In hindsight, we should have sent out this video blog on the same day we launched our match grant campaign, but we never expected that the support would flood in as quickly as it has.

The following video interview was filmed in the last week of May, and is intended to bring you all up to speed with the difficult situation in Cambodia. We cover what we’ve been doing to support our families and staff over the last few months and how we as a team have reacted to the pandemic.

Going on camera is something Joe & I both struggle with, but once we got started it turns out we had a lot to say… so pop on the kettle, it’s a long one!

THE #DOUBLEYOURREACH CAMPAIGN… 

Joe and I are absolutely blown away by the response to this campaign, and are extremely grateful to every person who has donated and helped us spread the word. 

With travel restrictions threatening our first annual charity bike ride, this June campaign is absolutely imperative to ensure that we can sustain operations this year.

Further to this, Cambodia volunteer trips are on hold and throughout this pandemic we expect no visitors to our cause.  Without visitors, our support network and ability to generate funds on the ground is obsolete. We had so many volunteers, friends and family members booked to fly over, and we are absolutely devastated that they are no longer coming.

 We knew that to mitigate the losses from our planned fundraising activities and loss of volunteers, we needed to do something big. 

And thanks to the generosity and compassion of Charlie Chalmers, that’s exactly what we’ve done.  

If you’re already following our ‘Double Your REACH’ campaign, you will know that for the month of June, Charlie initially pledged to match all donations up to $15k AUD. Watching as everyone began making donations, on day 4 of the campaign, Charlie decided to increase the matching amount to $25k AUD. 

Raising our target to $50,000 AUD!!!

Unbelievable kindness. 

We are currently 78% of the way to fulfilling our goal, and have 21 days remaining. 

Hitting our target will guarantee REACH not only makes it to 2021, but will also mean that when our kids return to school, we will be able to provide our nutritious meals program AND continue providing critical food rations to all 132 families. In this economic crisis, we feel that these provisions are key to ensuring our students can return to public school and REACH, without the added pressure of collecting rubbish or labouring to put food on the table.

Opportunities and funding like this are extremely rare, so we desperately want to make the most of this incredible offer.  We are hoping that with your help, we can hit our target.

If you’ve already donated, thank you. If you aren’t in a position to donate, thank you for continuing to follow our journey. If you believe in REACH, I ask that you please share our campaign, you never know who from your friends list might be willing to help.

We are passionate about our cause, and thanks to you, Charlie, and all of our supporters, we are confident that together we will change lives and break the cycle of poverty for our families.

In Cambodia, a little goes a long way, and this month it goes twice as far!

Click here to donate x 2!

With love,

Emily, Joe & the Team at REACH!