Earlier this month, WPBeginner hosted a huge giveaway to celebrate its 5th birthday. Alongside the giveaway, Syed Balkhi wanted to build two schools this year in Guatemala through the Pencils of Promise charity. To do so, he needed $50,000. He ended up with $50,584. Once the schools are built, Balkhi will travel to Guatemala to take photos and videos.
When asked if he was surprised by how well the campaign did, Balkhi said, “Yes I was really surprised that we had such a good turn around from the community compared to last year.” I also asked him what he plans to do for next years charity event, “the goal for next year is to build 3 schools.”
Three schools equals $75,000 which will require more companies to become platinum sponsors. However, Balkhi is not worried for two reasons. There will be more WordPress companies this time next year and existing ones will likely be larger.
The event is becoming an annual tradition with each year promising to be bigger than the last. The success of this charitable event is another indication of how the WordPress community can rally together to support a great cause.
Nice one Syed, many congratulations on a great idea and a fabulous effort.