I met Matt Kohn in 2013 when I was working in Sydney. He had come over to Australia to study abroad and decided to join the American football team at Sydney University, a team that I was a coach of. I only briefly got to know him then, but our mutual love of travel would lead us to an on-going friendship the following years, as we'd ask each other for advice for a trip we were on, or inspiration for the next. Last week he emailed me a link to his fundraising page (which I've posted above) and asked if I could donate and maybe share the link. It was the least that I could do. Then I read this on his fundraising page:

Winning the "lottery of life" and being one of the lucky ones means that I (and we) have a major responsibility. A responsibility to give to those who are not so lucky. A responsibility to empower them through education which they so desperately crave. We could have just as easily been in their shoes, but again, we won the lottery.

I realized I could do more. The reason I started this website was for just this sort of opportunity, where I could help bring more people together for such a worthy cause. My fiance and I are both in the education field so this cause is especially close to our hearts and I hope you'll take the time to read Matt's story below, and help out in any way you can, whether that's through money or just a quick share on social media.

Because Matt's right, we can, and must, empower those less fortunate than ourselves.

Great to chat with you again Matt. Tell us about the charity organization you’re raising money for.

I’m currently raising money with Pencils of Promise (PoP) - an organization that builds schools and brings quality education to deserving children in Ghana, Laos and Guatemala. Since 2008, they have built over 300+ schools and served over 30,000 children!

I get excited every time I tell people this.

Now you did something similar to this last year as well. What got you thinking about using your birthday and the Holiday season as a way to raise money?