At Uncle Percy we are all about people achieving their goals, so this is a dedicated little place where you can read about what people are using Uncle Percy for and how it's helping them achieve their goals. Congratulations to everyone who is achieving their goals, keep up the great work.
We are always on the look out for great goals so if you have any ideas please get in touch .
28/04/2010
Silvana Schenone, a senior associate from Minter Ellison Rudd Watts (it just so happens they’re our lawyers), recently used unclepercy.co.nz to raise money to give towards a Chilean Relief fund following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in February. We decided to have a quick chat with Silvana to ask her about her experience using Uncle Percy.
It’s time to ‘Celebrate Success’ again, please let me introduce Silvana Schenone, a senior associate from Minter Ellison Rudd Watts (it just so happens they’re our lawyers). Silvana recently used Uncle Percy to raise funds to give towards a Chilean Relief fund following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in February. We had a quick chat with Silvana to ask her about her experience using unclepercy.co.nz.
UP - What was your motivation for raising this money?
SS - I'm Chilean and I was devastated when I saw the tragedy in my country. A lot of people lost everything and it will be hard for them (and for the whole country) to recover. I immediately thought I needed to help and that being in NZ shouldn't be an obstacle. My husband suggested using Uncle Percy and although I was a bit shy about asking kiwis for money to help my country, the response from my friends and colleagues in NZ was fantastic.
UP - What were your expectations around how long it may take to raise the $10,000, or how much of a challenge you thought it would be?
SS - I thought it was going to be difficult, and in fact at some point the "anonymous" donations reflect my anxiety! My firm (Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, the only major NZ firm with a dedicated Latin American practice) was extremely generous and made a substantial donation early in the process which helped a lot in reaching the goal quickly.
UP - We understand you’ve sent the funds to a particular charity in Chile - What can you tell us a about the charity, and what the money you have raised will go towards?
SS - Yes, we sent the funds to a charity called Un Techo Para Chile (something like "A Roof for Chile"). They work to provide shelter to people and families in need. http://www.untechoparachile.cl/ I am very excited to know that with the money we raised at least a couple of families will have a house to live in this winter.
UP - Obviously the earthquake was a hideous random act of nature, but do you think you/your firm will use it for other fundraising initiatives in future?
SS - Sure. The Uncle Percy tool worked well and was an easy system to use. People donated different amounts and decided to do it publicly or anonymously, some people formed groups and chipped in together to donate, some others forwarded the link to their friends and "spread the rumor", etc. It was a wonderful way to express and see the kiwi generosity. The response to this appeal was absolutely brilliant- I'm overwhelmed by the results we obtained and deeply grateful to all those that played a role in this successful story.
UP - Finally, we would like to say a big congratulations to Silvana and a special thanks to everyone who chipped in - Great work!
7/04/2010
Uncle Percy sat down with a happy Uncle Percy user, Rebecca Heard, and chewed the fat about her successful savings goal to get hypnotized to help her stop biting her fingernails - excuse the pun.
U.P: Just wondering how long you’ve been biting your nails for?
Ever since I had teeth.
R.H: My mum never once had to cut my nails growing up - How gross am I... think of all those germs?!
U.P: Has the hypnotherapy shown signs that it really works?
R.H: Absolutely! I haven’t bitten my nails once since I was hypnotized - Three weeks and counting!! ☺
U.P: Your goal was for $480 dollars, were you ever tempted to use the money you put aside for something else and not Hypnotherapy?
R.H: No not at all. I wasn’t sure how many sessions I might have needed to kick the habit - apparently it can take 1-3. So I saved for 3 to be on the safe side, but it looks like I will only need the 1, however they recommend a 2nd to really enforce the message, so I probably will do that once my nails are longer. I figured any money left over I could treat myself and spend it on manicures!
U.P: Uncle Percy lets you share your goals through Facebook and email, did you use this or did you just want to put some money aside for yourself?
R.H: Well…I shared my goal by, if people owed me money I made the post of what they owed me then just emailed them the bank details and reference, at least that way the money went towards my goal instead of going back into my pocket (which I’m sure has a hole in it!). I did however try to find a friend of mine’s goal on Uncle Percy but could not find her goal to make a contribution – perhaps you could look into making this search easier.
U.P: If you could do it all over again, what do you think your next goal on Uncle Percy would be?
R.H: I’ll definitely be setting another goal – ‘Wanaka snowboarding mish’ and maybe a fundraising goal to ‘Fly Matt Bowness up from Nelson for a weekend’ I reckon I know a bunch of people who would chip in for that! ☺
U.P: A big congratulations to Becs for successfully achieving her goal on Uncle Percy - And thanks from all the team at Uncle Percy for sharing her experience with everybody.
