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Changemakers365: Meaningful change for $500 or less

At Alight, we launched Changemakers 365 in January 2017 to make real, tangible changes every day with $500 or less. Over 800 days, our global teams implemented impactful projects in countries like Bangladesh, Somalia, Uganda, and Pakistan.
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The world’s toughest problems often seem insurmountable. At Alight, while we tackle these big issues, we also focus on what is immediately achievable—or, as we like to call it, we “do the doable.” That's what Changemakers365 was all about: making real, tangible changes every day with $500 or less.

Changemakers365 provided our global teams with the tools to identify and nurture the bright spots in a community, offering the small support needed to help them flourish. We knew that by backing a changemaker's ongoing efforts, they could make that $500 stretch further than we ever could.

What would I do with $500? I would buy bedding and mattresses to put in the Reception Center for refugees and asylum seekers – where they stay until we can setup a shelter for them. All of these people have traveled for days and weeks to reach the refugee settlement. Some have medical complications as the result of violence or abuse. And right now, they have to sleep on the floor and have no soft spot to lie down.

Harriet Adong, Alight Uganda

We launched Changemakers365 in January 2017 and completed more than 800 days of change around the world, from Bangladesh to Somalia, Uganda to Pakistan.

So what did $500 worth of change look like?

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It was more impactful than one might expect. It meant cots and mattresses—a soft place to rest—for refugees who had just arrived at a camp. It meant art supplies for children needing a safe space while their families received therapy for malnutrition. It meant a fresh coat of paint for refugee camp buildings, brightening everyone's day.

It looked like real change—every single day. In fact, it was so successful, we’re planning on doing it again soon.

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