Author Archives: jaysears

A Thank You from Nguiddine Keur Sara, Senegal

Team Dayā on the worksite with Nguiddine Keur Sara community members.

After a long pandemic hiatus, Team Dayā successfully kicked off its second school in Nguiddine Keur Sara in the Fatick region of Senegal.

The new school will be used by first graders (35 students), second graders (35 students) and third graders (34 students), replacing the two current classrooms built from sticks, leaves and cardboard.

You – our donors – make this possible.

Team Dayā members Michael Benedek, Hasan Arik and Jay Sears worked in 107 degree heat alongside community members digging the foundation, hand-mixing cement, making cinder blocks, carrying gravel and sand in bucket lines and bending rebar.

A thank you from Chief Khokhan Nolong.

Team Dayā with Chief Khokhan Nolong after signing the covenant governing the school building.

“If we had the word that expressed more than thank you, we would use that,” said Chief Khokhan Nolong at a closing ceremony with Team Dayā and Nguiddine Keur Sara community members. “We pray for you, the way you come in peace here. May you also go in peace in your country.”

Watch his full comments:

Chief Khokhan Nolong of Nguiddine Keur Sara

Your donations will allow a project leader and skilled laborers from our NGO partner buildOn to assist community members to complete the school building over the next few weeks. We will continue to share stories of our time in Nguiddine Keur Sara and updates on school construction over the coming weeks.

Please consider a donation so Team Dayā can continue its work.

Three Ways You Can Help

Make a Donation Online
- Example investment opportunities:
  - $100 Five shovels for excavating the school’s solid foundation
  - $250 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school
  - $500 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
  - $1,000 Paint for a school
  - $40,000 Fund an entire school
Spread the Word
- Share our mission with your friends, your company and your industry
- Invite us to speak about our mission to your network
- Follow us on our website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Join the Team & Travel on a School Build
- If you have a combination of fundraising chops, an adventurous spirit and the belief each of us has the capacity to be Building Change, get in touch with us and have a conversation.

Thanks again for your continued support,

All of us at Team Dayā

Team Dayā member Hasan Arik during math class in Nguiddine Keur Sara.

Building Change for these Senegalese Students

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In one week Team Dayā heads to Nguiddine Keur Sara in the Fatick region of Senegal to work on our first school build since before the global pandemic.

None of this work is possible without you–and the myriad of our supporters from across the technology, advertising and media sectors.

Meet the Students of Nguiddine Keur Sara

Your donations will be building a school used by first graders (35 students), second graders (35 students) and third graders (34 students).

The current school, started in October 2019, is built from sticks and straw. It has two temporary classrooms used by three local communities.

We welcome your donations for our Sengal school build. You can donate to Team Dayā overall or to any of the three members traveling to Senegal:

Donate to Team Dayā overall.

Donate to Michael “The Bricklayer” Benedek. Michael is the president and CEO of leading independent data marketplace Datonics, with over 25 years in the Internet, financial services and healthcare fields based in New York and in Tel Aviv.

Donate to Hasan “Trust & Transparency” Arik. Hasan is the founder & CEOof Redmill Solutions, a specialist media data management company headquartered in London. He has worked at Mediacom and GroupM.

Donate to Jay “The Instigator” Sears. Jay is the founder of Team Dayā and a longtime ad tech executive. He has worked at Mastercard, Rubicon Project, Pulsepoint, ContextWeb, EDGAR Online and Wolff New Media.

We will be telling each of you more about the Senegal school build in future updates.

Three Ways You Can Help

Make a Donation Online
1. Example investment opportunities:
  1. $100 Five shovels for excavating the school’s solid foundation
  2. $250 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school
  3. $500 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
  4. $1,000 Paint for a school
Spread the Word
1. Share our mission with your friends, your company and your industry
2. Invite us to speak about our mission to your network
3. Follow us on our website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Join the Team & Travel on a School Build
1. If you have a combination of fundraising chops, an adventurous spirit and the belief each of us has the capacity to be Building Change, get in touch with us and have a conversation.

Thanks again for your continued support,

All of us at Team Dayā

Senegal $10K Challenge; Building Change with 5,000 Bottles & Cans

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In three weeks Team Dayā heads to Nguiddine Keur Sara in the Fatick region of Senegal to work on our first school build since before the global pandemic.

None of this work is possible without you–and the myriad of our supporters from across the technology, advertising and media sectors.

Senegal $10K Challenge

We are pleased to announce a $10,000 matching challenge from U of Digital and its CEO Shiv Gupta for our Senegal school building.

Donations between now and Friday, March 18th will be matched and designated for our Sengal school build. You can donate to Team Dayā overall or to any of the three members traveling to Senegal and your gift will be matched:

Donate to Team Dayā overall.

Donate to Michael “The Bricklayer” Benedek. Michael is the president and CEO of leading independent data marketplace Datonics, with over 25 years in the Internet, financial services and healthcare fields based in New York and in Tel Aviv.

Donate to Hasan “Trust & Transparency” Arik. Hasan is the founder & CEOof Redmill Solutions, a specialist media data management company headquartered in London. He has worked at Mediacom and GroupM.

Donate to Jay “The Instigator” Sears. Jay is the founder of Team Dayā and a longtime ad tech executive. He has worked at Mastercard, Rubicon Project, Pulsepoint, ContextWeb, EDGAR Online and Wolff New Media.

We will be telling each of you more about the Senegal school build both leading up to, during and after the build.

Building Change with 5,000 Bottles & Cans

It is not everyday you meet a high school student running a non-profit. Early in the pandemic we met Mark Copple, the founder of Nickel by Nickel.

Now a senior at Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine, California, Copple collected and redeemed 5,000 cans and bottles in order to raise $250 for Team Dayā. We are excited to share our interview with Mark and to put his investment to work during our upcoming school build in Senegal, West Africa.

“Education should be everyone’s top priority,” Copple told us. “A society cannot function without an educated population, and it is great that you are building schools and providing people with education.”

Mark–we agree and are humbled by your generosity and the bravery it takes to be someone Building Change.

Three Ways You Can Help

Make a Donation Online
1. Example investment opportunities:
  1. $100 Five shovels for excavating the school’s solid foundation
  2. $250 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school
  3. $500 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
  4. $1,000 Paint for a school
Spread the Word
1. Share our mission with your friends, your company and your industry
2. Invite us to speak about our mission to your network
3. Follow us on our website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Join the Team & Travel on a School Build
1. If you have a combination of fundraising chops, an adventurous spirit and the belief each of us has the capacity to be Building Change, get in touch with us and have a conversation.

Thanks again for your continued support,

All of us at Team Dayā

Student Redeems 5,000 Bottles & Cans for Team Dayā Schools

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(PHOTO: 5,000 Bottles & Cans Were Redeemed to Generate this $250 Donation for Team Dayā schools.)

It is not everyday you meet a high school student running a non-profit. Early in the pandemic we met Mark Copple, the founder of Nickel by Nickel.

Please meet Mark Copple:

Team Dayā: Introduce Yourself.

Copple: My name is Mark Copple and I am 17. I am a senior at Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine, California.

Team Dayā: You founded your own non-profit called Nickel by Nickel Corporation – tell us about it.

Copple: My nonprofit works to collect bottles – aluminum, plastic, and glass – and redeem them for the CRV value. This is then donated to various charities, Team Dayā is one of them, in order to make a difference. I started this charity about five years ago with my father, and I work on it mainly on the weekends.

Team Dayā: What inspired you to start Nickel by Nickel?

Copple: I used to go door to door in the neighborhood collecting bottles in my toy wheelbarrow. I then figured that I could make a difference doing this, which is how Nickel by Nickel was born.

Team Dayā: Where do you find all the bottles and cans to collect, redeem and recycle?

Copple: I save them from home, collect them from various people I have agreements with, and also collect them from my school.

Team Dayā: Recently Nickel by Nickel donated $250 to Team Dayā – thank you! Your gift will pay for all the nails, nuts, and bolts to build the roof of our next school. What appeals to you about Team Dayā and its mission?

Copple: Education should be everyone’s top priority. A society cannot function without an educated population, and it is great that you are building schools and providing people with education.

Team Dayā: For one of your peers, or for an adult, what advice would you give to someone who has dreamt of starting a non-profit project to give back?

Copple: I would say that it is important to note that it is a lot of work. If you are not willing to do the work, it will be very difficult. However, if you are willing to do the work, it is very rewarding to give back.

Team Dayā:Thank you Mark!

Make a donation Team Dayā.

Back to the School Build: Senegal in T-Minus Six Weeks

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There was never any doubt if–the only question was when.

In late March, Team Dayā will be back Building Change.

For the first time since the global pandemic derailed our plans, a small intrepid group will be heading to Senegal in West Africa to work on a school build.

“A school is an open door to the world,” said Michael “The Bricklayer” Benedek, CEO of the independent data marketplace Datonics and one of the Team Dayā members that will be heading to Senegal. “It is truly humbling to be part of such an amazing cause and help open a world of opportunity to a community so far from home.”

Of course none of this is possible without you–and the myriad of our supporters from across the technology, advertising and media sectors.

Why Senegal

Senegal currently ranks 168 out of 189 countries on the UN Human Development Index. Nearly half of all Senegalese over the age of 15 are illiterate and more than 6 million (38 percent of the total population) are living below the poverty line of $1.90 a day. Nearly half of all children living in rural areas are not enrolled in school, compared to 21 percent in urban areas.

We will be sharing details about our school building project in the weeks leading up to our departure–be sure to follow us.

Three Ways You Can Help

Make a Donation Online
1. Example investment opportunities:
  1. $100 Five shovels for excavating the school’s solid foundation
  2. $250 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school
  3. $500 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
  4. $1,000 Paint for a school
Spread the Word
1. Share our mission with your friends, your company and your industry
2. Invite us to speak about our mission to your network
3. Follow us on our website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Join the Team & Travel on a School Build
1. If you have a combination of fundraising chops, an adventurous spirit and the belief each of us has the capacity to be Building Change, get in touch with us and have a conversation.

Meet the Team Dayā Members Traveling to Senegal

Michael “The Bricklayer” Benedek. Michael is the president and CEO of leading independent data marketplace Datonics, with over 25 years in the Internet, financial services and healthcare fields based in New York and in Tel Aviv.

Hasan “Trust & Transparency” Arik. Hasan is the founder & CEOof Redmill Solutions, a specialist media data management company headquartered in London. He has worked at Mediacom and GroupM.

Jay “The Instigator” Sears. Jay is the founder of Team Dayā and a longtime ad tech executive. He has worked at Mastercard, Rubicon Project, Pulsepoint, ContextWeb, EDGAR Online and Wolff New Media.

We will be telling each of you more about the Senegal school build both leading up to, during and after the build.

Thanks again for your continued support,

All of us at Team Dayā

Watch Wolff Howl – On Demand

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If you missed our annual fundraiser with journalist Michael Wolff, author of Fire & Fury and Siege, and IAB Executive Chair Randall Rothenberg holding a fireside chat discussing Trump, Biden, the US elections and the transfer of power, you can now watch it on demand.

Not on NetFlix or Hulu or Disney Plus. Watch the fireside chat exclusively right here on SupportTeamDaya.com – it is Donation Video on Demand!

In all seriousness, watch the replay, and if you missed our fundraiser and can make a donation, we appreciate it. Until December 31st, The Trade Desk is matching your donations up to USD $40,000. Donate here.

Randall and Michael played themselves in classic fashion, with a fun, insightful chat on American politics between two old friends.

Editorial note: in classic 2020 fashion, Randall’s camera malfunctioned for the first few minutes. All other bloopers were edited out, only seen by our production staff or left in on purpose ;)-. Enjoy.

Holiday Fundraiser with Michael Wolff & Randall Rothenberg on Tuesday, December 8th, 6pm ET

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Please join Team Dayā for its virtual holiday fundraiser featuring a fireside chat discussing Trump, Biden, the US elections and the transfer of power with journalist Michael Wolff, author of Fire & Fury and Siege, and IAB Executive Chair Randall Rothenberg. The event will be held Tuesday, December 8th, 2020 at 6pm ET.

After a brief Team Dayā welcome and update, Randall will conduct a fireside chat with Michael.

After registration, we are requesting each attendee make an online donation via the link that will be provided on the confirmation page. You can register on our eventbrite page.

Matching Grant & Pandemic Updates from Team Dayā

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Namaste!

We hope this post finds you and your family safe and healthy during this pandemic. We are writing with updates including a new challenge grant we have been given for the month of August 2020.

First, one of our current supporters, Shiv Gupta, the founder of the digital marketing education company U of Digital, will match the next $4,000 in contributions to Team Dayā.

If you are able, please consider a gift.

The other good news is we have an expanding team that is ready to go into the field to resume school building in 2021, post pandemic, when we get the green light from our non-profit partner buildOn.

In addition to our Nepal team members (who all intend to participate in future school builds), our new team members include Michael Benedek of Datonics, Gerry Berton of Microsoft and Youssef Ben Youssef of Roku. These individuals have committed to a personal fundraising goal as well as traveling to a future school groundbreaking.

The pandemic has been a time of reflection for many of us. We want Team Dayā to come out stronger than ever on the other side of this. This means continuing to build our core team and staying ahead of our fundraising goals. Our non-profit partner buildOn has seen donations drop 20% this year, so if you have the means, please consider a 2020 gift.

Want to smile?

Remember our first schoolhouse in Dhayapur, Nepal was completed in February before the world started to shut down in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nepal has been impacted like everywhere else, but as of now, schools are scheduled to reopen this month.

Our second school groundbreaking, scheduled for Malawi in East Africa in April, was postponed just five weeks prior to departure. Schools in Malawi remain closed at the moment with the looming possibility of a country lock-down to curb a recent rise in COVID numbers.

Help Team Dayā stay healthy during this pandemic so we can rise stronger than ever after this pandemic. With your help, we can be prepared to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy in some of the poorest countries on earth.

Donate to Team Dayā. August donations will be matched (up to $4,000) by Shiv Gupta and digital marketing education company U of Digital.

Have questions? Think you or a friend might want to join our team? Please get in touch – we would love to hear from you.

Grateful for your support,

Jay Sears
Founder
Team Dayā

Dhayapur, Nepal Completes Schoolhouse, Help Us Do It Again

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(PHOTO: School is in session in Dhayapur, Nepal.)

Just four months after breaking ground in Dhayapur, Nepal, the local community, in conjunction with Team Dayā and its supporters, and our non-profit partner buildOn, has completed the construction of a beautiful yellow, maroon and white three-room schoolhouse. The students and teachers are already at work in the school.

On behalf of Dhayapur, buildOn and Team Dayā, we want to send a very big Dhan’yavāda (thank you in Nepali) to all our supporters. Doing this was a dream before we began the group in November 2018, and now we can point to our first successful school completion.

See photos of the completed school just below.

We hope you will continue your support of Team Dayā as we keep building change. We have scheduled two school groundbreakings in 2020 – the first in just 60 days (late April) in Malawi (East Africa) and a second in October in Guatemala (Central America).

Let’s do it again! Please consider making a contribution.

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Team Dayā Malawi Groundbreaking

Some of you might consider getting more involved or even traveling with the team to a school groundbreaking in 2020 or 2021. We are holding two information sessions at the LUMA Partner’s New York office in the coming weeks–on Wednesday, March 4th from 4pm – 6pm and a second session on Thursday, May 7th from 4pm – 6pm (please RSVP).

We hope to see you soon and thank you again for your support. And the best part – photos of the new school in Dhayapur, Nepal:

And the final weeks of construction:

Please donate to Team Dayā ( दया) to help us build primary schools in Nepal, Malawi, Guatemala and other impoverished places.

School Building Progress in Dhayapur, Nepal

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When Team Dayā left Dhayapur this past October, we had successfully completed the school groundbreaking, working with the community to dig the foundation and organize various materials (stone, brick, rebar) that would be used for the school construction.

The Dhayapur community, along with skilled labor provided by our non profit partner buildOn, has made amazing progress on the three room school house and the accompanying girls and boys latrine since the October groundbreaking. Here are a few photos of the work through the first week of January.

Your donations made this happen! Please consider making a 2020 donation to Team Dayā so we can continue our school building work.

If you scroll down below this new album, you can see a few photos on what things looked like in October during the ground breaking, just 90 days ago. We expect the community will complete the school between now and the end of February or so. We’ll continue to provide updates.

-Team Dayā