Stories from FlipGive: A letter from a 13-year-old that broke our heart

I thought it was going to be a typical day at FlipGive, What I wasn’t expecting was Thomas’ letter.

“My name is Thomas and I’m 13 years old,” it read. “I am writing you because I was wondering how I can get funds for hockey.”

Now - apart from the author being a bit young, there wasn’t much out of the ordinary. But what came next made me take a step back.

“My dad just finished going to university and he doesn’t have a job yet,” Thomas wrote. “If I can find a way to help with my team fees then I know that would make it better for him.”

Thomas’ letter didn’t stop there when tugging at the heartstrings:

“Can you tell me please how do I apply to see if I can get help so I can still play hockey this year.”

Having been both a teacher at one time, and a member of a fundraising consultancy at another, this hit me from two sides - and I knew that there was a lot more to be done than simply explaining the FlipGive program to Thomas.

While I could help him set up a fundraiser for the long term, I wanted to make sure he could get some short-term help as well. So I made sure Thomas had the contact for JumpStart and KidSport Canada – both great charities that would be able to help in this sort of a situation.

As a B Corporation, FlipGive believes in the power of business to solve social problems, be it making sure kids have the chance to play sports, or helping a school get the funding they need.

This is why I work here, instead of somewhere else – I want to help. Luckily I knew some places he could go.

With some stopgap funding in place for Thomas, I made sure the rest of the office saw the letter.

It’s great to be able to help in this way, so I wanted to make sure the whole team saw our impact. Because when it comes down to it: it’s why we’re all here. We want to make a difference.

[earners]