A third year at Ohio State University, Neha Nidhi likes a challenge. Despite a busy schedule balancing premed classes, a double major in Spanish and biology, and working as an RA, she decided to take on her own 50:50 campaign in order to spend her winter break in Lima, Peru volunteering on a Mobile Clinic. “It was a chance for me to see if I could do it on my own,” she told us. In the end, she raised $1200, enough to cover almost her entire participation fee, and contribute towards a community development project.
“It was a long process,” she says, “but I’m really proud of myself.”
In order to maximize the effectiveness of her fundraising campaign, she says she reached out to family and friends, and used all of the resources at her disposal. She recommends using not only Facebook, but other forms of communication as well in order to reach out to people in the workforce, who might be more willing and able to donate. Neha was born in India, and says most of her extended family is still there. So she asked her friends and family members to contact their own networks; her dad helped out by providing his coworkers’ emails. When she sent out her emails, she made sure to personalize each one, even throwing in some simple Spanish phrases, and explain how the 50:50 campaign works, with 50% of total donations going to her own trip, and 50% to continuing MEDLIFE’s work in Latin America. “It’s a great feeling knowing you’re not only helping yourself, but helping others too,” she says.
This week has been packed with new experiences for Neha, between volunteering each day at the Mobile Clinic and development project, and exploring Lima. “I’m really looking forward to making the most out of it,” she says. “I just wish there were more hours in the day so I can do more!”
Learn more about how you can reduce the cost of participation in your Mobile Clinic and start your own 50:50 Campaign here! Or support our work by donating to a specific students’ 50:50 campaign.