Elodie’s Volunteer Diary: New Experiences

This July, I helped to organise and took part in Accuro’s ‘TryInJuly’ challenge. This is my first fundraiser with Accuro. The idea was to inspire people to try something new for at least a week in July, whilst also raising money for Accuro. My role in this challenge was helping to promote the fundraiser. I wrote a blog post with suggestions for things people could try, brainstormed ideas and I took part myself.

For my challenge, I decided to learn a new language, Italian. I chose this because it has always been a language I have been interested in. This challenge gave me the push I needed to try.

To do this challenge, I set up a Virgin Money Giving page so people could sponsor me which was pretty easy to do. To actually complete the challenge, I downloaded a language app, ‘Duolingo’, which was an easy way to monitor my progress. I also learned by watching tv shows or films in Italian. To get the word out, I posted my progress on my social media to create a buzz and encourage people to sponsor me. 

The month was very successful. I was able to get a lot of people to sponsor me, beating my £50 target with my fundraising currently at £152.00. I have also learned a lot of Italian. Originally, I aimed to do the challenge for a week but I enjoyed myself so much I continued learning Italian for the whole month. It was really interesting to be able to learn about a country through the language. I also think learning language has opened a door of opportunity to travel which is something I want to do eventually, as well as being able to improve my communication skills.

Here’s a little message in italian : Ciao tutti, Grazie mila per mio sponsorizza.  Per sponsorizzazione mentre Imparato Italiano.  mi è piaciuto impare molto