CROWDFUNDING: WHY AND HOW?

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Why Crowdfunding?

The 2019 Nescafe 3in1 LifeCycle Challenge has been one of the best so far. Challengers cycled from Hanoi in Vietnam, through 

Laos and all the way to Siem Reap in Cambodia where they finished in Angkor Watt. It was an immense challenge where they faced extremes of heat and rain with 16 of the initial 24 making it to the finish line. It was a good year in terms of team spirit, where by the end everyone felt like one big family, despite what we had been through together. It was a great year in terms of fundraising, with at least €100,000 so far going to renal patients. It’s also a year for new beginnings and refreshed efforts as we are focusing on making fundraising a year round venture, to further improve on the support we offer renal patients. This year, as part of these efforts, we are organising a crowdfunding campaign on social media for two main reasons. Firstly we need to reach out for more help to provide the renal patients with their Wishlist, which includes things such as lifesaving equipment and essential psychological help. Secondly in doing so we will be working on our online presence, an essential part of raising awareness.    

So…How will the crowdfunding work?

As I mentioned we will be focusing on social media, specifically facebook and instagram. Until January 2020 we will be releasing content with two special hashtags:

#Endure4Renal & #LCCCrowdfunding

These hashtags will remind people about our campaign, hopefully inspire them to donate, and can be used by anyone sharing content to encourage donations! The battle against renal failure is year round, the disease doesn’t stop and neither will our efforts to get support for the renal patients. As with any good crowdfunding campaign you get prizes for your donations! The prize categories are as follows:

  1. €20-€45: #Endure4Renal T-Shirt
  2. €45-€75: #Endure4Renal T-Shirt; LifeCycle Malta Bottle
  3. €75-€175: #Endure4Renal T-Shirt; LifeCycle Malta Bottle; 1 Month Gym Membership at ChicPhysique Studio Naxxar
  4. €175-€300: #Endure4Renal T-Shirt; LifeCycle Malta Bottle; 3 Months Gym Membership at ChicPhysique Studio Naxxar

There are two ways to donate to this campaign, either via PayPal or Revolut (Link and Number HERE). Come January 2020 we will then give out the prizes and contact you via the contact information provided to us by these systems, so please insure your contact information on either PayPal or Revolut is up to date. We will need to contact you regarding shirt sizes and collection of prizes.

The Renal Unit Wishlist

As we mentioned funds go towards fulfilling a wish list which we discuss every year with renal unit team. The following gives a quick description of where your money goes!

Main Projects

Traccia

Traccia is a database company that keeps the records of all kidney recipients on our waiting list, and allocates the donor kidney to the best match and according to an established algorithm.  When kidney donation is allocated to the best match, the recipient will have a better chance of a smooth transplant and will also have a longer and better quality of life without dialysis.

Research

We invest annually in a research project focusing on understanding a specific type of kidney disease (autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease – or APDKD for short). The aim is to understand why it arises, in the hope of treating it more efficiently and aims to correlate genetic traits with the clinical features of the disease. APDKD is the most common form of hereditary renal disease that is the most common type to manifest in children whereby numerous cysts grow in the kidneys.

R.U.S.H (Renal Unit Support Health Hub)

As we know, renal failure is a disease which greatly affects the quality of life and mental state of renal patients. We are endeavouring to offer support in respect to all aspects of this disease, and through the R.U.S.H project we will be focusing on nutritional needs, helping patients understand the disease and support them by providing psychological sessions for patients and family members. This project officially began on World Kidney Day, 2019, where we started providing psychological vouchers to patients.

Equipment

  • Upgrade of “Innova” machines used for any children needing dialysis.
  • Mannequin arm used in training of nurses

Lourdes Trip

It is an unfortunate side effect of renal failure that those needing dialysis are unable to take a holiday or go on vacation. To give them the possibility of having a break we fund a trip to Lourdes for patients where nurses accompany them to a centre where they can get dialysis while having some time away from the day-to-day turmoil the disease brings.