Community Leader: Kieron

Meet Kieron, our Chuffed Community Leader originally from Perth, Australia.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your career (or life) so far.

At uni I jumped around courses a little bit, starting in Construction Management and Economics. I realised that this wasn't an area which I was passionate about so I moved into Nutrition Science as I have a love for sports and peak performance. I wanted to improve people's potential in a range of areas. I worked a lot during semester time and saved extensively so I could travel in the breaks. I have been lucky enough to have seen a lot of the world, and seen some extent of the widespread inequity. I wanted to make a real difference so set up a non-profit organisation when I graduated. This non-profit would soon take me to India.

Why did you decide to become a Chuffed.org Community Leader?

I was asked to sit on a panel with some other awesome Chuffed crowdfunders for the Social Impact Festival here in Perth. I got a lot out of sharing the potential that crowdfunding has to bring a project off of the ground. I wanted to continue this education so the Chuffed Community Leader role was perfect for me.

How did your crowdfunding journey begin?

I had a project that I wanted to start in India, as I was already there volunteering as a nutritionist. I couldn't afford to put too much of my own money into it at the time so I thought that crowdfunding would be the perfect way to both create awareness and raise much needed funds (which allowed for aid to be purchased at a higher scale).

What social cause are passionate about and why?

Education is the key to increasing life outcomes of children, especially in developing countries. In order to learn and participate in classes with full concentration, a student needs to be fed adequately. I was shocked to learn the extent of malnutrition which faces Indian children (one in two). I knew the devastating effects that nutrient deficiencies have on physiological and psychologic development and just had to try and improve it.

What relevant fundraising or other experience do you have that you can share with participants in the workshop?

I used Social Media to raise $10k in 3 days for my own project. I have a strong interest in digital marketing and strategy which I deployed for my project. I would love to walk you through the process, even if you aren't Facebook-savvy!

What social cause project or campaign on Chuffed will the funds raised through the workshop support?

#MILK4MARKS was my first campaign on Chuffed.org and was really successful. The problem of malnutrition is not something that 5 figures can fix and for this reason it is still running now. The campaign is raising funds for a nutritional aid powder which I formulated, that contains the key vitamins and minerals which Indian children are most deficient in. You can check it out here.

Kieron is hosting our next Crowdfunding for Social Causes Workshops in Christchurch on the 30th of September! Details below:

• Morning workshop
• Afternoon workshop