Build a Classroom for At-risk Children in Thailand

Hi everybody!

Fall is upon us...at least here in the States. In Thailand, rainy (read: monsoon) season continues and our wonderful intern, Zoe Hart, who's been busy this summer teaching art and music to the kids at the Resource Center, is wrapping up her time with us. (We'll miss you, Zoe!)

In our last report in June, we shared about a special matching gift opportunity, and you all turned out to support us! Thank you! Not only did you help us fully fund our project to provide the Resource Center with consistent access to running water, you gave nearly $2,000 towards our second classroom! As soon as weather conditions permit we'll complete construction on the water tank, tower, and filter system, and prepare the land and lay the foundation for the classroom. Tawee, our Thailand Director, is busy making preparations and we can't wait to get started.

We're still $2,300 short from our funding goal for Phase 2 of the classroom, but we're confident we can reach that goal before the end of the year. In fact, mark your calendars—GlobalGiving will be matching your gifts again on October 17! (We love it when they do that!)

Also, this November, The SOLD Project has been invited to participate in the Girl Effect Challenge! This is a huge opportunity and we're really excited to tell you more about it, so stay tuned!

Thank you for your ongoing support of our work to prevent the exploitation of children through education. We're making a difference.

With hope,

Michael Colletto

Links:

• The Freedom Project Resource Center
• Get Email Updates from The SOLD Project

Hi everyone!

This Wednesday, June 13, GlobalGiving is literally giving away money. Every gift you make to The SOLD Project on GlobalGiving will be matched at an incredible 40 percent, up to $1,000 per person, per project! That means:

• $50 becomes $70
• $100 becomes $140
• $250 becomes $350
• $500 becomes $700
• $1000 becomes $1,400

We're especially excited because, thanks in large part to a generous one-time gift, we're able to start construction on Phase 1 of our second classroom building! As soon as weather conditions permit (we're in rainy season right now), we'll prepare the land and lay the foundation. From there, we need just $4,300 to fund Phase 2, when we'll start framing and building the exterior walls and roof.

That's why this matching gift opportunity is so exciting. Not only does it significantly increase the financial impact of your gifts, it has the potential to accelerate the construction timeline of this whole project.

June 13 is a great time to step out and give generously. Whether you can give $10 or $1000, the return on your investment is truly incredible. Matching gifts aside, you're giving more than 120 kids the opportunity to learn and grow up to live in freedom.

Thank you for you ongoing support of The SOLD Project's work to prevent the exploitation of children through education!

Links:

• SOLD's Stand 4 Freedom Campaign

Hi everyone,

The number of children in our holistic child prostitution prevention program continues to grow. As you may have read on our blog, we recently accepted 21 new scholarship students! We're thrilled by the continual growth of SOLD's program and the immeasurable impact it's having in the lives of these children and their families.

With the growth of our program, however, the burden on our current facilities increases as well. We'd love to see a new classroom built this year, but before we can begin construction, we still need to raise an additional $3,500. The good news is, on March 14, we have a great opportunity to raise enough to get started.

On Wednesday, March 14, and continuing all day, GlobalGiving.org is matching all online donations at 30% up to $1,000 per person, per project! There are $50,000 available in matching funds and matching stops when the funds run out, so don't wait until the end of the day to give. GlobalGiving is also offering a $1,000 bonus to the project that raises the most funds and a $1,000 bonus to the project that receives donations from the highest number of individual donors. That means:

• Your $100 gift instantly becomes $130
• Your $250 gift instantly becomes $325
• Your $500 gift instantly becomes $650
• Your $1000 gift instantly becomes $1,300

You get the idea. : ) It's a great way to ensure your dollars have the greatest possible impact. In fact, if just 28 people give $100 on March 14 and it's matched at 30%, we could start construction on the classroom in April.

Please tell your friends about this project on Facebook and Twitter—the more awesome people like you we can get involved, the sooner we can finish this project and build the kids a new classroom.

THANK YOU for your continued support of not just this project, but of all the children at risk in northern Thailand who benefit from your gifts. We couldn't do what we do without you.

Links:

• Start a fundraiser for this project
• Create a gift registry and ask for donations to this project

Hi friends,

The year is off to a great start! Our Thailand staff is stronger than ever and excited for the year ahead. As the Resource Center continues to stretch at the seams with at-risk children eager to learn, the need for a new classroom grows more and more apparent.

Tawee, our Thailand Director, hopes to begin construction before rainy season begins in June (once rainy season hits it will be too late to prepare the land), adding that we need roughly $5,000 before we can safely begin construction on the classroom. This amount will allow us to prepare the land, lay the foundation, and begin building the frame. Already, your generous gifts total nearly $1,400. Thank you!

I recently asked Jade Keller, The SOLD Project's Education Manager, to share her thoughts on the growing need for a new classroom building. Here's what she wrote:

"The need for a second classroom stems from all the projects and opportunities we're trying to offer. Saturday afternoons are the busiest time at the Resource Center because all the kids are there at once. Thus, while each level of the English classes takes place, we take the rest of the kids and work on other things like photography, drawing, creative writing, and science projects. Periodically (and especially as the kids get older), we'll also do more special presentations on various professional skills, like applying to college, preparing for job interviews, etc.

"Right now, those classes take place on the floor upstairs in the middle of SOLD's office space and staff living quarters, which isn't really conducive to working comfortably and doesn't allow room for a whiteboard or other teacher aids. A separate two-story classroom building will provide additional teaching space, and give us a place to hold presentations for groups visiting for special events. We'll also probably move the computer lab into this new building to relieve some of the crowding in the current classroom.

"We're also hoping to add sleeping quarters above the second classroom because some staff now live on the property and it will provide temporary living space for visiting staff (myself included, since I come from Chiang Mai every other weekend). We'll also take some of the new space to create a secure storage room for personnel files, which, right now, are a little too easily accessible for our comfort. Basically, having a second classroom would allow a lot more freedom for what SOLD can offer."

Thank you for choosing to support this project! Please consider making a recurring donation. Your continued investment in these children means the world to us—and changes their world forever.

Hi there,

We have an opportunity this week to make a serious dent in this project! Starting at Midnight ET on Wednesday, October 19th and continuing all day, GlobalGiving is matching all donations (up to $1,000 per person, per project) at 30%.

That means if you give $100 toward building a second classroom for our students in Thailand, we get $130. And if you give $1,000, GlobalGiving will donate $300 to this project.

This is GlobalGiving's LAST Bonus Day of the year and they only have a limited amount of matching funds available so when that's gone, it's gone. So, please don't wait to give!

You can also help jumpstart this project by spreading the word. If each of you tells three, five, or ten of your friends and they give, too, together we can make a huge difference.

Thank you all for your ongoing support of our work to prevent child exploitation in Thailand. You're the best.