Last week in the first part of our series we talked about Jared from Maryland and his efforts to raise money for Kicks4Kenya.
This week we are going to talk about Jake Heilbrun from San Diego California. Jake emailed me out of the blue and basically just said I want to raise money but your organization, I was thinking about doing it through my bar mitzvah, but really don't have any ideas. So after a few emails back in forth Jake came back to me and came up with the most amazing and creative idea, he said he was going to twist our name Kicks4Kenya into Coins4Kenya and get friends, family, teammates, etc to donate their spare change. I couldn't believe how simple, and awesome an idea it was! As if that was not enough Jake's rabbai promised to double all money raised by Jake! Awesome!
Here are some things Jake had to say about his experience:
How did you get the idea to raise coins?I got the idea to raise coins because I thought that it wasn't asking too much of people and that if a lot of people contributed, I would raise a lot of money.
What were your friend's thoughts on what you were doing for children you have never met before?My friends were impressed with what I was doing and supported me. They thought it was great helping kids across the world to have some of the resources we have. Also, we all love soccer and they knew that this would allow them to enjoy it as much as we all do.
Were your family and friends supportive?My family and friends were very supportive. Many of them donated whether it was a few coins or 50 dollars. They told me how great what I was doing was and that they were really proud. My mom especially helped out the most by helping me count coins, driving me to collect the coins, and helping organize everything. Many of my friends came over and helped me count and collect the coins. Overall, everyone was really supportive.
How has sports effected your life that you wanted to pay it forward to children that are less fortunate?Sports have taught me many things. Whenever I lose a match I am always disappointed, like many people. It's not the end of the world though. I think that I'm lucky to be playing in the first place in a safe environment with resources, unlike so many other people. Sports are also a great way to get connected with people. Sports connected me to kicks4kenya where I will be helping many kids and enriching their lives. Sports is a universal language that everyone can agree on and can bring peace.
What have you learned from the experience?This experience has taught me many things. Being only 12-13, I realized your age doesn't matter when you're doing a project and are determined to accomplish your goals. I also learned that I am really making a difference to these kids and how important it is to give back to the community and world.
In total Jake raised enough money to send us 45 sets of brand new and amazing shoes and jerseys, along with cones and pumps to send to Meru, Kenya to start up a new soccer program. In December the first batch of supplies were sent over and can be read about here: HearKenya
. They also sent us a check which is being used to refurbish a field so that more children are able to play the game that they love!
Jake I can truly say you are an amazing young man! We are so proud to have had the opportunity to work with you and wish you all the best in the future! It is amazing for me to see young people coming together to help out in something that was once just a small idea in my head. We can't say thank you enough!
