Always good to start the year out with some momentum. We’re doing just that next weekend when Thailand celebrates Children’s Day.

Every year on the second weekend of January, Thailand celebrates Children’s Day. This year we’re making plans to do some activities in the Yommorat community in Bangkok.

[Take a look back at what we've done in the past: Children's Day 2010]

Yommarat is a community full of kids. The majority of the kids who attend our Saturday school are from this neighborhood, but there are many more kids in the community who are unable to attend because we can only accomodate a small number. With the help of volunteers (if you’re interested you can sign up here: Thai Children’s Day 2012) we’ll be bringing some fun activities to the community’s celebration.

Volunteers taking the lead creating kids' activities

In addition, I ‘ve been working on a budget for the year and trying to decide how best to raise the money we need to run our projects. Last year, we planned to host a food market called Big Bite Bangkok, but it was postponed and eventually cancelled because of the flooding. The idea is really to get people excited about food and give them opportunities to give also. This month we’re trying to revive the market and launch it near the end of the month. With enough support this type of event could be really good for our project, because we can reproduce the event again later in the year to keep spreading the word and raising awareness.

Get in touch if you’re looking for volunteer opportunities in Bangkok. We’ll post some fresh pictures from next week’s activities soon and I’m also working on a plan to share this year’s budget and fundraising goals.

How are you setting the tone for 2012 where you are?

-Dwight