Leonie Dawson International Donates $10,000 To Build A Library In Vietnam

Hola gorgeous hearts!

One of my BIG WHYs for why I do what I do is because I adore philanthropy. I believe that business can be a huge force for good in the world and I love sharing the abundance I receive with the places and people and planet and animals that need it most.

Above my desk, there are the pictures of our eight sponsor children, plus all the beautiful thank you cards from organisations we are able to support.

It makes my heart sing with joy and it makes me weepy and it fills me right up.

It keeps me motivated to keep making big magic in the world.

Recently, we were able to make one of our largest single donations to date… a cheque to build a library in Vietnam through Room To Read.

I asked one of my team to write & illustrate the adventure for you so you could follow along!

Let’s pay it forward and make miracles happen!
xoxo

L

 

Wednesday 4th May was a high point in my life. After working through the morning I excitedly closed my laptop and saddled my trusty steed (aka my Black Vespa, lolz!) and adorned myself in my wonder woman outfit (NOT!!) and ventured into the city with my sword held high (which was actually a brightly coloured cheque rolled up into the shape of a sword, ha ha ha!).

It was an awesome day and I was ready to take on the world.

One of the amazing benefits of working for Leonie is the ongoing commitment she has for giving back. Leonie is a passionate advocate for a number of not-for-profit organisations and I had the privilege of handing over a SUPER HUGE cheque to one of our fav organisations, Room To Read.

Considered mandatory reading for all LDI staff is “Creating Room To Read” by John Wood tracks John’s transition from high powered Microsoft Executive to the Founder of the not-for-profit ‘Room To Read’. After travelling to Nepal, John was so moved by the lack of books in local schools and their hunger for knowledge and education that he vowed to do something about it. And he did!

The story hooked me from the first page. In 2016 I travelled to Nepal for 3 weeks and was able to support a children’s refuge with donated funds and clothing. Anything that allowed me the opportunity to give back to developing nations I was onboard with and any book that covered how to do this on a large scale, was amazing!

Side note… Leonie and I are both self proclaimed book-whores who love books beyond comprehension. We visit all book stores. We plan entire trips around book stores. We want to live in Amazon or Booktopia FOR REAL! Most books Leonie puts on my radar are a friggin HELL YEAH from me without hesitation! I scored a copy for $5 on ebay – but this book is now priceless to me because John changed the world and invites us to do the same – I’m TOTES down with that!

And I’m back…

“Room to Read” believe that all children should have access to a good education and learning opportunities which we as a team FULLY support. Originally working in Nepal, John’s organisation provide educational resources for schools in developing nations and are now present in Zambia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, Vietnam and Nepal. With a focus on literacy and gender equality, Room To Read supports communities by helping them to support themselves to achieve long term change. Instead of simply handing over the keys to a new building or leaving donations behind, they invest in training and support and make sure the community is involved and participating at all times. It’s pretty frigging amazing really!

“If every child received an education, 171 MILLION people would be lifted out of poverty”

Room to Read Australia’s representative was the lovely Janelle Prescott who informed me that the office space they occupy in the Sydney CBD, the location of our photo opp, is in fact donated and they were technically ‘squatting’ with permission, which I so loved.

After our initial introductions we set up for the big moment and I unrolled our uber colourful and stylised cheque.

*TADAH!!*

Janelle’s eyes sparkled. I was grinning from ear to ear. Of course our cheque was covered in sparkles and unicorns – always on brand! I think Janelle loved it. Hee hee.

#teamunicorn handed over a $10,000 donation to fund the development of a library in Vietnam – and I got to do the honors – EEK! By supporting the efforts of John’s team and our local touch point, Janelle, we are changing the future for these children, and their children’s children, and the local community at large. What a huge ripple effect this creates!

Totes amazing!

Here was my big moment with Janelle.. I was all starry eyed 😀

All day I had been messaging Leonie and the team letting them know of my progress and finally I was able to send this picture as I handed over our $10,000 cheque.

*happy sigh*

Life is grand when your are a #teamunicorn representative… seriously grand!

I rode home wonder woman style knowing we had just done something really huge to change the world and it was Leonie, #teamunicorn and the amazing supporters of Leonie’s work that made it possible – so that makes you AWESOME!

For more information about ‘Room to Read’ and the work they do around the world head to their website here!

Ciao for now!
– Sonya
Team LDI