I had been returning over and over again to “A Menu of Contribution” for our Africa Project in Kantolomba. I’d also been holding in awareness both the enthusiasm to raise money for the project and the questions: How might I fundraise, and what would be the first step in moving forward?
Then, last week, I was looking for something at home and came across a small box in the back corner of a closet that contained a gold-coin necklace that I had forgotten about. I had recently read that the price of gold has been soaring to $4,313.00 per ounce, and researching this particular coin, I learned that it contained exactly one ounce of gold. The coin necklace was given to me by my mother and, although I’m sure it was much loved and worn by her back in the day, I have never worn it (I love our Buddhist roseary beads).
I started looking in other small boxes and there was an old gold ring with the stone missing from when I was 18 years old, some old gold earrings that I never liked, and even an antique pocket watch that belonged to family many generations back. Another question arose: Do these kinds of items just sit in small boxes in the back of closets simply to get passed along from generation to generation as each generation passes away? What fun is that? I’m guessing these items don’t love being tucked away in boxes either!
It dropped in to sell the gold necklace for our Africa Project. I’m pretty sure my mother would love this idea, too. Why not have the joy of putting these items to good use to raise funds for Kantalomba? Free the items and free the human from hanging on to items for no good reason, just because they belonged to past generations.
This has all led to looking around my house and seeing many things that could be sold that I no longer want or need. One item was an antique copper iron that I took to an antique store last week and sold on the spot. I had tried to give that iron away many times and could never find a home for it. And now, that iron will go on to someone who wants it and the money goes to our Africa Project.
The other day in the mail, there was a refund check from an insurance company for an overcharge from two years ago. Perfect! That’s for Kantalomba, too. All this has seemed to open the flood gates to fundraising which has been closed to me for some time. And it’s been the most fun I’ve ever had with any of these household items! These items can now help to feed over 1000 children per day, send kids to school, help children learn English, send students to college, build roofs on mud houses, and start micro businesses. So now, I’m looking around the house and starting to let items go that I really don’t want anymore and never knew what to do with. I’ve realized that hanging onto “family heirlooms” is not all that much fun and can weigh a person down, but what’s really fun and joyful is putting those items to work to help others. Maybe that’s been their purpose all along.
After researching the best way to sell the gold necklace and other small gold items, I took these items to a local coin dealer/precious metal buyer (not a pawn shop) where I was given a very fair and handsome sum. It was such a fun experience and took about an hour at the most. The two people who were assisting me were really excited when they learned where the money was going and asked about the Africa Project. There was a lot of “lit-upness” when I left that store, and it felt like the ancestors where happy about the whole endeavor, too.
Gasshō,
A fundraiser for Africa
