Garage Sale!

This past weekend, despite rain, my family held a garage sale to a) raise some money, and b) to get rid of some clutter in their house. Overall it was a great success and most of the major items listed were sold. All in all, the garage sale brought in $420, which will be going directly to YCI to pay for my project fee. To date, I have raised approximately $3270 which is approximately 59% of the current estimate of around $5500 (all amounts Canadian). The vast majority of this money has come from the efforts of my mother, Sharon Davidson. So my first thank you for the garage sale must go to her.

This sale would not have been possible without a lot of help from others. A number of big thank yous go out to the following people/businesses:

• Sharon Davidson (my mother)
• Heather Davidson (my sister)
• John Davidson (my father)
  
• Florence DeMacio (my grandmother)
• Judy Morely
• Caroline Bonner
• Olynyk, King and Duda advertising (for providing the tents that kept things dry)

I continue to be impressed with the response of everyone who hears about what I'm doing. I must send a thank you to everyone who bought items and donated money at the sale. Though the gesture may seem small, collectively it is very large.

Here are some pictures from the event:

Asante Sana. 고맙습니다. Merci Beaucoup. Thank You Very Much. Part 3

The last few weeks have been good weeks for my fundraising and I have a few more thank yous to give. As always, this volunteer trip would not be possible without the support of an ever-increasing number of people.

About a month ago, I applied for a grant from the University of Victoria Alumni Association. They provide grants to:

• enhance the quality of education at UVic; improve campus life;
• help students and recent graduates (last five years);
• otherwise support the university

Being a recent graduate of UVic, I qualified for one such grant. Recently I was informed that I had indeed received a grant. This grant will go toward paying for a significant portion of my program fee. They were very generous and up to now they have been my largest donor. I thank them for their generosity. For more information about the UVic Alumni Association, please visit http://alumni.uvic.ca/.

Two other individuals have also donated money recently to my fundraising: Janet Gefre and Pat Finlay. Their contributions have pushed my fundraising efforts beyond $500 Canadian. This is a big milestone and I thank them both for their donations. Janet has also donated a few items to be used in other fundraising events and this addition is also greatly appreciated.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who has helped me to this point. I look forward to continuing to thank people for their help. Your support is welcomed and if you know of anyone who would want to support a cause like mine, please point them in this direction!

Thank You Very Much. Asante Sana. Merci Beaucoup. 고맙습니다. Part 2

It has come time to give a second round of thank yous to a few people who have helped me out in the last few weeks. Without the support of several people, my going to Africa would not be possible.

The first thank you goes to my father, John Davidson, who has used his connections to help spread the word about my trip and my fundraising needs. He has also helped with research into things to sell (look for these soon!). On a related note, I would also like to thank the rest of my family (Sister Heather and Mother Sharon) for helping with this as well. My being in Korea has placed some restraints on what I can accomplish and all of my family members have been more than helpful in this regard.

The second thank you goes out to Carolyn Reinhart who has offered to help me obtain two qualifications I will require for my trip: a swim test (to see if I can swim 200m unassisted) and to help me get my first aid certification.

The third thank you is to an anonymous donor who donated money to my cause. The donor asked not to be named, but I wish to thank the donor regardless. So thank you.

As I have said time and time again, this would not be possible without the support of several people. Thank you for all of the time and money that you have donated. It will support not just me, but those who I will have a chance to work with overseas and at home.

Merci Beacoup. Thank You Very Much. 고맙습니다. Asante Sana.

I would like to take the time to say a very big thanks to four people. The first two, decided to donate online to Youth Challenge International to help pay for my project. So my very first thank-yous go out to Houston Gonsalves and Em Davidson for their donations to my cause.

The second two people have not donated any money, but have instead donated a good deal of time and effort (so much that if I tried to quantify it I couldn't) to help me plan future events (stay tuned for more information about those). They have also helped me set up my website (also soon to be launched) and get in contact with other people. Those two people are Heather and Sharon Davidson, my sister and mother respectively. Without them much of what I have accomplished and what I am planning would be impossible.

So thank you all!