A lovely table and generous table, Oz style!
Dear Friends,
I’m happy to share this story from Australia today! It comes from Mary Loka, our donor relations associate. So grateful to these folks for being there for the children… good on ya, mates!
— Nermien Riad
Amidst all the preparations for Coptic Orphans’ 25th Anniversary Gala on Nov. 9 in Lilyfield, something extraordinary happened. It reminded me of the powerful spirit of volunteerism that lives in our Coptic heritage.
It all started last month, when I was approached by one of our sponsors. She wanted to organise a ladies’ fundraising dinner for Coptic Orphans within her circle of friends. Mariam is a wonderful and very organised lady with a generous heart for the orphans of Egypt.
Mariam did everything from A to Z, and we were just her cheering squad!
Here’s how she did it, in four easy steps. Well, it actually took a lot of hard work, but she made it look easy!
- She made a Facebook event to share the mission of Coptic Orphans with her friends, and started sharing Coptic Orphans videos every other day through this event page. That’s how she made people aware of our work and encouraged them to purchase tickets for the dinner.
- She booked the venue, and made sure her party would get a private room so that one of the Coptic Orphans board members could come speak with them without a lot of distractions.
- She networked and found many generous donors who donated a lot of gifts, which she then used for the dinner “goodie bags” and a raffle prize.
- She involved some beautiful young people from the church to help her put the goodie bags together, organise the raffle, and run trivia games during the event.
The dinner was sold out, the ladies had an amazing night, and they raised over AUS$2,000 for Coptic Orphans. Even better, they signed up to sponsor several children.
Hats off (on, actually) to the children of Egypt!
But what struck me the most was that 27 out of the 30 guests had never heard about Coptic Orphans before this dinner.
What Mariam did was more than just organise a fundraising dinner. She managed to spread the word in what would normally be a casual social event. She is an excellent example of a Coptic Orphans ambassador!
The youth crew – making a difference for Egypt!
Many thanks from us at Coptic Orphans Australia to Mariam and her guests, who are making a difference for the children of Egypt!
By the grace of God, we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Coptic Orphans with Galas in Australia and the United States. We had the honored presence of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II at our Sept. 28 Gala in Canada, where he accepted the Leading by Example Award. Tickets to the Nov. 9 Gala in Lilyfield may be purchased online (where you can also get more details) or by contacting me at niskander@copticorphans.org or 02-9787-9777