Fundraising!

I am currently working on a fundraising project for Insight Resources International. This proved to be both fairly simple (setting up the site through GoFundMe was really, really easy), and really hard (creating the video for the fundraiser was something I have never done). It was definitely an interesting experience, and I think the next fundraiser I set up will go a lot smoother after I work out the bugs through this one.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to set up the fundraiser the way I wanted. I would have preferred to have the money sent directly to IRI, and that is how I plan to set up all the future fundraising efforts, but GoFundMe only sends funds to the charity once a month, and we don't have time to wait for the funds to come in. As a result, I had to set up a personal fundraiser - I hope people aren't turned off by sending me the money so I can get it to IRI. It's the only way I found to get the money where it needs to go quickly enough.

If anyone is interested in donating, the fundraising page is here:

http://www.gofundme.com/3bp20w

The video for the fundraiser is also on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoKCKupk2HQ

Traveling 'Round the West

So...an entire month without posting a blog. Nothing I can do for it now, but apologies on the lack of update last month. As the title suggests, I have been traveling around the western U.S. visiting potential partners and giving explanations/updates about what we are doing in Mozambique and other places. Instead of summing up the trip verbally, which would mostly consist of "went to X, talked to So-And-So" over and over, I have a map of the trip, with some of the locations marked for your viewing pleasure.

The Great Western Tour:

Here's the fast key:
A/I)   Torrington, WY
B)     Winslow, AZ
C)     Globe, AZ
D)     Anaheim, CA
E)     Bakersfield, CA
F)     Ashland, OR
G)    Cottage Grove, OR
H)     Spokane, WA

Final travel distance: 4163 Miles

Still Here

While I have not posted in quite a while, I am still around. I've been traveling quite a lot since Alaska, and should be settling down back in Wyoming next week. I plan to post more once I get a break from running around, but until then:

• Alaska was great - as I mentioned earlier, the people were very friendly and we were well-recieved
• Following Alaska, I traveled to Texas by way of Oklahoma and Illinois - I was able to meet with several friends, and speak about the work we are doing. Overall, a good stop.
• After Texas, I spent about a week and a half in Bakersfield speaking to various groups and contacts. I also got to spend a few hours with friends and family in the area.
• To conclude my runaround trip, I have recently been visiting people in Colorado and Wyoming. We still have a few speaking engagements before heading back to Africa, but most of the long-distance travel is over until then. 

The short summary is that interest in the seminars is increasing, and we may have opportunities to put on seminars in Alaska, California and perhaps Texas and Colorado over the next year or two.

Our Vice-President and co-founder, Doug Berry died earlier this month. We had to split our traveling group so that some of us could attend his funeral, while the rest of us continued our scheduled meetings. I am sorry I could not make it to see his family, but I know he wanted us to continue to raise interest in the work we are doing, and hope that I was able to honor him by doing so. He will be missed.

U.S. Tour Part 1

I skipped a month; I apologize. This delay is due, in part, to a lot of boring business-related things happening, but I will sum up: we have changed our name, and are currently traveling around the U.S. promoting the newly renamed Insight Resources International (IRI for the rest of this post). We are in the process of creating a new website, and are putting all the necessary governmental documents in place to make sure everyone knows everything they need to know to do the things they need to do. Until everything is finished, our old website, e-mail, etc. will remain up and available (and probably for some time after we are finished, just to avoid confusion).

Unlike my last trip, this time I am not going solo. With me are Al and Velma Corson, who are the founders and primary agents for IRI. They do most of the work in Mozambique and South Africa, and are responsible for some of the research and successes we are experiencing in those places. While they are out of Mozambique, the nationals have taken over day-to-day operations of the organization, and, from all accounts, are doing a great job. For those of you who are not familiar with Mozambican culture, you will not understand how dramatic a step this is – Mozambicans, because of their cultural background, have a difficult time supervising a western-style organization. When you consider that most businesses and government systems in Africa are built on a western framework, you start to understand why Africa faces many business and governmental issues. Our friends in Moz are rapidly developing new perspectives and ways of thinking that are helping them overcome these obstacles. Their ultimate goal is to help the entire country develop new ways of thinking and problem solving, and from what we are seeing, they are off to a great start.

We are currently in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma visting friends and supporters in the area. The rest of our U.S. Tour includes traveling:

In November:

• East to Atlanta, GA
• Back to Broken Arrow, OK

End of Nov – December:

• Break for the holidays (“break” is a relative term)
  • I will be traveling up to IL to speak with supporters and visit my parents
  • Al and Vel will be staying in OK to visit their children and speak with other supporters

End of Dec – January:

• Fly from IL and OK to meet in Alaska
• Fly back to Broken Arrow, OK
• Down to Austin, TX
• Down (again) to San Antonio, TX
  • I will stay in San Antonio
  • Al and Vel will travel on to Corpus Christi

End of Jan – February:

• West to Bakersfield, CA
  • I will take a side trip to the Los Angeles area
  • Al and Vel will stay around Bakersfield
• East to Colorado
• North to Wyoming

End of Feb – March:

• Off to South Africa and then to Mozambique

From March until at least June, I will be back in Africa leading seminars and teaching others to do the same. It looks to be a fun trip, and we hope to meet with as many people as possible to help raise support and to find new venues for the seminars.