Welcome to 2019! It’s an excellent time to both look back and look ahead at the many things worth celebrating and anticipating. Last year was one of our strongest yet- we are planting more trees, working in more communities, and putting more of your generosity to good use than ever before. Here are some things- both new and old- worth celebrating in this new year.
Celebrating new records set from peer-to-peer fundraising
When you click Fundraise at the top of this (or any) page on the Plant With Purpose site, you can walk through a few steps and set up your own fundraising page. This means that you can set up an easy link to send friends and family asking them to help you support Plant With Purpose.
This can be especially helpful if you have a birthday or anniversary coming up, if you are about to run a marathon, or if you have some sort of in-person community fundraiser where you’d like to make donating an easy process.
Last year, so many of you did exactly that and we were able to raise a record amount of money through peer-to-peer fundraising alone!
Celebrating the addition of a new program
Your faithful support has allowed us to continue growing. Plant With Purpose is a global organization. The effects of environmental degradation and poverty are felt by every country. While we work in a few of the countries most severely effected, we recognize that there are many others we hope to be able to help. Growth is key to making that happen.
In the next few weeks, we’ll be announcing the addition of a new country program. This will be Plant With Purpose’s eight international partner, in a country that has faced severe deforestation and famine. We are looking forward to telling you more about this.
Plant With Purpose continues to grow globally.
Celebrating graduating communities
Graduation is a mark of success! When a community has learned sustainable agriculture skills, has learned how to organize and equip savings groups, and has well-trained church leaders in place, Plant With Purpose is no longer needed! At least not directly. Instead, the community can then become advocates for neighboring villages to start practicing sustainable growth.
165 villages have successfully graduated from Plant With Purpose’s program, and we look forward to the graduation of many more in the year ahead.
Celebrating new communities like Kambekulu
When we started our work in the Kakumba watershed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we thought it would be helpful. We had no idea how much transformation it could bring in such a small amount of time.
At the time we started, we measured poverty levels in Kakumba and Kambekulu to see how effective our program’s intervention was. In Kambekulu, poverty had grown slightly, while in Kakumba it shrunk by about two thirds.
That study revealed that our program was an effective tool in drastically reducing poverty. Now, we’re excited to expand into Kambekulu so they can see the same benefits that their neighboring watershed has experienced.
Ilda and her two sons
Celebrating successful partnerships
Our work is able to keep growing because of the support of many generous partners. Some of these partners have been in place for ten years or even longer. The faithfulness of all kinds of foundations, individuals, companies, and churches have allowed us to grow steadily and consistently over the past several years.
From small and mid-size churches, to tree nurseries, to clothing companies, to ecological foundations, to enthusiastic students, to working parents, and so many others, we’ve been able to benefit from so much generosity. And we’re not the only ones benefitting. Almost 30 million trees have been planted, helping the whole world.
Celebrating new partners
We are already thankful for this upcoming year and the new partnerships that will be formed. Currently, we are in talks with different companies, artists, entertainers, and others. We are confident that some of our most exciting work is still ahead of us.
The start of a new year can be an excellent time to start your own partnership with Plant With Purpose. By becoming a Purpose Partner at $22 a month, you can plant hundreds of trees every year that help families out of poverty. Click here to sign up today.
