WELL:Done!! Lemon:AID Warriors Water:Walk 2012 surpassed my goal by far. After a mile of walking with jugs and signs, getting stores along the way to sell Lemon:AID for us, and throwing an amazing birthday philanthropy, we ended up raising $6,300 and counting. Thank you to my Lemon:AID warriors who walked beside me, to the donors who gave, and to businesses who sold Lemon:AID all weekend. Hundreds of our friends in Africa will have clean water for generations.
The LemonAID Warriors Water:Walk is back! Last year, my 6th grade class walked down bustling streets in a popular Los Angeles neighborhood, carrying jugs of water and signs to raise awareness for the water crisis in Africa. Afterwards, two of my friends and I threw a joint birthday party where we asked for $20 donations instead of birthday gifts. We also participated in LemonAID Week, where stores that we walked by sold lemon themed items and donated the proceeds to LemonAID Warriors, or just made a flat donation. We ended up raising $4,000 and funding a well in Africa. On Friday the 4th, we are holding our second annual Water:Walk. This year, we have a donation page. So far, we have around $3,650 and counting, prior to the actual Water:Walk event. We are going to surpass our goal of $4,000 this year, and I can’t wait to see the final results! Donate here.
Thank you Los Angeles Magazine for choosing me as one of 5 “women” Action Heros of Los Angeles. Please click here so you can read about the other four inspiring, incredible women. I’m so honored to be included among them.
How do you get a big company to listen to an idea from a little kid? ASK!! Yep. It’s that simple. I emailed Matt Douglas, president of the awesome online invitation comany, Punchbowl.com. I use his site for my fundraisers because I love the designs and their donation icon. I pitched a bunch of PhilanthroParty ideas (along with Blood:Water Mission, of course) and suggested they post them on his site to inpsire people to add a fundraising ellement to their next party. The next week, I was working with Ariel, his content manager. And a few weeks later, they launched it! Check it out here and dont forget to use Punchbowl.com for your next event!
A few weeks ago, I returned from Three Dot Dash Just Peace Summit 2012, a one week summit run by the We Are Family foundation. I was chosen to be one of the 30 Global Teen Leaders, ranging from ages 13 to 19 (I was still 12!) For one amazing week, we got to hear speakers and see presentations from people in all different industries to learn how to expand our boundaries and take our organizations to the next level. It was seriously life changing. I learned so much about how to present myself and my organization, as well as learning about film, photography, social media, branding, creativity, how to speak in an interview, and so much more. I gained so much more confidence in myself and in LemonAID Warriors, as well as met 30 outstanding teenage leaders from all over the world who I still talk to today. Click here to learn more about the summit.
I was recently a guest blogger on joinfite.org. This organization is so unique! You look for codes on participating products, such as Dermalogica Skin Care. Then, you enter the code of the FITE website and a loan is made to a struggling woman entrepreneur in a thrid world country of your choice.
Hands down highlight of my summer, (or even my life!) I was the opening speaker at the International Year of Youth ceremony held at the United Nations in New York City. I owe a huge thanks to Denise Restauri, founder of Allykatzz.com, for giving us a platform to be speak out, be heard, and change the world.
The Lemonaid Warriors Year of Youth Culmination Ceremony Pucker Face Contest pictures are here! About 200 girls were crazy enough to enter the contest, suck on a lemon, and have the chance to win a case of Jones soda with your hilarious pucker face the front. Now, it’s up to all of you to vote for the best pucker face here. Email me the code under your favorite photo at lemonaidwarriors@gmail.com.
You asked for it, so here it is! A step by step guide to holding your very own LemonAID Week just like me and my 6th grade class did. I made this short video for Blood:Water Mission to teach everyone how to get your local businesses involved in raising money to build wells in Africa. Order your kit here bloodwatermission.com/lemonaid
Ask me for help and I will give you even more tips to make your LemonAID Week a huge success. Send me your photos, too!
At AllyKatzz Tween Summit 2010, in New York, I held a Pucker Face contest to raise awareness for LemonAID Warriors and to give out information about my favorite charity Blood:Water Mission. Hundreds lined up to suck a lemon and get a crazy picture taken of their silliest pucker face. Check out these wacky photos and vote for your favorite!
This year, Allykatzz is giving me a booth again at the International Year of Youth Culmination Ceremony. It takes place August 11th at the United Nations in New York! I want to invite you LemonAID Warrirors to join me there for a day of inspirational fun. If you can make it, download your application here http://www.allykatzz.com/page/summit/
Come and find me at my LemonAID Warrior booth!
Quick! What’s the first fundraiser you ever had?Most of you said “a lemonade stand,” right?We are LemonAID Warriors not because we just sell lemonade, but because our fundraisers are as simple as your first lemonade stand. Small ideas are no small deal when we join together to make big things happen.
I started this blog because because I love to fund raise. I do it a lot because I can’t sit around and do nothing when someone needs my help. I learned that kids my age are very easy to motivate! We hear about a disaster, or people who need help and we immediately want to jump into action and raise some money. We have creative ideas and tons of energy, but we could a little help getting organized. We need a place to go to get a game plan. Figure out how to get it done right. Usually we end up having to ask our parents and teachers to help. And, honestly, that kind of takes the excitement out of it. We feel more powerful and work harder, when we take control. On our own. Our own way. LemonAID Warrior website brings young fundraisers together to show everyone how powerful our generation can be.
Oh yeah?! Watch this video and you’ll take that back!
The amazing staff at Blood:Water Mission screened this video at their Well:Done Celebration in Nashville on May 10th. They reached their goal to build 1000 wells in Africa and they had an amazing concert to celebrate. I was invited to talk on stage about LemonAID Warrior’s work. Jars of Clay, the founders, performed with Hanson, Derek Webb Sandra McCracken, and Eric Wainaina to raise over $100,000.00.
But the real stars of the show were the leaders from Africa who came all this way to let us know that our work matters. Michele from Rwanda told me that they are filled with joy that we care about them, even though they are strangers who live half a world away. He wanted me to say THANK YOU to all the lemonaid warriors!
LemonAID Warriors was started to spread the word that kids have the power to change the world on our own, our own way. Thank you, Blood:Water Missions, for helping me spread that message to my generation by supporting us and making us feel our work is important.
