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POSSIBILITIES INTERNATIONAL
Building a nation of philanthropists - one at a time
by Helen Hall
Kitchener Citizen
Sam Welten says his dream is that he could find one million people willing to donate one dollar a year to Possibilities International.
With that money, he figures, he could make a lot of dreams come true.
Welten was a minister for 20 years, working most recently at the Freedom in Christ Pentecostal Assembly in Kitchener. As a minister, he travelled quite a bit doing missionary work and saw what a difference even a little help can make.
In 2005, he told his wife Vee he wanted to start a charity to help “the hurting, helpless and hopeless.” With the support of Vee and his three grown sons, he founded Possibilities International based in Kitchener.
“She (Vee) knows she’s married to a very adventuresome type,” he said with a laugh.
Welten started taking teams to work in underprivileged countries, building homes and running medical clinics. Then one day in Kurdistan he saw something that changed how he wanted to approach his work.
A team from Possibilities International was feeding people at a dump. The people were so poor that they were going through the garbage to see if there was anything of value.
“I’ll never forget it. When the garbage truck came in, half the people left their food and ran to the back end of the garbage truck,” Welten said. They wanted to be first to get any of the “treasures” inside.
Welten saw a girl about 16 years old, who seemed to be dressed nicely, running to the truck.
Through a translator, Welten asked the girl why she was there, and she responded that she was nearly done high school, but her parents didn’t have the money for a uniform and registration for the next year of school. The price for both was $60.
Possibilities International paid the $60 for the girl to attend school and it's "everyday philanthropist" dream was born.
Welten said he admires big corporations that make big donations, but realized from talking to the girl what a difference small donations can make.
“I began to recognize what a difference you can make in someone’s life without it costing a lot,” he said.
Possibilities International started its iam1ru program where they find small things that individuals can donate to that will make a big difference in someone else’s life.
Possibilities International has workers, called “dream agents” in nine countries around the world (including Canada) looking for small things, or dreams. The dreams typically cost between $50 and $1,500. They include things like a simple surgery a family cannot afford, uniforms for kids to go to school, fixing a roof with a leak in it.
The dreams are posted on the Possibilities International iam1ru website and everyday philanthropists can donate toward the dream.
The dream stays on the website until it has received enough donations to make it happen.
Once the dream has been fulfilled, everyone who has donated is emailed and sent a photo of the completed project.
“The dream agents are people I know,” Welten said. Many are Canadians who raise sponsorship money to travel to underprivileged countries and work for Possibilities International. Their biographies are on the Possibilities International website.
In Central Asia, Possibilities International employs 15 women who live and work there, to be dream agents for them.
Welten says that he and dream agents “have the best gig on the planet.”
“It’s insane,” Welten said of the reaction the dream agents get when they give people what many of us would consider to be a simple or small thing.
About 5 percent of what people donate to dreams goes toward administrative costs. Welten knows that is a big concern for sponsors.
Possibilities International raises the rest of its administrative money through other avenues such as sponsorships, fundraisers like its annual Road2Hope marathon, The Big Event Silent Auction, and golf tournaments. Welten also accepts donations and works as a speaker.
Like other charities, they do have monthly sponsorships, child sponsorships and teams that travel regularly to help build and take medicine to underprivileged countries.
Possibilities International now has gift certificates on its website. They can be purchased in any amount and the person who receives the certificate can go online and choose which dream they want to donate it to.
But they love to make the little dreams come true.
“World Vision and Compassion are huge organizations and they do great work. But I liken it to a farmer’s field. Those organizations are like combines and they take a huge swath,” Welten said.
“But if you’ve ever seen a farmer’s field there’s always a bunch of stalks left in the corner after the combine has gone through.”
“We do our best work in the corners.”
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Visit the Possibilities International website at http://iam1ru.com.
Sam Welten, the founder of Possibilities International, wants everyone to become a philanthropist by making small donations.
Sherry Peters (right) is a Dream Agent in Ghana. She is raising $1,000 to help Patience Teye to buy baking equipment and supplies to open a business.