Written by Julie Meyers, CFRE, MA – SA Fundraising Advisor

Amidst the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to become hopeless and succumb to the stress and fear we all justifiably feel at this time. However, if we can find the courage to take a deep breath and look beyond our current circumstances, we can discover steps toward a brighter future for all.

Here at Squads Abroad, we want to help you prioritize and strategize your unique plan to empower the global community. As we look toward a bright future, we are more driven toward our mission to support under-resourced communities accomplish their health and economic goals. 

Together we can do great things! Check out these two simple tips to help you organize, strategize and play your part in brightening our shared goal of impacting others. We might not be able to step into our classrooms yet, but there are big steps we can take as you prepare to volunteer with Squads Abroad!

Tip #1: Set aside at least ONE hour every day to dedicate to envisioning and beginning sharing your  story and planning for your Squad. During your daily power hour here are 6 fun things you can do!  

1. Call your closest family and friends. Check in on the people that love you! Let them know you want to plan an amazing life-changing squad. Use these calls to get yourself and your closest friends excited about your future summer squad! These conversations will really help you get comfortable sharing what you’ll be doing and the impact you’ll be making.
2. Send emails to family, friends, your parents’ work colleagues etc. Share how your family is doing and your upcoming travel plans to help empower our world! Let the people you email hear how excited you are to be a force in helping the world become stronger and healthier, especially now!
3. If you have access to movie making apps – make a film  or a Coming Soon Trailer about your squad. Showcase why you’re excited and what you hope to accomplish with your future squad! You can share this on any social media platform to make sure your friends know that you are planning on doing great things!
4. If you’re on social media, share your enthusiasm! You can be a bright light online during these challenging times! Share about the future country you’ll be volunteering in and about the impact you hope to make with your squad! Be sure to include the link to your Empowered Page early and often for people who want to read and learn more!
5. Make sure your MySquads page  is completely set up! Share your story passionately and impactfully on your MySquads page! Don’t forget to include a photo. This page will be the key to your fundraising, so you’ll want it ready to be shared with ANYONE who wants more information! By having your page complete, you can easily share it with anyone who wants to help!

Doing these items now while you have some time at home will help you so much when your fundraising and planning kicks into high gear! It’s powerful and important  to take some time to envision the great things you’ll be doing!

Tip #2: Take it one step at a time!

Through this challenging time, we encourage you to take a deep breath and take any tasks you have one at a time! Having a huge list of things to do can be extremely daunting and worrying about everything can certainly lead to doing absolutely nothing, which is the opposite of what you want!  By following the previous tip along with the list of things you can do, you can start right now to prepare for your future squad!

If you have any questions about anything in this blog, you can reach out to fundraising@squads.org with whatever questions or concerns you have! We will support you along the way to then help you plan your future squad with renewed determination.