DonateWC, an initiative focused on providing less fortunate people an opportunity to attend large WordCamps has reached its fundraising goal of 1,000€. Ines van Essen expressed gratitude and appreciation for the donations. “The responses and feedback that have come in during the past week have been overwhelming,” She said.
“I can’t believe we can already move to legalizing things and actually getting things done. Lesson learned: do not spend two years thinking about something you could maybe do at some point in the future. The time is now, and it’s time to change some lives.”
Essen confirmed that Automattic is not affiliated with the initiative although quite a few of her colleagues are supportive of the idea. “Everyone can do something to help another community member,” She said. “Whether that’s buying someone a meal, sharing a ride, or even sharing a room. DonateWC is a big picture thing, but there’s so many other things you can do to help under privileged groups.”
Essen hopes to have the non-profit and other legal aspects of the project taken care of in time to sponsor at least one person to WordCamp US. Part of the funds will be used to pay someone to design a logo and for social media marketing. If you’re interested in helping out with the project, please get in touch.
This is so exciting! I have been working on this same initiative for over a month now for underrepresented speakers with Outspoken Women. All too often event organizers are striving for diversity but women and non-binary speakers don’t always have the funds to travel. Congrats on starting this, and this gives me hope that I can find support for Outspoken Women!