As we look toward 2024, we reflect back on a fantastic year at The White Feather Foundation, with gratitude for all of our friends and supporters who made it possible. Here’s a recap of our last 12 months:
The Preservation of Indigenous Cultures
In February, a new music project was launched with Future Youth Records (FYR), which culminated with an Earth Day album release to benefit FYR and TWFF. We designated all of our funds raised to go toward our Save the Mirning Sea Country campaign.
You can read about the young musicians who sang on the album in our interviews with them here: Tausha, from Canada; Jenna from Ireland; Sereena from England; and Hadron from Germany.
If you didn’t get a chance to experience the album upon its release, it’s still available to stream/buy here.
In August, Julian and Tassoula centered their monthly essay around the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
In December, their essay was focused on International Migrants Day, which also addressed the significant amount of Indigenous populations displaced by climate change.
The Environment
In January, we reported on an area of environmental devastation, Salton Sea, and its rich history in California. Julian also has a collection of fine art photographs that tell the visual story of this space.
In May, Julian and Tassoula devoted their monthly essay to World Bee Day and a few months later, wrote about the urgency of Plastic-free July.
In September, we announced our new partnership with Flash Forest, a Canadian startup that reforests areas impacted by wildfires using innovative drone technology to plant trees in large quantities. Read more about them in Tassoula’s interview with co-founder Cameron Jones.
Clean Water
In March, we announced the renewal of our partnership with charity:water and a new campaign to bring a new piped water system to Uttar Pradesh, India (we completed the campaign just three months later, exceeding the full funding goal).
That same month, Julian and Tassoula devoted their monthly essay to World Water Day.
In July we shared the good news about a community in Cameroon that we helped seven years ago with an update from the project lead, Farmer Tantoh.
The Cynthia Lennon Scholarship for Girls
In January, Julian and Tassoula dedicated their monthly essay to the International Day of Education, focusing on the importance of empowering girls.
In March, we reported on a number of inventions that were created by women, in honour of International Women’s Day.
On Cynthia Lennon’s Birthday, September 10, we announced the two recipients of this year’s scholarships: Ella Together (UK) and GLOW Academy (US).
That same month, on International Equal Pay Day, Julian and Tassoula wrote about the salary inequality that females face, and why education for girls is so important.
Education and Health
In April, Julian and Tassoula dedicated their monthly essay to Stress Awareness Month, as well as in June on the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, and finally, in October on World Mental Health Day, emphasizing the importance of mental health in each message.
In August, we provided a list of resources for those battling cancer or assisting loved ones as caregivers, in observation of World Cancer Support Month.
In October we encouraged those in London to attend the premiere of Maya, a film we supported that spotlights the issue of human trafficking (stay tuned for additional release info for this film in 2024).
That same month, in the wake of the horrific Israel-Hamas war, we launched an emergency 1-month campaign to benefit World Central Kitchen in their efforts to feed those displaced by the conflict. With your help, we raised $10,000 for their organization, which has already been distributed.
For the Conservation of Life
As any nonprofit, we’re always looking for ways to increase support and build community for the betterment of our beneficiaries.
This year we launched our Monthly Giving Program, which allows donors to set up an automatic deduction from their credit, debit or PayPal account to donate monthly to the area of giving that most touches their heart. As each group grows, we look forward to strengthening the sub-communities of like-minded supporters for years to come with additional news and opportunities to connect.
We also introduced an easy way to hold fundraisers for TWFF on your personal social media pages in honour of birthdays (or just because), with the integration of the PayPal Giving Fund.
In 2024, we will continue to build on the momentum from this year, with action and advocacy planned in each area of giving, as well as updates to streamline our website and online shop, which will make giving even easier. Watch this space and our social media channels and sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know about any developments.
Until then, we express our deepest gratitude to every donor, global ambassador, charity partner and friend in the White Feather community. Thank you for a great 2023!
