Written By: Krisha Patel
Drives of any kind have been such a help to the community no matter how small they are! This is what the Coin Drive by Krisha Patel and Esha Telang did. This drive was a small one but created a difference in the community nonetheless. The Coin Drive was done in order to raise money for iCARE or the International Alliance for Research and Education. iCARE is a non-profit network of global cancer scientists, doctors, and patients. They work in collaboration to identify, evaluate, personalize, and accelerate access to emerging therapeutic options or technologies. This organization has helped so many young kids and adults struggling with cancer.
The idea for this drive came because they wanted to help the organization (iCCARE), but also didn't have too much time to run a big project. Esha and Krisha wanted to support iCCARE without spending too much time as school was getting busy with finals. “School was busy and we wanted to host at least one more drive. So we thought of iCARE. iCARE was perfect for us because our neighborhood had a big connection to cancer and cancer patients. Many people in our community have had experiences with cancer, so this was the ideal organization and cause to raise money for,” said Krisha.
Promotion
Like any other drive or project, promotion was one of the biggest aspects to think about for this drive. “Promotion was really hard, but it was also the most important part in order to get the word out,” said Esha in an interview, “We messaged the group chat and we put flyers on the community mailboxes. Our community liked the flyers, but they also responded more to the group chat message.” The girls focused most of their time on promotion in hopes of obtaining as many donors as possible.
Obstacles
Of course, there were also many obstacles that came in the way as well. As the girls said, promotion was a major aspect of their project, but also keeping track of academic and personal life while raising the money was also a challenge. “Finals time is always a time where so many kids struggle with time management, us included, and we both had a hard time making sure everything we were assigned to do at school and with this driver were completed with our best effort,” answered Krisha.
Tips!
So, any tips to help solve the obstacles stated above? Of course! Krisha and Esha both wanted to stress the importance of getting the word out. “A lot of people want to help a certain cause in their community, but just don’t know how. I think our coin drive really provided an opportunity for the people in our neighborhood to help out,” stated Esha. They also recommended starting a project you are truly passionate about or just really willing to help them out. The girls say that their passion for the Cancer cause as well as the time and effort they put into it, contributed to the successes they had with this project! Finally, Krisha and Esha wanted to say that every donation, even a small one, assisted the girls with their drive!
As Jane Goodal puts it,
“Cumulatively small decisions, choices, actions, make a very big difference.”
Want to take part and start your project or drive that's by the community and for the community, as our members did here? Join General Services! If you happen to already be a member, contact the Executive Board to get started.