Joy to the World.

Hello everyone,

I’ve been letting things lull a bit over the holidays. I’m busy with family stuff, and I’m guessing most of you are too. Rest assured that in a couple of days Worldbuilders will be rolling along, strong as ever, and I’ll be posting up more donations, auctions, interviews, and general coolness.

I might even be reading y’all a story, if I can figure out how to work my new video camera and post things on Youtube…

For now, I’ll just pass along a few pieces of of good news:

Donations:

Over the last few days, we’ve raised over 12,000 dollars. We’ve shot past our most recent $50,000 goal, and well beyond $53,000 that we raised last year. I don’t know about you, but this sudden burst of donations is the best Christmas present I could get. (I know not everybody celebrates Christmas, but I do. So for me, this is a Christmas present.)

I’ll raise the limit on the thermometer later. For now, let’s just bask in the warm glow of our collective awesome.

And yes, I’m still matching 50% of all donations.

Update from Peru:

For those of you who are curious about the specifics of what Heifer does. Here’s a link to a file they sent me a couple months ago. It gives details about a project in Peru that Heifer funded with some of the money we raised last year.

Heifer Peru Project.doc

While it’s a fairly technical document, it’s worth a quick read through. It shows how Heifer is really taking the long view with these projects. They focus on education, ecological sustainability, and giving communities the tools they need to improve – and eventually thrive.

We’re doing a good thing here folks. We’re changing the world.

pat



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This entry was posted in Worldbuilders 2009By Pat20 Responses

20 Comments

  1. David (tigerass)
    Posted December 25, 2009 at 8:36 PM | Permalink

    wow. That’s a lot of goats…. Congrats on the whole making the world a better place thing- and on the first christmas as a Daddy.

  2. buzz
    Posted December 25, 2009 at 8:36 PM | Permalink

    Thanks for the update, Pat. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

  3. Mariano M
    Posted December 25, 2009 at 8:56 PM | Permalink

    Merry Christmas indeed!

  4. Leslie Moss
    Posted December 25, 2009 at 8:59 PM | Permalink

    Merry Christmas, Pat. And, congrats again on your family. Thanks for leading us in such an exciting venture.

  5. Kevin
    Posted December 25, 2009 at 9:33 PM | Permalink

    Merry Christmas Pat!

  6. Stefanie
    Posted December 25, 2009 at 9:34 PM | Permalink

    Hey pat, I am so excited about the fundraiser and am following the blog regularly. I am happy it is making such a progress. I donated and bought your college survival guide the first day, but I am a bit sad now, because the guide was supposed 2 be a Christmas present and it hasnt made it to Germany yet in 25 days…Is there any better way to contact you and to find out where it is? Would be great if you could write a short response!

    Until then, enjoy Christmas and the time with your family!

  7. Pat
    Posted December 25, 2009 at 11:57 PM | Permalink

    Stephanie,

    Sorry it hasn’t made it there yet. In my experience, international mail is really hard to predict, as is mail around the holidays. Unfortunately, this is both of those things at once.

    Rest assured that it has been mailed off. If it doesn’t show up in another week or so, drop me an e-mail.

  8. MK
    Posted December 26, 2009 at 12:09 AM | Permalink

    Yay! (And merry Christmas!)

    I have one question about Heifer, and I’m wondering if you’ll be able to look into it (or maybe you already have). If you look them up on Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3809), you can see that they have 3 (out of 4) stars, mainly because they spend so much money on fund-raising. My question: are they working toward a more efficient fund-raising model? I didn’t get very far figuring out what their institutional strategy is on this issue, but as a far larger donor, maybe you’ve had more luck.

    (We used to give our entire “big” holiday donation to Heifer, but we’ve moved to supporting other organizations that spend more of their budget on services. I still think they have a great approach overall, though, and we give them a sizable chunk annually, which this year I did through worldbuilders.)

  9. Arthur
    Posted December 26, 2009 at 2:13 AM | Permalink

    Have a merry christmas Pat¡¡¡¡ =) you´re the best¡¡¡¡ My girlfriend (a.k.a Felurian)is a little sad because there´s no Wise man´s fear =( well…I am sad too but….I don´t care¡¡¡¡ you are the best¡¡¡¡¡ jaja Happy new year¡¡¡ =D

  10. Pamala Knight
    Posted December 26, 2009 at 2:14 AM | Permalink

    That’s excellent news to share, Pat. Merry Christmas to you, Sarah and Oot. Thanks again for the reminder that there’s always someone who could use some help. I’m glad that we’re able to contribute even a little.

  11. .kom
    Posted December 26, 2009 at 4:26 AM | Permalink

    hey pat,

    First of all i would like to say Merry Christmas. I hope you had a good first one as a father. I stumbled across your book when i was browsing for a good read at the bookstore. The title caught my attention and within 5 minutes i was sitting in a chair reading. I just wanted to say that it is one of the best books ive ever read in my life. I have followed your blog for several months now and your freakin hilarious. I hope you finish your second book soon, but take all the time you need, especially if its going to be as good as the first. Peace.
    < .kom >

  12. Kayleigh
    Posted December 26, 2009 at 4:50 AM | Permalink

    Merry Christmas to you and yours, Pat!

  13. Jaybels
    Posted December 26, 2009 at 3:07 PM | Permalink

    In case u didn’t know, it’s Christmas. Have a merry one!

  14. Anonymous
    Posted December 26, 2009 at 6:28 PM | Permalink

    I happen to be in Wisconsin in January and a lot of your public appearances seem to be in that state…….anything happening in that chilly month?

  15. SonomaLass
    Posted December 26, 2009 at 7:39 PM | Permalink

    That’s wonderful news, Patrick, and indeed the best possible Christmas present. Thanks for taking the time to update us. Enjoy your special first Christmas!

  16. Dairuna
    Posted December 27, 2009 at 5:51 PM | Permalink

    Merry christmas to you and your family!
    It’s amazing how much money people have donated already and mindboggling that you are still matching 50% of it all.
    Since it’s the new year in a few days – have a healthy and happy start into the new year!

  17. Keith B.
    Posted December 28, 2009 at 3:58 AM | Permalink

    I used to not be able to spell ‘alpaca’, now I have given one to a Peruvian farmer!

  18. Vae
    Posted December 28, 2009 at 7:21 AM | Permalink

    congratulations Pat! everything seems to be running smoothly, and that’s just great :) Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday! how was the very first christmas with little Oot? Happy New Year to come, take care Pat.

  19. Anonymous
    Posted December 28, 2009 at 9:44 AM | Permalink

    I’m a little late for Christmas but I’ll make up for it by wishing all you fellow bloggers a happy new year a little early. I’m glad to see the rising total on that little meter. Makes me feel all good inside. =P I’m sad to say that i have yet to dontate but I have been out of work for some time now. We shall see what the new year brings. As to a story Pat.. that would be grand. Especially if it just happened to be the Prologue to WMF. ;)

  20. Vulpes Fulva
    Posted December 28, 2009 at 3:21 PM | Permalink

    Good morning, Pat!
    I hope you and your family had a great Christmas.

    I finally broke through and donated just now!! Hopefully someone will get some healthy chickens from me.

    -Trey

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