Hey there! I am Jyoti and I am biking 204 miles from Seattle to Portland as part of STP 2017 on July 15-16
I have been participating in endurance events like half-marathon runs and double century bike rides for last 12 years. I have been volunteering with Asha since 2007 and using these events to raise awareness as well as to raise funds for this awesome organization.
Asha for Education is a secular organization dedicated to driving change in India by focusing on the basic education of underprivileged children in the belief that education is a critical prerequisite for socio-economic change. They work with a variety of project partners and community groups in many education and development related endeavors.
As one of the Asha project coordinators, I monitor 7 projects in India. Each year with the help of project stewards, I handle a total disbursement of around $100,000 to these projects. Together we study their proposals, budgets and past performance and take a decision on funding them for each successive year. After the money is remitted, we follow up in depth to verify that the funds are being used for the intended purpose through regular reports. Once a year, one of us personally visits the project location for hands-on follow-up and confirmation. Hence working with Asha has not only given me an opportunity to make a difference in the underprivileged kids in India but also a chance to play an important role of a trustee for the donors’ money.
Here in Seattle, every year when we start training for the events we invite new bikers and runners to join us. We arrange training runs and rides for them. Using our past training experience, we guide them and get them ready for the event day. It has been a fulfilling experience to see their journey from being tired after mere few miles initially to the smiles on their faces on the race day when they cross the finish line. This I believe is an awesome way to serve the local community as well.
Please help me reach my modest goal of raising $500 with any contribution you can make. Asha being a volunteer driven organization with no paid staff, has one of the lowest overhead expense ratios. For every dollar you donate, 96¢ goes to programs, 2¢ goes to fundraising, 2¢ goes to admin expenses.
Note that Asha is a registered 501(c) organization and all donations are tax deductible.