Me to We: A mother-daughter fund-raiser for tsunami victims

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This coming weekend I am opening a new chapter in my young daughter's life. Olivia, 5, and I will be reading 50 books together in hope of raising at least $100 for the victims of the south Asian tsunami. The read-a-thon will take us about three to four hours and I am hoping that it will plant a seed of social responsibility in Olivia that will flourish as she grows.

The idea of getting Olivia involved in raising money for the relief effort came to me as I was listening to coverage of the tragedy on the radio over the holidays. My husband and I had already made a donation to Oxfam but I was struck by a young boy (Unicef Canada's youth spokesperson) urging children to raise money. This child's conviction -- his belief that young people could make a positive difference in the world and bring about change -- touched me deeply and I began to think of ways I could help Olivia fundraise.

As I mulled over the concept I immediately realized I didn't want to canvas our neighbours. Olivia is somewhat shy, and I would end up doing all the talking. I wanted to come up with an idea that involved Olivia giving up something and learning from the experience. If it was nicer weather, we may have had a toy sale on our front lawn. But since the grass is buried in snow and neighbours don't venture far outdoors, that wasn't an option.

Then the idea of a read-a-thon came to me. Olivia would have to give up some play time to read with with me and we could ask people to pledge us for each book we read. I decided we would read 50 books and ask for donations of $2 per person, which seemed reasonable, as did finding 50 friends, relatives and co-workers to contribute.