There are a lot of people in this world who could use our help. So, why did I choose Rising International? Rising's philosophy is simple: women in the third world play a very crucial role in family structure. When you help them, they build stronger families, raise stronger children who then go off to be strong citizens of the world. The logic is quite simple, and make sense to me.
I have been a champion for Rising International, all through my high school years. Here are my specific contributions. 
  1. In 10th grade, I organized a screening of Girl Rising, a movie about how girls are being empowered all over the world. 
  2. Later that year year, I organized a "toy sale" event at my home, to raise some funds for Rising. 
  3. In 11th grade I was the President of the Rising Club. I started this club in my high school, to further increase awareness of Rising amongst school children. 

The Girl Rising Screening 

This was my first real bit of leg work that I did for Rising. I had to send out lots of emails to friends and family, explain to them what the movie was about, how their participation will help the cause etc. Gathr Films wanted a certain number of sign ups before they would screen the movie in the city I live, and it took a lot of email based marketing to get that many tickets sold. 

The screening was a success, see here for the results and below for the trailer of the movie we showed.

The Handmade Goods Sale

The First Party: July 2013

Here I invited the Rising staff from the local chapter of Rising to come and sell the goods made by the women in war torn areas like Afghanistan, in my home. Of course, I had the full support of my parents for all this. I invited all my neighbors, and friends from my high school, and middle school. These events are called "Home Parties" and they are a novel way of raising awareness and marketing Rising International as a charity organization. I have attached three videos here of the event itself. I especially encourage you all to listen to the speech by Agama, a native of Cameroon, and hear her describe how Rising helps change lives. 

The Second Party: March 30, 2014

This party was much larger than the last one and I changed quite a few things. I invited more people and I also sold not only goods made by impoverished women, but also goods and artwork made by local artists as well. This added a new dimension and really helped make the event more lively. Even though all the proceeds went to Rising International, allowing local artists to sell their work and advertise themselves helped guests learn more about how Rising helps women locally and globally. I also invited guest speakers Pratagi Grover and founder of Rising International, Carmel Jud, to speak on the topic of female empowerment and how we can help girls both locally and abroad embrace their inner strength. This event was the largest Home Party Rising had ever had with 90 guests and we raised $4266! There was even an article written about it in the Mercury News!