Year 3 - OUR BEST YEAR EVER!
Dear Mariam Society Members,
Happy New Year! Hope this letter finds you and your loved ones well, healthy, and safe.
Despite entering 2022 back into another wave of what seems to be a never-ending pandemic, we are overjoyed to share that the Mariam Society, in 2021, reached its highest number of sponsored girls to date! We currently support the education of 115 girls, exceeding our initial goal of 100 set when we first launched in 2019.
For a third year in a row, we were able to renew sponsorships for all 65 girls originally sponsored in Year 1. Additionally, the Mariam Society was the organization of choice for goeasy's Women in Leadership annual fundraiser, which raised enough money to send an additional 50 girls to school.
goeasy sponsors 50 girls!
goeasy is one of Canada's leading providers of non-prime leasing and lending services. It is also deeply committed to investing in communities in Canada and internationally, especially those that have a connection with their employees.
This commitment extends to its Women In Leadership (WIL) Committee that has a mandate to develop & support female leaders in the company, and like causes and charities. Gita Banks, founder of the Mariam Society is also a member of goeasy's WIL Committee, so there was a natural fit for the two organizations to work together for the empowerment of girls in India.
In October 2021, goeasy's WIL Committee organized a company-wide fundraiser with a commitment to send 50 girls to school through the Mariam Society Bursary program. Through an internal fundraising competition, the company raised $7000; goeasy then matched the dollars, getting us to our final goal!
Our girls wish to thank goeasy for its support, and share how they will use their Mariam Bursary funds to further their education.
Good Neighbour Award
Gita Banks, Founder of the Mariam Society was the recipient of goeasy's annual Good Neighbour Award for support of charitable works in the community, including the goeasy WIL Fundraiser (December 2021).
The Mariam Society to Register as a Canadian Charity
When the Mariam Society was founded in 2019, we had a three-year goal to send 100 girls to school in India. Having surpassed that goal, we look to the future having experienced firsthand the life changing impact our work and your generosity has had on the girls we support.
Knowing there is an ever growing need for the empowerment of girls through education, most especially in the wake of COVID-19, the Mariam Society is moving forward with officially registering as a Canadian Charity.
Over the course of the past many months, we have worked to develop a longer-term charity roadmap and strategic plan, and are confident we can take what we have started to build together to the next level for the sake of our girls and others like them.
As we head into 2022 we will share more about how you can be part of the next phase of our most important work. So please STAY TUNED!
Comments