The Donum Thank You Challenge

We've all had moments when we felt stranded, when the next step was out of reach.

And sometimes, a hero came along.

A teacher who believed in us. A neighbour who helped when money ran out. A stranger who told us about a job. A grandmother who worked so her children could go to school.

A chance is a strange kind of gift. The person who gives it may never see where it goes.

A thank-you is how they find out.

So, have you thanked your hero?

Not only for what they did, but for what it made possible. For the exam you passed, the trade you learned, the work you do today.

That is the Donum Thank You Challenge. Three lines:

"Thank you, ___, for ___." "Because of you, ___." "Now I ___."

The first line is what they did, and where you were when they did it. The second is where it took you. The third is what you will do next.

For example:

"Thank you, Sarah, for giving me my first job when I had no experience." "Because of you, I've built a career I'm proud of." "Now I give one: I'm mentoring a young person looking for their first job."

Your last line can end in one of two ways.

With a promise. Maybe you're still on your way, and the chance they gave you isn't finished yet. Or you want to give a chance, but you can't yet. Then make your last line a Donum Chance Pledge: to yourself, to finish what they started; to someone else; or to a community. You choose a date to look back, and on that date, we'll write to you and ask what happened.

"Thank you, Uncle David, for paying for my first year at university." "Because of you, I'm halfway to becoming a nurse." "Now I promise not to stop until I'm a nurse."

When you look back, you can add one more line to your thank-you: "Done: ___."

With a chance, given. If you'd like, give a chance yourself, to someone else or to a community: through Donum, through another organisation, or on your own. Where you give it is up to you, and you're welcome to say where.

How to take the challenge

1. Choose your hero. Family or not, living or not.
2. Write your three lines.
3. If your hero is alive, say it to them first. In person, by phone, or in a letter.
4. Share it, if you want to. Your thank-you is saved in My account, where only you can see it. Tick "Share my thank-you on the site", and a person reads it before it appears on this page. You can also say your three lines on video, anywhere, with #DonumThankYou.
5. Then ask someone else: have you thanked your hero?

When you share it

• It appears under your handle, or your first name if you choose.
• Call your hero by who they were to you, such as "my teacher". Use their first name only if they agreed, or if they have died and their family would be comfortable with it. Never a surname.
• You can name an organisation you gave through, but don't add a link or contact details.
• No line asks anyone for anything.
• On video, show only people who agreed to be in it.

Giving is your choice. Nobody who received a chance from Donum owes anything for it, to us or to anyone else.

Is your hero someone further back? Take the Donum Ancestor Challenge to find out what life taught them, and what reached you.

A thank-you tells your hero that what they gave you mattered.

Thank your hero. And if you'd like, give a chance too.

Write your thank-you› Make a Donum Chance Pledge› See open chances› The Donum Ancestor Challenge›