Project #7: Help Give a Child a Bike

88bikes has an astoundingly simple mission: To provide bikes to kids in developing countries. On a practical level, bikes provide a sustainable means of transportation. 88bikes founders Dan Austin, Nicolas Arauz, and Jared Austin believe bikes can provide another, perhaps even more vital benefit: joy. On their first mission three years ago, they gave 88 bikes to 88 kids at the Palm Tree Orphanage in Cambodia; most recently, they delivered 300 bikes to 300 children rescued from human trafficking in Ghana, India, Nepal, and Vietnam. Help fund their VILLAGES project, whose goal is to provide 500+ bikes for kids in Afghanistan, Tanzania, and other as yet undetermined locations this summer. Peer-to-Peer Match: $88 funds one bike; The Spud will match the first three bikes funded by Friday. Donate directly to 88bikes, then mention The Spud's matching program in an email to donations@88bikes.org. Additionally, we'll donate $1 for each new Facebook fan we receive by 11:59PM Friday. To become a fan, click here. The Spud thanks Laura Lin for sponsoring this challenge. UPDATE: This challenge has closed.

Photo: A child in Vietnam on her new bike. Credit: Dan Austin.

Project #6 Update

Thanks to The Spud's 19 new Facebook fans, we donated $19 to Physicians for Peace. We really appreciate all your support!

Project #6: Help Provide Medical Care + Training

Physicians for Peace believes in sustainable medical missions. Since its inception in 1989, its healthcare volunteers—physicians, dentists, nurses—have made hundreds of trips to medically underserved regions to provide patient care and to train local medical staff on new procedures and techniques. Its next mission, taking place February 19 - March 3: Cardiac surgery and training in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Peer-to-Peer Match: The Spud will match the first $250 in donations. Donate in any amount directly to Physicians for Peace by Friday and forward your gift confirmation to thespudorg@gmail.com. We'll match the donations in the order we receive the confirmations, up to the first $250. The match will be completed within 24 hours and we'll forward you the matching gift confirmation. Additionally, we'll donate $1 for each new Facebook fan we receive by 11:59PM Friday. To become a fan, click here. The Spud thanks Nilesh Parikh for sponsoring this challenge. UPDATE: This challenge has closed.

Photo: Physicians for Peace volunteers at Segou Hospital in Segou, Mali. Credit: Physicians for Peace.

Project #5 Update

Thanks to The Spud's 11 new Facebook fans, we donated $11 to Against Malaria. Thanks again for your support!

Project #5: Help Buy Nets to Prevent Malaria

Malaria kills an estimated one to three million people each year, about 70 percent of them children (that's about one child every 30 seconds). But malaria is preventable and treatable. One simple solution: bed nets treated with insecticide. The nets protect against malaria-carrying mosquitoes at night, and kill mosquitoes on contact. The cost of each bed net? Just $5 through Against Malaria. 100 percent of donations goes towards buying and distributing bed nets to countries most affected by the disease. Peer-to-Peer Match: The Spud will match the first $500 donated to Against Malaria through 11:59 PM Friday. That means if you donate $5, we'll match your $5 donation for a $10 impact! Additionally, we'll donate $1 for each new Facebook fan we receive by then as well. Make donations through The Spud's Against Malaria page and become a Facebook fan of The Spud here. The Spud thanks Lisa Kim Holbrook for sponsoring this challenge. UPDATE: This challenge has closed.

Photo credit: Against Malaria

Project #4 Update

Thanks to The Spud's 12 new Facebook fans, we donated $12 to Orphans of Rwanda. Thanks again for all of your support!

Project #4: Help Rwandan Orphans Attend College

Fewer than 1 in 200 Rwandan adults have a college degree, and the majority of the ones that do are male and come from wealthy families. Orphans of Rwanda (ORI) seeks to alter this statistic. Each year, they seek the most talented orphans and vulnerable young people—male and female students who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend college—and award them full tuition, housing, healthcare, and language and computer skills training. Peer-to-Peer Match: The Spud will match the first $100 in donations to Orphans of Rwanda. $50 can support housing for one student per month; $100 can support a student's healthcare costs for a year. Donate in any amount directly to Orphans of Rwanda by Thursday and forward your gift confirmation to thespudorg@gmail.com. We'll match the donations in the order we receive the confirmations, up to the first $100. The match will be completed within 24 hours and we'll forward you the matching gift confirmation. Additionally, we'll donate $1 for each new Facebook fan we receive by midnight Thursday. To become a fan, click here. The Spud thanks Thomas Chadefaux for sponsoring this challenge. UPDATE: This challenge has closed.

Photo credit: Orphans of Rwanda