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Voluntourism Spotlight: #GiveBackToSchool & Pencils of Promise

It’s back-to-school season, but not every student around the world is equipped for the school year. Today’s voluntourism spotlight shows how something as simple as a tweet can set a student up for the new school. Tune into Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio on Saturday for more information and check back every Wednesday for more voluntourism opportunities.

It all started with a just a pencil. Adam Braun, founder and CEO of Pencils of Promise, has traveled to over 50 countries handing out pens and pencils with the hope of changing the life of many children and granting them an education.

It’s not just about school supplies. PoP is a nonprofit international organization that was founded in October 2008. The program’s focus is to build schools with strong education programs that will positively impact children and parents in high in-need communities.

The program has already completed 134 schools in countries such as Guatemala, Laos and Nicaragua. PoP is currently in the process of building 27 more schools. Their goal is to build 500 schools by the end of 2015. Therefore, the PoP is asking for your help to continue to advance education possibilities for children in need.

This week PoP has partnered with Chegg, the Student Hub, to launch a #GiveBackToSchool campaign to raise scholarships to send 5,000 students in developing regions the resources they need to go back to school.

This is how you can make an impact via social media. It is easy!

Through September 30, Chegg will donate $10 for every back-to-school or first-day photo or video shared with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Vine up to 7,500 shares. Just snap a photo of your first day and tag #GiveBackToSchool.

You can also make a donation directly online via Pencils of Program, “Start a Fundraiser Page.” By donating $100, you can provide a full scholarship to a child to start the school year with a backpack, supplies, a uniform, and $60  worth of school fees.

Currently the program has funded 115 scholarships. Their goal is to raise $500, 000.

There are also other ways that you can contribute to PoP. By logging on to their donation page, you can also give a one-time donating of $25 or more to help finance one child. The best part is that all donations or funds raised online are 100 Impact Giving and go directly towards education programs, 0 percent overhead.

By Camilla Rambali for PeterGreenberg.com