Donor Profile is one of the regular features in Fistula Foundation publications (see also One Woman's Story). Every month on our website, and in each newsletter, we feature a donor who has found a creative way to help the women of Fistula Hospital make the journey from despair to dignity.

Jessica McGuinty

Like many other people in this country, I had never heard of a fistula until I saw Dr. Catherine Hamlin on the Oprah show. I cried through the entire episode and was left with a sense of overwhelming sadness and a strong feeling to DO something.

Two years ago I created a line of products for people with curly hair, called Jessicurl. After seeing that episode of Oprah, I decided that for the month of May, we would donate 5% of our gross sales to The Fistula Foundation. I WANTED to do more than that, but 5% was really all the business could afford at this point.

I felt that our customers would be as moved as I was by the work done at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, so we took our fundraising efforts a step further. I built into the shopping cart of my website the ability for customers to make donations in increments of $10, $25, $50 or $100, in exchange for which we give them a discount on their next Jessicurl purchase.

The response to the new program was very positive. Many of the people who made donations through the site also sent emails thanking US for allowing them to do some good in the world. It really showed me that people WANT to do good, but can often get overwhelmed by how MUCH good there is to do. Our program shows people that every $10 DOES make a difference in the life of someone else. It was really an amazing experience.

At the end of May we were able to send a check to the Fistula Foundation for $900, enough to cure two women at the hospital. Helping two strangers across the globe may not sound like much, but I imagine that to those two women it means a lot. It means a lot to me too.

~Jessica McGuinty

To read previous stories from the Donor Profile series, visit the Profile Archives page.