By Tracey Bridges - Happy birthday to me!
This year was an even happier birthday because, thanks to all my generous and lovely friends and family, I was able to share $1,500 with WELLfed, a small charitable trust in Porirua, just through the simple act of having a birthday.
Well there was a tiny bit more to it than that. Through the simple acts of having a birthday, setting up a Registry, and then telling people about it.
I thought I’d share how that went, in case other people are thinking about setting up a birthday Registry, and wondering how it goes.
The setting up bit is really easy, and I do it most years. The harder thing can sometimes be sharing it with people and inviting them to give. I don’t usually go around asking people for birthday presents, that can feel a bit awkward. So in the past I’ve just told my partner about it, so if people ask him what I want for my birthday, he can give them the link. That’s nice, because it’s there if people want to use it, but I don’t have to be out there shouting about my birthday.
But this year I decided to do a little more. This is a really hard time for charities and communities, so it seemed to me that if I could make use of this opportunity to raise funds for a charity that’s doing great things in the community, I should.
So as well as setting up my Registry and sending the link to my partner, I also shared it – with a little bit of a story about WELLfed and its good works - through LinkedIn and Instagram. I also shared it in a couple of WhatsApp groups with some good friends.
And over the 20 days the Registry was live, 27 lovely people gave a total of just over $1500 to WELLfed. That’s amazing! And as I watched the little total grow, and read the beautiful messages from friends and family, I felt very loved, and very happy to be sharing the love with WELLfed.
Good Registries, to me, have four very Good purposes.
- First, they make things easy for friends and family who want to buy a present, but don’t know what to buy. They make giving simple, and for some of my family, in particular, that’s a genuinely lovely thing.
- Second, I get a gift I want! And – implied – I don’t get gifts I don’t want. Which is good for everyone, including the environment.
- Third, the charity gets some promotion – I shared its story, and whether they gave me a gift or not, lots of people read it and will have learned more about WELLfed and its amazing work.
- And fourth, of course, the charity gets a little – or sometimes a lot – of money.
So this year I turned 55. Having lost some dear friends way too young, I’m very aware that every birthday is a precious gift. Thank you to The Good Registry, and all my family members and friends, for helping me make such Good use of that precious gift.
Interested in creating your own registry? Start here
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