Elias Fund
Encyclopedia
The Elias Fund is a nonprofit organization funding community development
and education
for Zimbabwe
an youth.
. Elias shared his dream of one day helping his three sons with an university education. This dream was put to song and became a popular piece with Urmston's band Dispatch
. After the band broke-up in 2004, brothers Eric and Scott Byington were approached to fundraise for a small initiative to sponsor Elias’ sons’ education.
A successful fundraiser was hosted in the summer of 2005 with enough money being raised for all three of Elias’ sons. Eric and Scott, along with a team of four others, took off to Zimbabwe to go find Elias. While they were gone, over 1,200 young people signed-up to do something more for Zimbabwe even though nothing more had been planned or publicized. It became apparent to Eric and Scott that what had started as a single fundraiser for one man’s family could be turned into a full-time organization for Zimbabwe’s development.
And so with the fan-base of Dispatch in support, Eric and Scott turned their relationship with Elias into the organization the Elias Fund is today. EF is now operating in three specific communities providing support to indigenous organizations focused on education, food aid and micro-grants. From one man’s dream has sprung a movement spreading hope and opportunity in Zimbabwe.
Community development
Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....
and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
for Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an youth.
Overview
The Elias Fund began with a simple purpose - help one man raise his children. Today EF empowers Zimbabwean communities to build a promising future for their children through poverty alleviation. As a grassroots organization, the Elias Fund focuses on indigenous empowerment to alleviate poverty from the bottom-up.Mission statement
The Elias Fund's mission statement is: "Spreading hope and opportunity in Zimbabwe through indigenous empowerment, and engaging the current youth culture of the United States by encouraging a positive identity centered on social justice."History
In 1994, Elias Sithole, a gardener in Zimbabwe, met American songwriter Chad UrmstonChad Urmston
Chad Stokes Urmston is an American musician. Urmston was a member of the band Hermit Thrush which later gave birth to the band Dispatch. He is the frontman for the Sherborn, Massachusetts-area band State Radio, as well as a constant activist for improved living conditions in Zimbabwe...
. Elias shared his dream of one day helping his three sons with an university education. This dream was put to song and became a popular piece with Urmston's band Dispatch
Dispatch
Dispatch or dispatches may refer to:In literature* Dispatches , a 1977 book by Michael Herr about the Vietnam War* dispatches , a magazine edited by Gary Knight and Mort RosenblumIn radio and television...
. After the band broke-up in 2004, brothers Eric and Scott Byington were approached to fundraise for a small initiative to sponsor Elias’ sons’ education.
A successful fundraiser was hosted in the summer of 2005 with enough money being raised for all three of Elias’ sons. Eric and Scott, along with a team of four others, took off to Zimbabwe to go find Elias. While they were gone, over 1,200 young people signed-up to do something more for Zimbabwe even though nothing more had been planned or publicized. It became apparent to Eric and Scott that what had started as a single fundraiser for one man’s family could be turned into a full-time organization for Zimbabwe’s development.
And so with the fan-base of Dispatch in support, Eric and Scott turned their relationship with Elias into the organization the Elias Fund is today. EF is now operating in three specific communities providing support to indigenous organizations focused on education, food aid and micro-grants. From one man’s dream has sprung a movement spreading hope and opportunity in Zimbabwe.
External links
- Official website
- Elias Fund on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Elias Fund at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....