What do you get when you combine civic action, guerilla fundraising, digital technology and a Latino street party? It’s #COLECTA, the innovative event hosted by TECHO and intended to raise funds to build transitional housing, promote community empowerment and eradicate poverty in Latin America.
This year, for the first time, the # COLECTA is based in Miami. On Saturday, September 28, more than a thousand TECHO youth volunteers will take to the streets of Miami and ask for donations. During the appeal, strategically-placed screens will broadcast a live feed of construction of a house in Paraguay. It’s part of TECHO’s mission to keep its work, structure and fundraising completely transparent—donors see exactly the type of work their donations fund.
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The goal of the Miami event is to raise at least $200,000 to build 100 emergency houses in the poorest slums of Latin America, to recruit more young volunteers, and to raise awareness of the living conditions of millions of the world’s poorest families.
The live feed of construction in Paraguay will be viewable online at techo.org/live. This will allow volunteers in Miami to access the feed on their smartphones or tablets, so that they can better illustrate TECHO’s work and show donors exactly where their money goes to help.
The # COLECTA is an event that TECHO has held in cities across Latin America. During past events, volunteers in Guatemala were able to collect $1,200,000 in donations, $560,000 in Chile, $305,000 in Argentina, and in Costa Rica $294,000—all in a single day! The funds raised during COLECTAs have made it possible for thousands of people living in extreme poverty to finally have a home to call their own.
Mamiverse is proud to support the work of TECHO, a youth led non-profit organization that is battling poverty on the ground in Latin America and the Caribbean. TECHO has a big vision—to eliminate poverty. Its mission is to awaken society as a whole to the injustices of crushing poverty, and inspire individuals to work towards overcoming it, through community development, social awareness and political advocacy.
