Congratulations, Scholarship Winner
by irms
This post is scheduled to publish on Thursday, but I’m writing it much earlier than that. In fact, if you’re reading this on Thursday the 3rd (or even Friday), there’s a good chance I’m still sedated from the surgery I had that morning, so let’s hope the “Scheduled Post” feature is working properly.
As you all know, this was a difficult decision. All the finalists and lots of the other applicants deserve this money, but I had to choose just one. To do that, I really had to examine the reasons WHY I wanted to do this in the first place. Talk about some uncomfortable moments for ol’ irms.
After a bit of denial, I came to the conclusion that I decided to give away this money for two reasons, both selfish:
- I want to be the catalyst of someone’s good deeds. That’s right. I want to be the thing that catapults a good person doing good things to a good person doing remarkable things.
- I want to see that change, and feel it’s tangibility. As you know I give money to charities, but there’s something different about watching the corporeal effect right in front of your face, and to feel like it’s partly because of you.
Not all of the finalists could satisfy both of those charges, but one did, and it was because of the way the application was written. It was almost formulaic:
The money will do x, which means the company can do y, and you will be able to tell by z.
That’s pretty damn tangible when you fill in x, y and z.
So, Sabrina Famellos, DOER, massage therapist, and small business owner: I’m awarding you the $2,100. I honestly think you deserve it, that you’ll do right by the additional people that tossed in extra money, and that someday you’ll find a way to do something with gravity for someone else.
Good luck, and let us know how/if this money eneded up making a difference.
Takeaways
This scholarship was an interesting project for me. I’ve learned that there are so many good places to put your money. It’s almost overwhelming. I do believe I’ll do this again someday.
PS
It’s my birthday today (the 3rd). I’m 31. After you write on my Facebook wall, consider donating to this paypal account. Every last cent will go to Florence Ramos, one of the finalists, so she can take her sixth-grade class on that field trip to the Sierra Outdoor School.
We won! >>>Congratulations, Scholarship Winner http://t.co/Cs17z72I
We won! >>>Congratulations, Scholarship Winner http://t.co/Q5dTBLvs
Congratulations Sabrina!! I also donated to the Florence Ramos fund because I strongly believe in outdoor education.
That is very generous of you. You made 22 children smile today 🙂
I think this was a great idea and look forward to seeing how it sparks further conversation in Fresno about effective philanthropy!
The you that you are is beyond amazing, you literally take my breath
away. I could not be more proud of someone than I am of you right
now. Your favorite aunt, Nora-li
Congratulations to the winner! Thanks irma for your consideration. We appreciate it. Thank you so much for setting up a paypal for us. This is very sweet and kind of you to do. Any little bit helps us tremendously.
Hey Chris, thanks for the kind words. I think we can do more for our area, and you will definitely be a part of that. Here’s to more conversations soon.
[…] The first Doer ended up getting $2,100 and the second Doer scored $2,325. Both were able to move their ideas forward. That got us thinking about doing this more often…maybe even creating a platform. That brings us to today and OverFundIt.com. After a quick brainstorming session about the purpose of such a platform, we realized that it wasn’t as much about crowdfunding as it was about getting shit done. Plain and simple. There are Doers in each community that have the skills to make cool stuff happen. You don’t hear about them, but you enjoy the fruits of their labor. Sometimes, they just do stuff because they want the benefit of an improved community. We love that kind of selfishness. They work hard and the whole community wins. […]