msnbc’s joint program with UNICEF, Kids In Need Of Desks, has become the official cause of this show. The K.I.N.D. Fund aims to provide a better education for children in Malawi by giving the gift of school desks and, in a new initiative, paying for girls’ tuition--both of which are harder to come by in this part of the world.
With your continued commitment, the K.I.N.D. Fund has now raised $5,004,475--a big milestone--in the third year of the program. Out of that $5 million, over $96,000 will also go to our new K.I.N.D. girls’ scholarship program.
We are in constant awe of viewers’ generosity and creativity when it comes to raising money for this cause.
We recently received a letter from 13-year-old Dani Leshgold of Pacific Palisades, California. The eighth-grader wrote to inform the show (making sure to cc Lawrence O’Donnell in her note) that she raised $3,360.00 for K.I.N.D. as part of her Miztvah project--a charitable initiative of choice while preparing for her Bat Mitzvah. She held a bake sale and asked friends and family members to chip in. Dani’s letter perfectly summed up the goal of our program:
I can imagine how happy the students are when desks come to their school and they no longer have to sit on the dirt floor to study and learn. I think about how hard their lives are anyway and that this act of kindness can make their lives so much easier and brighter. And bring them hope for a better future.
Since she wrote the letter in October, Dani’s raised additional funds, bringing her grand total to $3,831.
Thank you, Dani, and thanks to all of you out there in TV and Internet land for helping us with this initiative. No dollar amount is too large or small.
If you would like to contribute to the K.I.N.D Fund, please visit LastWordDesks.msnbc.com or call 1-800-4-UNICEF.
Read Dani’s full letter to K.I.N.D.: