I turn 40 in less than a week which, according to my reliable sources, means that I am edging towards the best years of my life. As a 39 year old who has lived a pretty good life so far I am genuinely excited and ready for the challenges, the experiences and the lessons that this next decade will bring.
My plan to welcome in this new phase includes a celebration with close friends/family, a good chunk of journalling time to reflect and be grateful for the last 10 years, and I have recently set up a fundraising campaign to share the birthday celebrations with our kids. This last piece was prompted by some questions from loved ones about what people could get me. The simple answer to this question is nothing. At 40 years old I am very grateful to have all that I need so I decided to channel this love and generosity into a birthday campaign for Hands. $40 for this 40-year old to provide our kids with the life that they deserve. Now that felt like the missing piece of my birthday celebrations was sorted.
So as I blow out 40 candles on my cake this year, I will make a wish for our kids knowing that my milestone birthday is going to help make a difference for them. I invite you to consider the same the next time you have a birthday or special day coming up.
Setting up a
- Create a birthday fundraising page on our website or you can build a Fundraising page with Facebook. Facebook has a really simple wizard process for setting this up and 100% of all donations comes into Hands via our PayPal Giving Fund so they are not taking a cut of funding which is fantastic! Be sure to select Hands Across the Water Australia to sync your campaign to our organisation. Check out this video if you get stuck.
- Invite all of your friends to visit the page and chip in for your birthday - remember no donation is too great or small. You could even be cheeky and request a specific amount i.e. your age to drive people to make a specific donation.
- Set your campaign up for a week prior to your birthday and a week after to allow additional sharing and donations to take place outside of your actual birthday.
Choosing to donate in lieu of gifts will help raise vital funds to support our kids in Thailand ensuring they have access to food, shelter, education and importantly a promising future.