In 2006 Barbara Heffner sent me John Wood's book after reading my Boston.com blog post about it. She said John's story changed her after she read it. So I read the book. It changed me too.
John Wood was a rising Microsoft marketing exec who went on a backpacking vacation to Nepal to take a break from the burnout of his demanding job.
While there he was invited to visit a school. As he toured the building he found that the 450 kids that went there had ZERO books. None. Unless you counted the two castoff books from backpackers like himself - a paperback Danielle Steele novel and a Lonely Planet Guide to Mongolia. These were kept under lock and key to keep them safe from the children!
He vowed to come back with books for the school. And he did.
I'll get out of the way and let John tell his incredible story:
I'm inspired by John's journey from marketing software to marketing the fight against illiteracy and poverty and founding Room to Read...not to mention the personal courage it took for him to walk away from those Microsoft dollars.
And while lots of aid groups make a difference, the reason I'm so passionate about Room to Read is that to reach success, Wood applied key business and marketing principles he learned at Microsoft:
- Scalable, measured, sustainable results
- Low-overhead, allowing maximum investment in educational infrastructure
- Challenge grants fostering community ownership and sustainability
- Strong local staff and partnerships creating culturally relevant programs
The scalable, measured results start immediately with the way Room to Read works with volunteers and donors.
You don't just donate cash and wonder where it goes. Instead you know exactly what your money is being used for, because you work together with Room to Read to fund a project. It's a model for 21st century philanthropy...linking communities with donors so that each can co-invest to create sustainable change.
So here's where you come in...
I've joined forces with Barbara Heffner and a number of other inspired people to reinvigorate the Boston Chapter of Room to Read. And we're thrilled to launch our first project.
On Wednesday, November 12th we are hosting an event with the goal of building 10 libraries for kids in Cambodia. We need $40,000 to reach our goal.
What can you do?
Come to our event at the Elephant Walk restaurant in Cambridge on Nov. 12th!
Here's the invitation
$25 per person donation/$30 at the door
We will provide munchies and drinks and a silent auction (Red Sox tickets are in the auction - hey, there's always next year!)
And if you can't come...please make a donation to help us reach our goal.
We will track all money raised and get back to you on the progress we're making.
Let's be generous so that one day soon you will read a blog post or email from me showcasing pictures of the libraries we have built together.
That way you and I can see the smiling beautiful faces of the kids we help...and have the experience that so inspired John Wood to leave Microsoft and use what he learned there to change the world.
