Growing up I always felt attached to my birthdays, because it meant I could ask my parents for the newest LEGO edition or some pocket money to go on a trip. However, ever since it became my responsibility to organize my own birthday parties, the day no longer became as exciting, simply ending up with more drinking and more Facebook messages than usual. But on the day I turned 25, and decided to exchange my day for a birthday fundraiser, things got a lot bigger and crazier than I imagined, even with only a few drinks involved.
Months before my birthday, I got to meet a woman named Annie working for a charity that supports female entrepreneurs in Ghana. She had opened my eyes to the cause she was supporting, and had even inspired me to learn French. I wanted to do something to support her and help the entrepreneurs start their business. So I decided to donate my birthday. The best part was how easy and amazing it was to carry out this promise. All I had to do was to pick a restaurant and date, and make a request. I was then provided with this to promote, my own RSVP page!
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, so I had to count one by one. The dinner was at a local Ethiopian restaurant, and the owner told me this was the biggest crowd he’s had in years. Thanks to the nature of my party where 33% of the food sales got donated to Annie’s cause, I felt very comfortable inviting friends that I barely talked to. My friends also ended up bringing their friends along, because it was no longer just about celebrating a birthday. It turned out about half of the people were strangers celebrating my birthday together, which was AMAZING.
Annie came to speak about her cause, and many of us bought her book on gender equality in Ghana, which helped a lot in raising more money. The strangest thing was that even with the charitable focus, I felt the ownership of my birthday much more than my previous birthday experiences. My friends were there to truly celebrate my day together. They appreciated me for organizing a wonderful occasion to get together, and I honestly felt great about myself on what seemed like a perfect day to do so.
Thanks to GroupRaise, we now have a wonderful way to donate our celebrations to what matters in our lives.
If you want to celebrate your special day in a unique and awesome way, you can view participating restaurants in your area by visiting GroupRaise.com.
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