The Woofers Potato Farm …?

MY BIRTHDAY

For my 21st birthday (finally!), I was inspired by this blog post, and am planning 21 Random(ish) Acts of Kindness to be completed during the week of my birthday. I’ll be collecting and donating clothes to benefit veterans, collecting and donating books to Massachusetts jails, volunteering to run BINGO at one of my favorite pet charities in Boston—The Women’s Lunch Place, running a 5K for hunger (more information to come!!)… I’m trying to vary both the act itself (donating funds vs. time vs. goods), as well as the recipients as much as possible. My hope is to make this an annual thing(!), challenging myself every year to come up with innovative and creative new ways to spread the love.

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NJABINI APPAREL

Njabini Apparel is a Boston- and Providence-based company that sells chic accessories and housewares. The products are made by mothers in Njabini, Kenya, who don’t have any other means of income. The revenues go towards paying the mothers four times the national average, funding educational and micro-lending programs, and supporting additional “do-gooder” projects. Recently, Njabini Apparel announced a new project—The Potato Project. Njabini is a social enterprise that I’ve worked with before. I wrote an article about them for The Boston Globe, and have since kept in contact with co-founder Mike Behan about the company’s progress.

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MY REQUEST

As part of my birthday festivities, I will be hosting a Njabini party (similar to a tupperware party, complete with homemade appetizers and a Njabini-tini!). However, I want to do even more. Njabini is trying to raise $35,000 in the next two months in order to fund a new program that would help potato farmers in the area. I want to help them raise those funds. I encourage individuals to donate on their own (and reap the prizes!), but I am also interested in pooling funds: If any one person or party donates $250, they can name one of the potato farms in Kenya. I think $250 is a very reasonable number. If each person I know can donate $10, we can easily make an incredible influence. Plus, it’s my intention to match donations as much as I can manage. I can think of no better name than the Woofers Potato Farm (though I am very receptive to suggestions, nonetheless!).

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Please join me in celebrating my upcoming milestone! The 60-day fundraiser ends during the week of my birthday, so the timing is serendipitous. If you’re interested in participating, please contact me and we can coordinate the best way to transfer/pool funds.

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WHY WOOFERS

For those, who don’t know the significance of “Woof” in my life, it was my father’s nickname, as well as a call to friends and family. It’s the Daniells’ version of “Aloha” and has survived multiple generations and continents—Let’s bring it to Africa!