In the past several months, the first of 2018, several changes have occurred for Birthright America, but its name has not yet been one of them. First, after an unexpected change in the leadership team of Breakthrough Miami caused them to have to delay their trip with us, we partnered with Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano.
Next, with our students now coming from California, a shift from Yellowstone and Grand Teton to Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Yosemite, the great national parks within the state of California, became a natural decision for this inaugural trip.
Finally, with our new partners, a change in date from June to August became essential. Details about our August trip can be found on our website.
These shifts have all been exciting, allowing me to meet and work with the wonderful team at Breakthrough SJC and their amazing students, who have just completed the application process for the trip.
As we've navigated these changes during the past three months, I have had the chance to have many conversations with potential sponsors, donors and applicants, and I've begun to notice some common questions about the name of our organization, which leads me to today's blog post.
While Birthright America has absolutely no connection with Birthright Israel, aside from a similar desire to provide travel opportunities for young people, there are some who mistakenly believe the two organizations are related. We are not. In fact, Birthright America has no religious affiliation whatsoever. Over the coming years, we hope to bring students from all different backgrounds to explore America's national parks.
The other question some have had was whether we are connected to any movements regarding citizenship and immigration. Again, we are not.
Birthright America was founded on a basic principle - that young people living in America, regardless of their financial resources, should have the opportunity to visit and explore the national parks that have been protected and preserved for the appreciation and enjoyment of us all. When I chose the name, I was thinking of the following definition of the word birthright - "a natural or moral right, possessed by everyone." Since enjoying the national parks in America is supposed to be just such a right, I chose the name, along with the tag line that "America's best idea just got better," as a reference to Ken Burns' wonderful documentary about the history of our national park system.
In recent months, I have considered changing the name to something that might cause less confusion, but I've yet to settle on something I like better. Still, I'm certainly open to suggestions!
Meanwhile, I've started a Go Fund Me campaign to spread the word further about our little nonprofit and its big mission with the hopes that the more people who learn about us, the more people will want to do their small part to help provide opportunities for children who otherwise wouldn't be able to explore these parks the chance to do so. The good news is that the campaign is trending, with over 81 shares on Facebook alone in just a single day. The disappointing news is that despite all those shares, only six people have donated, all of whom have donated in the past.
What would make this campaign a huge success in my estimation is if new donors would show their support for the idea and for the students who will be heading to Yosemite this August. No donation should be considered too small. Consider today Minimum wage Monday and donate $7.25 (the national minimum wage) or $11.00 (the minimum wage in California). This week there could be $10 Tuesday, Whatever Feels Right Wednesday, $1,000 Thursday, and $50 Friday. The amount matters far less than your support does.
So... what's in a name? I hope not the difference between your willingness to donate or not. After all, your financial support, regardless of the amount, smells sweet, indeed.
