The Starfish Children’s Fund is a bold youth initiative that strives to give the blind orphans of Calcutta, India their right to education. I recently spoke to one of the co-founders of the organization, Brittany McCann, to find out more about this ‘youth helping youth’ charity now going into its 6th year.
1. What is “The Starfish Children’s Fund’?
The Starfish Children’s Fund is an organization that founded in 2004 by two teenagers from Weston, Connecticut in order to help needy children in different parts of the world. Brittany McCann and Katie Funk traveled to Calcutta, India to visit a school for blind students that was in desperate need of funding. Their original intention was to raise sufficient funds to expand the school, but upon their return to the States, they were so motivated by their experience that they decided to found The Starfish Children’s Fund.
“What makes our organization unique is that it is entirely run by kids. We take on a single project, like the school for blind children in Calcutta, raise the necessary funds to complete the goal, and then move on to a different project in another part of the world.”
2. Tell us about some of your recent projects.
One of our recent fundraisers was held during the summer. It was called “A Touch of India” and it featured different foods and aspects of Indian culture. It was a fun family day where people in the community came out to give support.
We have already built an addition to the school for blind children in Calcutta and more children have been able to enroll. We have purchased land and are working to build a whole new building for the school. The goal is to have enough funding for the new building by 2010. We are hoping to break ground by 2011, to build a three story building featuring dorms and a computer lab!
3. Your organization was founded by two teenagers with a vision. How were you able to expand and get other youths involved? What were some challenges you faced in doing so and how did you overcome them?
This is a ‘kids helping kids’ charity. This appeals to youth who generally see charities tied to adults and administration costs. The Starfish Children’s fund has no external costs and everything is done by the youths themselves, including helping with arranging for press. Family has been a crucial part of organizing events and raising funds. One year, we encouraged students going to the prom give up their limo rides and take a school bus in order to spread awareness about charity. Over time, the ‘kids helping kids’ idea caught on for others to get involved. Parents would hear about what we were doing and encourage their kids to get involved.
4. Our blog is not only committed to educating students about issues around the world, but also about encouraging students to find a passion, and get involved. What can youth do to help people in other countries, and how can they support the Starfish Children’s Fund?
Find your passion and find a way to use it to make a difference. People get discouraged when they see something out of their control. It’s intimidating to think you have to raise $1,000,000 in order to help out. Take limits out of it. Raise as much as you can, every little amount counts! There should be no pressure to raise a huge amount of money and think that’s the only way. Hold fundraisers, do your best and whatever you can make is good enough. Be creative, it’s your passion – so have fun with it!
5. Any other comments, experiences or words of wisdom you would like to share with our viewers?
Follow your passion, don’t give up!
Be a positive person. Seeing things as out of your control can discourage you. You should know that your actions can lead to success. It can be stressful (with school, tests and projects) but at the end of the day knowing that your energy and passion is making a difference really pays off. Set achievable goals but make them challenging so you have something to strive for. If you would like to get involved with the Starfish Children’s Fund, receive more information or hold a fundraiser, contact Brittany McCann at mccannbs@gmail.com.
(All photos on this page have been reproduced with the permission of The Starfish Children’s Fund. All credit to The Starfish Children’s Fund, see http://www.starfishchildrensfund.org/Home.html. A special thank you to Brittany McCann, Co-Founder of the Starfish Children’s Fund, who was kind enough to conduct this interview and supply pictures.)
Interview by Jessie Ampofo
Blog Writer 2009-2010, Change Tomorrow’s World
