Ok, so it’s a no brainer. Extreme poverty is a REALLY big problem. It’s entirely too big for one person to take handle, but that’s where YOU come in. You see, we sincerely believe that together, we can end extreme poverty one community at a time. And you are a big part of that. If each one of us gives some of our time, talents, and resources, WE can change the world. Here are a few ways you can help—maybe you can think of something we haven’t listed. Whatever you do, tell us about it. We love videos, photos, written stories, and even original songs. Who knows? Maybe your story will be a future Nuru Grassroots blog entry. When you, or someone you know is being Nuru, tell us about it here.
Represent!
Start a Nuru Chapter on your campus, in your church, or in your city. People are looking around for a leader to help them take steps in the fight against extreme poverty. Perhaps that leader is you. Set goals and go after them. Bring Nuru to your community and to others around the world. Click here to begin filling out your Nuru representative application. REPRESENT!
Donate Your Old Cell Phones
Hope Phones is a grassroots campaign that uses old cell phones in the US to provide mobile phones for clinics and healthcare workers in the developing world. Cell phones are valuable tools in the battle to reduce disease and illness. The field of mHealth - the provision and coordination of health-related services via mobile communications - is blossoming in response to a global shortage of healthcare workers and the demonstrated impact made by simple, mobile tools. Nuru has chosen to partner with Hope Phones because we think they are awesome organization that is doing a ton of good in the world, and as their partner, they will work with Nuru to provide mHealth technology to our Community Health Workers in Kuria. To learn more visit HopePhones. To donate your used cell phones free of charge, download this USPS shipping label good for free shipping of up to 10 handset cell phones per mailer.
Screen It
Whether it’s in a coffee house, a movie theatre, a concert arena or simply on a wall, expose your friends and make new friends by sharing Nuru videos, blogs, and weblinks. If you can’t host a video in a venue, then post Nuru stuff to your wall, your profile, your website, facebook etc. Let people know you are passionate about the issue, and encourage them to join us in the fight. Download the Nuru Logo and use it to create fliers, stencils, posters and more to promote your event. Nuru is also starting a nationwide tour in January, 2010 that will make 50 stops in a 3 month period. Contact our Tour Staff to see about booking an event in your area, then download the Tour Poster to promote the event at your school.
Party with a Purpose
Birthdays, holidays, graduation days, wedding days. Do we REALLY need more stuff? Consider mobilizing others to give instead of collecting more items that you probably could do without. If you join our Cause Page on Facebook there is an option that allows you to turn your birthday into a mini-fundraiser too!
Don’t Get Naked...but be a FLASHmob
Like performance art? We do too. In fact we want to encourage you to get creative with it. Give people dirty water to drink and tell them about what Nuru is doing to provide clean drinking water. Do a group freeze. Perform a dramatic reading. Need help getting our drift? Here’s a couple of links: FLASHmob1 :: FLASHmob2 :: FLASHmob3
Light Up the Twittersphere
Follow @IAMNURU or @bh2o on twitter and retweet statements and links shared. Also, become a fan on our Facebook Fan Page and Cause Page and give us some likes and comments. Help us spread the word about the latest activity in our collective poverty fighting efforts.
Chat It Up
Tell your friends, neighbors, classmates, coworkers, fans, favorite authors, favorite musicians, relatives and more about the issue of extreme poverty and how they can join us in bringing it to an end, one community at a time. Talk to your local newspaper or tv station. Write your Senator or Representative or Oprah.
An easy way to do this is to scroll up the page and right beneath the main picture is the Share banner. Mouse over the banner and click on either Email or Facebook. Enter the email addresses of your friends (neither Nuru nor any third party stores those addresses) and send away. If you choose Facebook there is an option to post to your profile or message your friends at the bottom. To make it really easy, use your gmail, yahoo, aol or msn log-in to pull up your entire contact list.
Turn Clutter into Cash
Sure, I know there’s a bit of sentimental value in everything, but what if you could sell some of your stuff and give somebody else a shot at using it. And what if you took that cash and re-invested it into helping lift a community of people you will never meet out of extreme poverty? You get more space, someone else gets stuff you weren’t using, and you both bring choices to people whose choices are limited.
Be a Rival For Survival
Stage a fundraising competition complete with penny’s nickels and dimes to compete with those folks at “the other school” or “that other business” and see who can raise more cash for people who need it. You get bragging rights, and everyone gets to make a difference!
Get Creative
Take that skill set you’ve been given and rock it out to end poverty. Do you paint? Write?draw? sculpt? Got a band? Perform a benefit concert. Know a band? Tell them about Nuru and see if they want to help. Write a song, a poem, or a book and use your gift to share hope, light, and nuru with the world. Got a blog? Write about Nuru. Ever been to an open mic? Rock it out to end extreme poverty.
Game-On
It’s tournament time. Be an organizer or a participant. Play rock band, halo, or guitar hero. Run in a 5k. Enter a fishing derby. Win a triathlon. Create a 3-on-3 tournament. Walk, jump rope (we had a team in my hometown, don't laugh), play softball or dodgeball. Just get out there and compete, and while you're at it, see if you can raise some cash or awareness to help break the shackles of extreme poverty.
Give It Up
What would happen if you drank your favorite drink one less time per week? What if actually sold those CD’s you haven’t listened to since you stopped wearing pleated jeans? And speaking of which, what about getting rid of those pleated jeans—somebody could probably use them and they just aren’t your style anymore. Turn the stuff you don’t use into cash you can use to be Nuru. Did you know you could designate eBay sales to go to Nuru? And that there are websites like MissionFish that can help you do it?
Fill Some Bellies
Host a benefit dinner. Or a bake sale. Or a cake walk. Can’t cook? It’s ok, there are tons of restaurants near where you live. Talk to them about donating a percentage of one day’s sales can go toward ending extreme poverty. Invite your friends. Eat. Have fun. Change lives. And get your local businesses to join us in the fight.