Cairo's Fundraising Story: TEA-RRIFIC Fundraising

Cairo was inspired to join his school expedition to Costa Rica so that he could help people in need.  He secured his place on the expedition team by paying his deposit through his own savings before starting his fundraising journey, a little nervously, with a rough idea in mind on how to achieve his fundraising goal.

Building on his initial idea, Cairo embarked on a challenging and rewarding fundraising journey with his biggest supporter and soundboard, his mum “mumager”, cheering him along the way.

From a slice of cake to a cup of tea

Cairo believed in himself and knew that if he put his mind to it, he would be able to achieve his goal.  His first fundraising idea was to have cake sales and hold raffles, but he wanted to add to these activities to increase his funds.

Cairo wanted to do something eco-friendly and having already experimented in making teas for family, the idea of making herbal teas to fund his expedition was born.

Top Tip:  To make his herbal tea business a success Cairo not only sold online, but took his pop-up store to shopping centres, artisan and sustainable craft markets. He also set up a dedicated Facebook and Instagram Page for his business.

The power of social media

A major highlight for Cairo was when a Facebook posts went viral, resulting in approx. £1500 in online sales within 48 hours. Now that is super impressive!

The highlights and the challenges

Cairo loved meeting new people on his fundraising journey from market stall vendors, to customers, real estate consultants and the people in his community. But he also revealed the hardest part for him – becoming comfortable speaking to strangers.

The business has been a resounding success, earning enough to cover all costs, including buying the herbs, packaging, labels, teabags and marketing materials. In total, Cairo made £2800 profit from his Leaf of Mind business, with all profits going toward his expedition.

Skills learnt while fundraising

Throughout Cairo’s fundraising journey and running his own business he learnt to utilise some key skills such as:

• Budgeting.
• Managing and processing orders.
• Sourcing stock and vetting suppliers.
• Recognising patterns in sales and applying these analytics to promote bestselling products.
• Networking and learning to communicate with a variety of customers and businesses.

Setting up his business has channelled Cairo’s entrepreneurial spirit and although he hopes to continue his venture post expedition, he already has ideas for new business ventures.

Cairo is looking forward to all aspects of his expedition to Costa Rica this summer (2023). He is looking forward to experiencing a new culture, meeting new people and most importantly tasting new foods, as he LOVES food.  Cairo will also be celebrating his birthday on the very last day of his expedition and our in-country team in Costa Rica will certainly be excited to share in celebrating this special day – Hip Hip Hooray!

Words of advice from Cairo

“It isn’t going to be easy fundraising but the challenge makes it that much more satisfying when you get to see the results from your labour. The journey itself is also quite enjoyable as you get to meet new people and do things that you may have never even thought about, had you not been presented with this opportunity.”

We wish Cairo a fantastic expedition and would like to thank him for sharing his fundraising story with us.