The last season of MEDLIFE Mobile Clinics in Ecuador was amazing. Many students raised funds for their trip through a 50:50 campaign, here are three of their stories. For more information about the 50:50 campaign click here: 50:50 Campaign
My name is Catia Lecchino and I’m from Marianapolis College. I went on a trip to Tena, Ecuador.
How did you hear about the 5050 campaign? I heard about the 50:50 campaign when I got involved with MEDLIFE on campus. I received an email explaining the 50:50 campaign and fundraising opportunity.
Why did you decide to organize a campaign? I thought it was a really great idea since the money I raised could help a lot of people here in Ecuador and it also would educate other people in my community about MEDLIFE and what we do. It´s a good opportunity to get a lot of people involved and engaged at the same time.
How long was your campaign? I started my campaign about 3 months before I left. It was a lot of family and friends who donated and helped move my campaign forward.
How much money did you raise total? I raised $575 total with the MEDLIFE 50:50 campaign.
What did you do to reach that goal? I spoke to people, sent out emails and whatnot. Basically, I reached out to friends and family to tell them about what MEDLIFE is, what we do and how they´re helping people around the world. That encouraged people to donate to my campaign.
Did you experience and obstacles during your campaign? If so, how did you over come them? I didn’t encounter any obstacles really. I think what I would have loved to do if I had more time would be to post it on Facebook or a bigger social media network to reach more people and let them see what MEDLIFE was about.
How was organizing a 50:50 campaign a positive experience? What did you learn from it? I’ve learned how to interact better with people, explain to them things that I was also new to. I also learned how to pace myself.
What did you think of your volunteer trip? I loved my volunteer trip. I thought it was a great experience. We got to help people and experience a new culture at the same time. It was really beautiful.
How do you feel about the impact you have made raising money to support people like the ones you are working with on this trip? I feel good about what I’ve done. I would love to keep doing this in the future.
What advice do you have for students who are organizing a 50:50 campaign? I would tell students organizing a 50:50 campaign to not be scared about getting your message out there. Talk to people about MEDLIFE and what you`re doing because it has a serious impact for people around the world. It’s amazing to see that impact when you go on a mobile clinic after months of fundraising.
My name is Princess Olowu and I arrived on May 16th in Esmeraldas, Ecuador and I´ll be finishing on 31st going to Riobamba.
How did you hear about the 50:50 campaign? I heard about the opportunity through my friend who went on a MEDLIFE trip to Ecuador a few years ago and fundraised for the trip with a 50:50 campaign.
How long was your campaign? I was initially supposed to go to Cusco and Lima, Peru last year. I campaigned for 2 months but towards the end I realized I could no longer go there so I moved over my campaign to Ecuador for another two months.
How much money did you raise? $1,100
How did you fundraise for your campaign? Basically, I spoke to people as naturally as I possibly could, friends, family coworkers, pretty much everyone and just told them about MEDLIFE and what we do.
Did you experience and obstacles during your campaign? If so, how did you over come them? I guess a couple of people were not really sure about MEDLIFE because they hadn’t heard about it, and then a lot of people were just a little bit unwilling to give because they didn’t have the money or resources. So, I just encouraged people to share the link.
Was it a positive experience? What did you learn? It was great! I learned that a lot of people really like transparency when it comes to where they give their money. I also learned that a lot of people want to help out others around the world but didn’t know how to, the 50:50 campaign gave them an opportunity to.
What do you think of your volunteer trip? I have loved every moment of my volunteer trip! From working with doctors, to meeting the patients to just meeting the locals when we go on tours. I really enjoyed the reality check tour that we went on; it was really a reality check.
How do you feel about the impact you have made by raising money to support people in need? Initially coming into this, I thought that the money I would raise was quite a bit and it would be a great impact. But apon working here, just the week I’ve been here, I feel like there’s a lot more that I could do and I’d like to be able to help more.
What advice would you give someone who is doing a 50:50? Transparency is the most important thing for organizing a 50:50 campaign. Speak to people honestly, don´t get upset or angry if they can´t help you out, just keep going no matter how many nos you get!
My name is Matthew Ruby and I’m from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I went on a trip to Riobamba.
How did you hear about the 50:50 campaign? I heard about it though the MEDLIFE website when I first got involved with MEDLIFE. I looked into it and I thought it was a good opportunity.
Why did you decided to organize a campaign? I thought it was a good opportunity to help the local community here in Riobamba in some way and raise some money for things they needed like schools, medical supplies. And I thought it was a good opportunity for me personally to pay for some of my expenses for the trip. I figured that my friends and family would be willing to give a little bit, so I thought it was good idea.
What did you do to raise the money? I reached out to different family members and told them to tell others and took some time to write something for the campaign page that made sense, that would make people feel that this was a good thing to donate to. I thought that people would be engaged
Did you experience and obstacles during your campaign? If so, how did you over come them?I didn’t really encounter any direct obstacles with the campaign. I guess the closest thing I had was with my moms family, some of them were just not really able to give that much, it’s not that they weren’t willing to give. I didn’t want to press anyone into it. It was really just if you feel like you want to you can. It wasn´t really an obstacle. It was more just like you know oh, the moneys going to have to come from somewhere, I’ll have to find someone else to donate. You are just are thankful for what you can get.
How was it a positive experience what did you learn? I thought it was a very positive experience in that I didn’t expect people to give as much. It was mostly my dad’s side of the family that gave. It wasn’t really that they were more willing to give, it was more that they felt like it was something they could spare money for. It was a positive experience because it just shows how generous and willing to help out people are if you just ask them. People really do care about something even though they haven’t been to Ecuador, it becomes something that’s important to them since its important to you. It was nice to see that kind of generosity.
What did you think of your volunteer trip? I´ve enjoyed it a lot. It´s been an extremely beneficial experience in a couple of different ways. Professionally, it’s a good experience if you want to work in public health or medicine. Also it’s a good cultural exchange experience to be able to see a different place, experience a different place and talk to the local people. It was a great experience for me to practice my Spanish and to just learn about how people are living in a place that’s not too far a way but very different.
How do you feel about the impact that you´ve made by fundraising and volunteering on a mobile clinic?I feel very thankful that I have the opportunity to help some people. I´m very happy that some money I raised can be used to directly help people. I think sometimes with bigger NGOs or larger organizations it can be hard to know/see exactly where your money is going. I thought this was a special opportunity because the money that you give/raise- you can directly see where and who it’s going to and interact with the people it’s going to. I thought that it was extremely beneficial for me and those who donated, and I appreciated that it was a two-way thing.
What advice do you have for students who are organizing a 50:50 campaign? Don´t be afraid to ask, you know, especially your family. You might be surprised by how generous people can be, but also don’t pressure people, you´ll figure it out. Make people feel good about what they are doing and giving to. Just be honest.