Cheers for Change Birthday Party FUNdraiser

After visiting JustWorld’s partner project Los Patojos in Guatemala, Elena Couttenye was blown away by the life-changing program she witnessed. “I felt this energy I had never experienced before at Los Patojos and knew that it wasn’t just a school, but a program that was actually changing the country and lives of the children.” Elena returned home with an inspired feeling, knowing that she wanted to do more to help.   

This past March, JustWorld held a ‘Cheers for Change’ event which Elena attended. The goal of Cheers for Change is to unite JustWorld’s supporters to help fund education and nutrition programs for children at JustWorld’s partner projects around the world. It is together, through JustWorld’s network, that JustWorld is able to empower more than 6,500 children in Cambodia, Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala, giving them a hope for a brighter future. What is special about Cheers for Change is that a host can bring together their friends and family and tailor their celebration. Since the launch of JustWorld’s new grassroots fundraising initiative Cheers for Change, there have been six individual Cheers for Change events, including a dinner party, cocktail party, art exhibit, Paint N’ Sip night, and a garage sale. These events have come in different shapes and sizes, tapping into the core of what JustWorld believes – that together we can create amazing change.After Elena’s trip to Los Patojos, it was clear to her that she could easily host her own.  With her birthday coming up, she decided to turn her celebration into a Cheers for Change event. The night was set up just like a party – with amazing food, drinks, and decorations. What was even more special about the night was that Elena turned the focus from her birthday to speaking passionately to friends and family about her experience at Los Patojos. She shared videos and photos from her visit, wanting to truly convey the emotions she felt, and asked guests to simply make a donation to JustWorld instead of bringing birthday gifts.Elena’s Cheers for Change event serves as a tremendous example of how one person can make a difference. Exactly one year ago, she was preparing to have surgery for breast cancer. This year, she isn’t letting her trials of the past year stop her from giving back. Elena has not only raised awareness and inspired her guests to join in her mission, but she is also serving as a role model for her children, who are JustWorld Ambassadors as well. As guests of the party arrived, her daughters Victoria and Alexandra and son Daniel helped to explain what JustWorld is and opportunities to get involved. Alexandra even started to think of ways she can support JustWorld more, asking her mom if she could wear JustWorld gear while riding.Elena is an inspiration to us all and we can’t thank her enough for her support!More information on Cheers for Change FUNdraising events: With a goal of 100  Cheers for Change events this year, you can be a part of this movement! With a JustWorld toolkit, you can personalize your own celebration. This toolkit will provide you with materials to share JustWorld’s mission with your guests. With easy print-out materials to fun party ideas, you can truly make this event your own. You can also find JustWorld branded party ideas at  https://www.zazzle.com/justworld.Contact aconiglio@justworldinternational.org to help plan your own and explore these helpful links:

• Cheers for Change brochure:  https://bit.ly/CHEERSFORCHANGE
• Cheers for Change toolkit: https://bit.ly/HOSTTOOLKIT

Be sure to promote your event on social media using #CheersforJustWorld, to spark the “change effect,” encouraging others to be a part of the movement!