate” message to your followers with the hashtag #RTforLiteracy. For each tweet, Random House, Inc. will donate $1 to our programs (up to $30,000).
3. Educate yourself. Watch an interactive video about global illiteracy (produced in partnership with Credit Suisse's Global Education Initiative), or read about our work in Asia and Africa in our most recent newsletter. Then go out and spread the word!

And don’t forget to celebrate your own right to read this month.  Take the time to curl up with a good book, and remember what it is that made you love reading so much in the first place.

Read more about International Literacy Day on our website or refer to UNESCO.

Inspired to do more? Learn how to start your own fundraising campaign for Room to Read.

Photoblog from Zambia: Meet the Next Generation of World-Changers

Last month, eight teens (ages 15-23) from all around the world gathered in Zambia to embark on Room to Read’s first-ever Teen Trek. Along with their parents (or in some cases, grandparents), Nick, Tegan, Kate, David, Kyle, Rachel, Robert and James spent a week in the Lusaka province, visiting schools and libraries, and learning more about what they can do to support the global education movement.

Their story is a powerful one, and best told through the photos they brought back with them. This photoblog is a taste of exactly that. Our thanks to all of our participants for making the Teen Trek such a success, and to the Room to Read Zambia team for being a gracious host.

 

 

Learn more about how students of all ages can get involved with Room to Read through our Students Helping Students initiative.

Show and Tell: Students Go Global in England

Often at Room to Read, our quest to lead a global movement to support developing world education takes us on the road. Between our global office in San Francisco, California, seven international fundraising offices, 53 chapters worldwide, and 10 program countries…at any given time it’s a safe bet that somewhere in the world, a member of the our team is in transit—by plane, on foot, or even by boat—raising funds, building awareness and implementing programs on behalf of Room to Read.

On these voyages, there seems to be a pattern: send a passionate, enthusiastic Room to Read team member out into the field, and they will return with stories of inspiring individuals they met along the way.

Without further ado, we welcome you to the first installment of our newest blog feature: Show and Tell. When we come across a great photo or other tidbit while out and about, we’ll post it here, and you can let us know what you think.

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Today’s photos come from Jill Carlson, a development fellow who helps students around the world find ways to get involved with Room to Read. Jill is in England this week, where she is working on the Go Global Challenge—a competition in which high school students are challenged to come up with entrepreneurial fundraising plans to fund our programs in Asia and Africa. So far, the ideas have been incredibly impressive, as has the students’ dedication to helping their peers in developing countries.

Here are some pictures Jill shared of students in Blackburn, England, working on their Room to Read fundraising plans:

Learn more about Student Engagement at Room to Read.

Taking Literacy to New Heights

We’re always amazed by the creative (and yes, sometimes extreme) fundraising campaigns that Room to Read supporters come up with. Take, for example, our friend Rob Hart…

Rob has been climbing some of the world’s tallest peaks at the rate of one per year since 2003. The South African native (now based in Singapore) says he understands that, “the attraction of frozen digits, howling winds, and inedible food eludes many,” but none of those things were going to stop him from summiting the world’s tallest peak, Mount Everest, this year. And what’s more, he decided to turn his personal quest into a fundraiser for Room to Read, and carried a flag with our logo on it all the way to the top. 

Hart says he chose Room to Read as the beneficiary of his efforts based on our record of efficiency—having grown up in Africa, he says, “I’ve seen the amount of money wasted by NGO’s on Land Rovers and the like across the continent, it was heartening to find a charity that doesn’t waste money.” He chose to designate the funds raised to projects in Nepal, where he would be climbing, and South Africa, the country of his birth.

Hart reached the summit of Everest on March 14, and hot on his heels is another group of Room to Read supporters—13 work colleagues from Penguin Group in the UK. For some, the Everest Base Camp Trek will be their first major climbing adventure, like Helen Atkinson, who describes herself as “a fair-weather walker that’s never been at any kind of altitude.” She and the rest of her group will commence their journey on October 22, and will finish with a visit to Room to Read's projects in Nepal. We wish them the best of luck!

Feeling inspired? You don't have to be a mountain-climber to start your very own fundraising campaign for Room to Read.

Photo credit: Rob Hart atop Mount Everest (courtesy of subject).

One School Takes Global Literacy Local and Makes Year-long Commitment

Room to Read’s Students Helping Students program started when students began raising awareness and funds on behalf of the organization following the 2005 Asian tsunami. Since then, schools and communities around the world have worked tirelessly to support Room to Read in big and small ways—from bake sales and read-a-thons to large-scale events, student groups have taken action on behalf of literacy and gender equality in education. 

 

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As with many of our best relationships, our partnership with the John Eliot School, an elementary school in Needham, Massachusetts, came to us by way of a dedicated Room to Read chapter. In this case, Boston chapter leader Wendy McAllister had been working with the Eliot school and forging a friendship with its principal, Ms. Suzanne Wilcox, when a partnership was born. Ms. Wilcox saw the connection between Room to Read’s work and her own school’s challenges almost immediately.

Despite being a high-performing school, the Eliot School’s literacy test scores had reached a plateau. Once she learned more about Room to Read’s work, Ms. Wilcox realized that taking the global literacy movement local might be just the way to improve performace at Eliot. “It occurred to me that becoming involved with this organization just might be the ticket to engaging students in more recreational reading, resulting in improved rates of literacy for the students at Eliot,” said Ms. Wilcox. “Developing an interactive program with Room to Read would naturally align with our school and district goals, 'to advance standards-based learning, develop the social and emotional skills of all students, and promote active citizenship'.”

Ms. Wilcox knew that the success of embedding Room to Read’s work within the school’s curriculum wouldn’t ultimately hinge on her, but on the talented and dedicated faculty at the Eliot School so she presented the idea to her colleagues. "In a matter of minutes, the room erupted with enthusiasm,” she said. Brainstorming ensued. At the end of their meeting, the teachers agreed to collaboratively create a curriculum spanning classrooms and content areas. Ms. Wilcox applied for and received a grant from the Needham Education Foundation to sponsor staff development days for teachers to come together to plan out the year ahead. Their sessions resulted in three components that led to the school’s success: summer reading (adult and student), classroom buddies, and the Eliot School Cultural Diversity Day celebration.  

Planning for success from the beginning, Ms. Wilcox and her team put on a skit just before the start of summer vacation. She and a teacher posed as a student and teacher and explained to the children the importance of a summer read-a-thon.  To the students, "it seemed unthinkable that so many of the world's children, partuclarly girls, had no access to books or education."  Shortly after, the school’s motto for the summer was formed: “Give the gift of literacy while receiving it yourself!” The students left for the summer, reading logs in tow, revved up to read more than ever before. In addition, parents and teachers were given copies of John Wood's Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, to further unite the community in this effort. “Research shows that when children see their parents reading, it encourages them to read as well,” Ms. Wilcox added. At the end of the read-a-thon the students and teachers were thrilled to discover they had raised $5,000 and that over 85% of the students had participated!

Once the summer read-a-thon ended, the "reading mileage" challenge began. Ms. Wilcox and her team decided to have their buddy pairs (one upper-grade student and one lower-grade student) calculate the mileage needed to travel to their Room to Read country of choice and back to Needham. Those miles then converted into pages and with their itineraries set, the pairs took off on their read-around-the-world challenge.  As a result, every buddy pair read their way to their country and back, and some made the trip more than once! 

The school’s year-long focus on Room to Read and its program countries culminated in the Eliot School Cultural Diversity Day celebration, where classrooms presented their projects on Room to Read countries. Throughout the project, parents had many opportunities to engage in the overall reading goals of the school, including several opportunities to participate in book discussions. From classroom buddies to logging their miles, the students, staff, and families of the John Eliot School truly demonstrated that literacy is a priority, both at home and abroad. 

As Ms. Wilcox examined her test data last fall, it was clear the campus-wide campaign had worked; students' scores showed marked progress in both English language arts and mathematics, particularly among special education students. “The notion that Room to Read could serve as a catalyst to help students explore and understand world issues, offer students an opportunity to take action and increase the volume of student reading with the outcome of an improvement in overall literacy rates was simply something we could not pass up,” she said. 

The Eliot School is kicking off its second annual summer read-a-thon this summer and is looking ahead to a school year full of service learning tied to Room to Read’s mission. Learn more about our Students Helping Students program or email Jill Carlson at jill.carlson@roomtoread.org.

Photo caption: Director of the Cambodia office of Room to Read Kann Kall poses with members of Allison Dick's 3rd grade class. From Left: Lila North, Jenna Sandler, Kurt Brinkhaus and Brian Poolman. Photo credit: Credit Robert Rosen

 

Will Ferrell and Friends Raise the Paddles for Literacy

Room to Read went Hollywood a few weeks ago at the home of Will Ferrell and Viveca Paulin-Ferrell who hosted a beautiful event for us at their home in Los Angeles. We felt truly honored as this was the first charity fundraiser the Ferrell's have personally hosted at their house. Viveca along with event co-chairs, Lindsay Berger Sacks and Heidi Saffari, invited their friends and over 200 people turned out for an evening filled with familiar faces to raise money to support Room to Read. Will provided the opening act, Viveca served as auctioneer along with John Wood and with paddles in the air, the event raised close to $300,000 for Room to Read -- enough to support the building of four new schools, nine new libraries, 10,000 children’s books published in local languages and 256 years of girls’ education!

We invite you into the party through this special photo slideshow with guests including Jack Black, Molly Shannon, Zachary Gordon, Andy Richter, Amy Brenneman, Michael Pena and Fred Savage.

 

Special thanks to Will Ferrell and Viveca Paulin-Ferrell and the entire host committee who hope to make this an annual event for the Los Angeles community in order to raise awareness about Room to Read among Hollywood and promote the great work the organization does to change the world through education.

 

Let's Make A (Groupon) Deal...for Girls' Education

Did you see the Room to Read deal in your inbox this morning? We hope at least some of you 33 million Groupon subscribers noticed! For the next five days, Groupon will be running a "deal" on our Girls' Education program—just in time for you to purchase that last minute Mother's Day gift.

Join us and Groupon's G-Team and donate $10, $25, or $125 to help Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program support the education of the next generation of young women in eight developing nations. The deal is being matched by our friends at Atlassian up to $100,000.

What do these amounts translate to on the ground? For every $125, one girl will get a year of comprehensive support for her education and life-skills training. When 500 people sign up for the deal (and we hit the minimum amount of donations needed to make the deal official), it means that at least 40 girls will receive one year of support. Each additional $10 raised will provide two weeks of academic support for one girl.

Special thanks to Groupon and our matching partner, Atlassian, maker of software development and collaboration tools and a long-term supporter of Room to Read through donations from its Starter License program.

The deal is going on now through Sunday, May 9. Please spead the word and let's close out this deal, because not only is it a great gift for mom, it's also the best investment you can make to change a girl's life.

Room to Read Volunteers Write a New Chapter In Fundraising for Education

Last week, more than 50 Room to Read chapter volunteers from around the globe gathered with Room to Read staff at our annual Chapter Leadership Conference. The conference brought together chapter leaders from as far away as Australia, Japan and Zurich and as close as San Francisco. In all, nine different countries were represented and 20 U.S. cities!

 

Room to Read is very proud of our chapter network comprised of long-term volunteers who have made a commitment to promote Room to Read within their networks and communities. Each year, many chapter leaders attend the Chapter Leadership Conference to receive valuable training and updates about the work Room to Read is doing. Plus, there are plenty of fun times created when you fill a room with passionate people who share the same mission! The enthusiasm of this incredible group of volunteers is contagious, evidenced by the fact that chapters last year raised over US$12 million, which is roughly one-third of Room to Read's operating budget.

 

Mihiri Udabage has been volunteering with Room to Read's Sydney Chapter since 2008 and was very involved in the planning and coordination of the chapter's wine gala held on March 4, 2011. In this guest blog, she reveals her motivation for her dedication to Room to Read.

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As I head to the door to go to volunteer at the Room to Read Wine Gala in Sydney, I am met with protests from my children, aged 8 and 6: “Don’t go, Mummy—stay home!” “I have to go,” I counter. “We have to make sure lots of children get to go to school, just like you do, right?” 

Absolutely right. With the world holding more than 796 million illiterate people in the world and 98% of them living in developing countries, there is much work to be done. 

Tonight’s event is about inviting investors to become a part of the global movement to see illiteracy banished. As John Wood, Room to Read Founder, delivers his presentation on behalf of the millions of children this organization has yet to serve, he’s firing on optimism. Optimism fueled by seeing girls like Merina, 15, from Nepal, saved from a life as an indentured servant and returned to a childhood she was taken from, and of the plan that will see hundreds more girls like her returned to school where they belong. Optimism incited by 11-year-old Inkham from Laos, whose scholarship from Room to Read allows her to read to her parents, both mute, and also to her brothers and adored baby sister. Optimism for the five million children Room to Read has served to date, and the five million more who are hoping that Room to Read comes to their community. 

Later in the night, after the auction hammer slams repeatedly, the total amount raised is announced. More than US$892,000 has been donated this one night in Sydney, thousands of kilometers from where it will eventually land. It will provide schools, libraries, girls’ education, books, bikes, bags and uniforms. It will fund the NGO workers who will partner with Room to Read to ensure that girls are attending school and maintaining their studies so they will pass to the next grade.

I picture one of the girls who will benefit from the 400 years of girls’ education funded this night. How one morning soon, she will braid her hair, exchange her worn house dress for a crisp uniform, hop on the new bike parked outside her home and pedal to a place where she is no longer defined as the poorest girl, living in a small hut, but where she is a student, a scholar, tomorrow’s teacher/engineer/author/artist.

I see her raising her hand in class to have her voice heard. 
I see her writing a poem about the mother she adores.
I see her pointing to the places on the atlas that she will travel to one day.  
I see her stopping by the library on her way home—maybe one of the 30 new libraries donated tonight by friends in Sydney she has never met. 
I see her step inside this cool haven and pass her hands across the hundreds of books that will line the shelves, mesmerized by the bright covers and overwhelmed for choice.  
I see her mother welcome her home, proud of this girl who does what her mother can’t.

As the guests leave, they are flushed with excitement, happy to have been a part of something wonderful. They are no longer on the outside looking in, they are on the inside looking out and will go home and tell their friends about the incredible work that Room to Read is doing. Many will call in the coming weeks wanting to know more, do more. We will be so happy to take their call. They thank us. We cannot thank them enough. They walked in as guests; they leave as heroes.

Our team is tired but happy. They have worked hours upon voluntary hours, months upon months, to make this night a success. As I return home after midnight, and lean over my sleeping son to kiss his cheek, he half wakes to ask “Mummy, did the children go to school tonight?”  I smile and whisper to him, “Yes baby, lots and lots and lots of children got to go to school tonight.”

To learn more about Room to Read’s growing network of volunteer chapters and upcoming events, visit our website.

 

 

Cricket Players Come to Bat for Literacy: World Cup Stories from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka

 
Cricket is practically a religion in South Asia and cricketers are no less than gods. The adulation and fanfare must be seen (and experienced) to be believed, and it is difficult for non-cricket playing countries to begin to understand the rock star status of these players.

With cricket being the second most popular sport in the world, Room to Read was thrilled when the International Cricket Council (ICC) named our organization as their charity partner for the 2011 ICC World Cup. Additionally, through a unique initiative, Reliance Life Insurance, one of India’s top private sector life insurance companies, committed to a 25,000 rupees donation (approximately US$550) for every “sixer” or boundary that the cricketers hit. So far, 132 sixes have been hit which translates to over 3.7 million rupees donated (US$82,000). With each six, you can imagine the cheers coming from our country offices in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka -- countries hosting the World Cup games!  

In an effort to draw attention to Room to Read's work and encourage donations, the ICC coordinated special events with both cricket players and students participating in Room to Read programs. Reliance Big FM, with a special "Hit Illiteracy for a Six" segment, Big Cinema, Big CBS and various other Reliance ADA Group platforms are being used to promote these interactions widely.

Reena Luke, Room to Read Asia Regional Communications Manager, attended the events and shares some of the unforgettable moments. For these children, meeting and spending time with their sports heroes was a dream of a lifetime. And even for the millions of children unable to attend these events, the support of ICC, Reliance Life Insurance and the global cricket-loving community will fulfill their dreams of becoming educated young adults.

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Tigers Celebrate International Mother Language Day in Bangladesh

  When the World Cup opened in Dhaka, Bangladesh, our Room to Read Bangladesh country office was ready to pitch! Just after their big game with India, the Tigers (the Bangladesh team’s nickname) were ready to take a break, and Room to Read invited them to celebrate International Mother Language Day on February 21 with hundreds of young children at the Pora Khela Utsob (Reading Festival) at the Kishalay Girls School and College in Dhaka.

The names of the players were kept secret until the last minute, and the entire community gathered to greet them at the gates of the school which was decorated with tents and colorful bunting. The invited students managed to squeeze their way past the adoring crowds and, after a security check, anxiously awaited the arrival of their favorite players. Each time the huge iron door creaked open, there was a collective gasp of anticipation, and children pulled out their autograph books and ran towards the gate.

Finally, after a couple of false starts, in rolled a cavalcade of cars with police escorts. Three cricket stars—Zunaid Siddiqui, Mahamudulla Riyad and Shariar Nafees—stepped out and immediately faced a wall of waving autograph books eager to be filled. Without wasting much time, the young heroes took to the field and ran with the children, took part in “Read and Run” games, signed more autographs, posed for photographs, visited all the booths, talked to the kids, and flipped through Room to Read’s local language children’s books. Shahriar Nafees even managed to give a brief pep talk to his young fans, “I want each of you to focus and read better. Reading requires practice like cricket, and to excel, one needs to practice.”

All too soon, it was time to say good-bye. The cricketers handed over prizes to the winners and gifted the school a full cricket kit. Said Mahamudulla, “It was a good experience, and I enjoyed the afternoon with the kids. I am happy to see that these young children are getting such good books to read.”

Eighth-grader, Zoya, exclaimed, “I will never forget this day. Imagine—I got to shake Zunaid’s hand!”

Girls' Education Scholars Practice Their Interviewing Skills in India

 
Across the border, in India, the ICC arranged several opportunities for Room to Read India to showcase their work to cricket lovers. Several match venues had Room to Read booths, filled with books and displays inviting book lovers to sponsor our reading programs. Aside from the matches, the big event of the World Cup was when four of Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program participants—Ishan, Ruppu, Renu and Moushmi—got an exclusive interview with Virat Kohli, India’s upcoming star cricketer and the nation’s heartthrob.

For these young girls, all from the Sarvodya Kanya Vidyalaya school in Tuglakabad village in Delhi, a trip to Bangalore by flight just to meet their favorite Indian cricketer was stuff that dreams are made of. And Virat made sure that they would remember this day all their lives by playing cricket with them, signing autographs and, of course, getting photographed with them. He even promised that once he was over with the hectic match schedules, he would visit their school and help to champion Room to Read’s cause. Said Virat to his young fans, “I am happy I got this opportunity to promote Room to Read. I would like to continue doing whatever I can to promote literacy and reading.”

Virat wasn't the only cricketer the girls got to meet. In the evening, the girls were taken to the stadium to watch the England cricket team practice. A sudden rain shower proved to be a blessing, for the players had to run for cover, and the girls knew how to grab an opportunity. Soon the English team was signing autographs and talking to the girls. Ishan even dared to ask the English captain about his strategy to defeat the Indian team! The captain threw up his hands and ducked to the nearest exit!

The BBC crew filming the event took the opportunity to meet the girls and learn more about Room to Read, and within minutes of the cricketers’ departure, the girls and the crew were fast friends. In fact, after a quick broadcast lesson, the crew found themselves on the other side of the camera being interviewed by the teenaged amateur camera-persons and reporters!

 

Shane Watson, Room to Read's ICC Ambassador, Teaches Fielding and Encourages Reading in Sri Lanka

March 3 is a day 10 children from central and northwestern provinces of Sri Lanka will never forget—for that is the day that they spent several hours with Australian cricket star, Shane Watson.

  Shane has been named Room to Read’s official ICC brand ambassador and, between World Cup matches, led a coaching session with the excited group of children at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo. The children, all participants in Room to Read programs and all very avid cricket fans, received individual coaching about fielding from Shane, and one exclaimed, “We can’t even believe that we are practicing with Australian cricketers. Our worry is that no one would believe that we got such an opportunity!”

 
Reading has been a big part of Shane’s life since childhood, and he is anxious to help other children discover the joy of books. He humbly explained, “The cross section of people that cricket reaches means that we are able to reach a lot of people and promote the work Room to Read does. It is very special that we have the chance to impact people’s lives away from cricket. Hopefully we can touch as many people’s lives as possible and provide them with a chance to benefit from some of the things that we have been lucky enough to have.”

The end of the afternoon held another great surprise, as each child was given a personally signed photograph of Shane and a ticket to watch the match between Pakistan and Canada. Shane, too, was equally as moved when the children presented him with a picture they had created for him.

The event was covered by Yahoo, ESPN and Star Cricket. ICC also posted a short video that was screened pre-match on March 5. 

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Room to Read will be featured on billboards, scoreboards and other events throughout the 2011 ICC World Cup which culminates with the finals on April 2. Visit our website to learn more about Room to Read’s World Cup partnership.

Read more through the ICC press release and Reliance Life Insurance's Facebook page.

Brrr-aving the Antarctic to Build a Room to Read Library

Room to Read donors often come up with the most creative ways to raise money to support our work. Last December, Frank Rohde, CEO of a software company in San Francisco, ran a marathon in Antarctica to raise money for Room to Read. In this guest blog, he shares his impressions and experiences of this breathtaking trip.

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When the Russian cargo plane touched down on the blue-ice glacier near the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica, I knew that this adventure was getting serious. After having waited six days on the southern tip of Chile for weather clear enough to fly across the Drake Passage, the group of 37 runners I had joined on this trip finally got the “all clear” to take off. The flight from Chile to Antarctica took only four hours but it was four hours into an expanse that defies description. Larger than all of Europe, colder than any other place on earth, windswept and desolate—but with 24 hours of daylight. No one really knew what to expect, so when the doors of the plane opened and the stepladder was put onto the ice, my breath was taken away—by the biting cold as well as the magnificent views. I stepped onto the ice filled with excitement about the next four days in Antarctica.

The reason I was here was to compete in a marathon—or at least to reach the finish line—and in the process raise enough money to build a Room to Read library in South Africa. I’ve been a runner since I was a teenager and I complete at least one marathon every year. Last year I came across the Ice Marathon in Antarctica organized every year by a guy in Ireland named Richard Donovan. So I thought: here is an opportunity that allows me to combine a visit to the interior of Antarctica with camping on ice for a week and a real physical challenge!

After I signed up, I told a couple of friends and colleagues about my plans and got the same reaction from all of them: “You’re nuts!” I soon realized that this adventure was outrageous enough that I could use it as a charity fundraising vehicle, and remembered Room to Read from an article I had read in the Financial Times a year earlier. If I could raise $1000 for every mile in my marathon, that would cover the cost of a library. I spend a lot of time in South Africa every year for business and have grown very fond of the people there and decided to support a library project near Dutywa in the Eastern Cape in South Africa.

In addition to running, one of the things I’ve been doing religiously for almost 20 years is reading at least one book every week. I’ve always had an affinity for books and actually bought an old shipping container to store my own library! Of course I had brought a bunch of books on the trip to Antarctica, but now that I was here I forgot all about reading—this place was too exciting.

We spent the first day in Antarctica acclimatizing and on the morning of day two, we learned that because of the strong winds, the marathon was postponed one day. So, we filled the hours by sharing our own personal stories, and I learned that almost everyone was also raising money for a charity.

My fundraising strategy had focused on two groups: corporate donors and individuals. I had asked each of our clients to donate to Room to Read in return for branding and exposure during my run (their logos were on the running shirt I wore), and raised about $20k from institutions like Nedbank, ABSA, Bain Capital, Red Rock Ventures, Kobold Watch Company, and Silicon Valley Bank. I raised the rest of the donations from friends, colleagues, family, and other individuals. The day before the marathon, I had met my goal of $26,200 and with several donations from fellow runners and others, I ended up raising over $30,000 by the time I returned from my trip.

The marathon start was set for day three at 11am, and there was lots of excitement and several photo shoots that morning. Several of the stronger runners took off right away, while I fell into a comfortable trot towards the back of the pack. My goal was to reach the finish line and leave the winning to someone else. For the first two hours of the run, the weather was overcast and cold, but not too windy. The only challenge was staying close to the orange flags that had been planted in the ground every 50 meters because the visibility was pretty poor. After about 10 miles, the weather cleared up and we had blue skies and bright sun. As the sun warmed the snow, the running became tougher, and my feet kept slipping and sliding—but I surprised myself by finishing in five hours and 34 minutes and coming in 11th!

 
I know I wasn’t the only one who was proud of having achieved a physical challenge that day. But what I am most excited about is that I was able to use my own, somewhat selfish pursuit to help Room to Read build a new library for the school children in Dutywa. And now, on to the North Pole Marathon…

Frank's campaign has raised over $30,500 and is still accepting donations on our website. Not everyone can run a marathon, but there are many ways you can set up your own fundraising campaign and get involved.