Buy me a birthday present (again), please!
Last year, when I turned 30, I decided to ask friends and family to forget the gifts, and instead buy hammers for the Appalachia Service Project. I was hoping to get 30 gifts, 30 hammers—but everyone came through and we ended up with 66!
So, this 31st year, I am humbly asking people to buy me a birthday present again. This time, it isn't about hammers, it's about:
Rolls of Insulation: 31 of them, please!
I don't know about you, but where I live, it's pretty freakin' cold. You know where else it's cold? In the mountains of Appalachia. You know where it is coldest? Inside a kid's bedroom when all you have is board and baton siding.
ASP has a mantra: it strives to make homes warmer, safer, drier. I served with ASP during the hot summer months, so it was always hard to imagine the "warmer" part, but I just checked the weather for Panther, WV (where I first served on ASP) and it's going to be 26º with 1-2" of snow tonight—too cold for this guy.
Why 31 rolls?
Well, aside from being my age, they're only $25 and approximately 31 rolls of R19 insulation can insulate a small Appalachia home. That's a big deal—so, let's insulate a home for my birthday!
How do you do it?
Buy insulation by donating $25 to ASP today. Click here to make your donation, and include in the "tribute" area "Ben Thoma."
Don't have $25? That's okay—donate what you can. I appreciate any and all gifts. With the help of ASP, I'll tally the results and let you know how far we are getting.
What's that? You prefer using Facebook?
No problem: you can donate $25 through Facebook as well.
What if you don't use your credit card online?
Simple. Mail a check made out to the "Appalachia Service Project" to 4523 Bristol Highway, Johnson City, TN 37601. Please be sure to include "Ben's Birthday Gift" in the check's memo area.
(2003: Carter County, TN) That's me with the late Norma Dean: one of ASP's earliest volunteers, champion storyteller, and great friend to the project's founder, Tex Evans.)
What's ASP?
Since 1969, the Appalachia Service Project has served as a home-repair mission that strives to make homes warmer, safer and drier. It serves the good people of Central Appalachia—where West Virginia, Virginia, Tenessee, and Kentucky converge. It is a Christian project, but serves families and volunteers of any religious background. The majority of the project's efforts are centered on an 8 week period in the summer when tens of thousands of volunteers arrive a week a time to rebuild families homes across 20+ counties in those 4 states. Each volunteer center is staffed by a small group of committed, college-aged staff members. Volunteers fundraise year-around for the opportunity to serve and are usually made up of both high school students and adult group leaders. The experience of volunteerism is as important as the 500+ families that benefit annually. The founder, Tex Evans used to declare that, "ASP is a relational ministry, with home repair on the side."
How'd you find this idea?
A couple years ago, at the TED conference, I was inspired by Scott Harrison's 31st birthday story. Scott used his 31st as an opportunity to create an amazing non-profit called charity:water which brings clean, drinking water to those who otherwise would not have access. While I don't have the ambition to start a new charity, I do see an opportunity to benefit the efforts of ASP.
Thank you in advance
