Kennedy Donnelly on Biking Across the Country for Pencils of Promise
CAUSE: In 2008, Adam Braun started Pencils of Promise to create educational opportunities for children around the world. The organization started with a $25 deposit, and it has now built 66 schools in Laos, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Beyond the physical act of building schools, Pencils of Promise has implemented a sustainable plan by offering education programs and providing local staff with job opportunities. Kennedy Donnelly initiated her own fund-raising project for Pencils of Promise: a 53-day bike ride across the United States.
EFFECT: So far, Kennedy has raised $7,445 dollars for the organization. Pencils of Promise has completed 66 schools. Plus, the organization is working on nine ongoing builds and planning seven others.
GET INVOLVED: Donate to Kennedy's campaign or create your own fundraising page.
1/6This seventeen-year-old spent her summer cycling through America to raise money to build a school.
Photo courtesy of Uprise2/6"This all started in the fall of my junior year of high school when I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to do something crazy! I thought, I bet a lot of people don't bike across the country. As it turns out, a lot of people actually do. I tried to convince my parents to let me go on this bike trip across America, and they said no. I realized that if I could raise money for a charity, they couldn't refuse. I knew I wanted to help support the education of kids, so I did a Google search and found Pencils of Promise."
Photo courtesy of Uprise3/6"Pencils of Promise empowers children through education. I go to a school that has a lot of resources, and students often take them for granted. There are so many kids that don't have materials—they just want pencils to do their homework. I wanted to help give these kids that chance, because they deserve it as much as I do. Pencils of Promise is working in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Laos, and they're working on expanding."
Photo courtesy of Uprise4/6"Pencils of Promise has a StayClassy website, so I set up my account and my parents made the first donation of $10. I received a grant through my school of $500 to buy 2,000 pencils. I bought pencils that had my website on it, and I gave them out to people. To this day, we’ve raised $7,445 dollars. I’m still raising money, and my ultimate goal is $10,000. I hope to get to $25,000 to build a school by June."
"I also used Twitter and Facebook to raise money. It was awesome because if I posted something on social media, people could share it. I did learn that posts get lost in the Facebook newsfeed. If you don’t put it up at a time when you know everyone’s online, then people won’t see it. It’s all about timing! Students are online at 7pm. I tweeted during my trip about how many miles I biked that day, and I always include the link to donate. It’s a lot easier than asking for checks."
Photo courtesy of Uprise5/6"I biked from Oregon to New York, and we went into Canada for three days. We biked 60 to 100 miles every day, and we got three rest days over 53 days. The beginning of the trip was so rough—I was in the back the entire time and my knees hurt! I'd see an ice cream place and say, 'Let's stop!' I fell over a lot on my bike. The first day, we were biking across a bridge and I was looking for the ramp, and I ran into a sidewalk post dead-on. I flipped over my bike and skidded on the sidewalk. It was a complete movie scene. I started cracking up as I was lying on the ground. The whole group watched me fall. The bikers told me later that they didn't think I'd make it! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard before."
"We slept wherever we could—parks, patches of grass. Campsites are expensive, and we were on a budget. I found out that there are so many nice people in America. If we knocked on a door asking for water, people gave it to us."
Photo of Kennedy and Pencils of Promise founder Adam Braun. Courtesy of Carlo Dumandan.6/6"Pencils of Promise has been so supportive. I want to build a school—I don't know when it's going to happen, but I'll do it. My money raised will go directly to that school. My ultimate goal is to form a relationship with the school that I build and my high school now—that way I can send students I know to help, and we can all work together."
