We’re Just One Planet and People Need Help Everywhere

An adult literacy teacher and devoted charity supporter in Bedford, Pennsylvania, Alyson Dehmcke has championed joining her community together for great causes. Moreover, she combines fundraising with fun activities. Since 2008, Alyson’s fundraising efforts for FINCA have funded four village banks and have changed the lives of dozens, if not hundreds, of small entrepreneurs.

Alyson learned of FINCA when she took a special interest in charities that empowered women. “It just peaked my interest,” she said about FINCA. Around the time she found FINCA, she had been inspired to learn about supporting work abroad in underdeveloped regions. While she has remained passionate about the development efforts around her hometown, she saw the huge impact that small donations could have in impoverished regions abroad. At FINCA, $25 can give a woman and her family the power to start and sustain a business. That business can give a woman enough income to not only feed her children and send them to school but give them a future of hope and promise. Alyson says,

“We’re just one planet and people need help everywhere.”

Since taking an interest in FINCA, Alyson has come up with countless ingenious and effective ways to raise donations. In 2008, she partnered with her mother and daughter to make and sell jewelry in order to fund a FINCA village bank in Jordan. Alyson said,“We shared the passion for FINCA.”

They have since expanded to making clothing for sale. But, Alyson hasn’t stopped at her impressive jewelry enterprise.

In the past few years, Alyson has organized charity fashion shows, concerts, yard sales, and auctioned dinners. After the Haiti earthquake in 2010, Alyson posted an ad in her local newspaper encouraging donations. Her thinking was that “if everyone just sent a dollar” a real impact could be made. She was absolutely right—she raised over $5,700 from the newspaper campaign. She has funded three village banks in Haiti since then. Most recently, she has auctioned off dinners at $100 a head where she combines a love for hosting and cooking with a passion for FINCA.

Not only has Alyson contributed significantly to FINCA’s growth but, she has also brought her community together. Alyson claims that while ultimately the goal is to raise support for FINCA, her events and fundraising ventures are a lot of fun for herself, family, and friends.

Thank you, Alyson, for all that you have contributed to FINCA and for sharing your great ideas for fun and clever fundraising.