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DC fundraiser idea

The emergence of social media sites has completely transformed the way we keep in touch with the world, enabling us to update our friends and family on everything from major life changes to passing observations. What we decide to share is up to us, but who we end up sharing it with is not entirely in our control. For WorldStrides parent Dwion Gates, Facebook shared his message with more people than he could have imagined – sending his son Graham on the trip of a lifetime in the process.

Dwion added a virtual donation jar to his Facebook page along with a message about his struggle to send his son with his classmates from Pacifica, CA, to Washington, D.C., and Williamsburg, VA. Along with the donation jar, he added a description of the trip, complete with an itinerary, to express the benefit of travel he wanted for his son. It took one day for his donation jar to reach $700.

Subsequent donations to his page would yield Dwion equally impressive contributions from friends, relatives, and strangers. Several donations later, including two large donations from anonymous donors, Dwion’s dream to send his son on a trip of a lifetime was fulfilled!

Dwion made the final payment himself, and Graham is now eagerly anticipating his first trip to the East Coast. Of all the things his son will learn on his trip, the lessons in giving and kindness that Graham has received may have the largest impact of all. Graham has responded to his generous donors with phone calls and letters of thanks and appreciation. He also plans to record his experience with blog updates upon his return, so that everyone will know how impactful this entire experience has been for him.

Do you have a story about how social media has helped you on a WorldStrides trip or an interesting fundraising story you’d like to share? We’d love to hear it! Leave a comment below, visit us on Facebook, or email us anytime at update@worldstrides.org!