Dear Donors,

Our crowdfunding campaign concluded this week. Your support has been extraordinary. 

Before Feb 1st, we went in with a goal of $2,000. If we didn’t meet this goal, essential clinic services would be compromised.

But because of you, in the first 24 hours, we more than doubled that amount. Within the first week and a half, we doubled that amount again. And now that crowdfunding has concluded, we sit at $11,155(!) — aka 557% of our original goal — that’ll directly go back to our organization.

We weren’t only able to maintain essential services. We’re now able to expand them, and we’ve restored emergency funds to pre-COVID levels.

We have been blown away by your support, which has sparked waves of excitement in our clinic spaces. We've made plans to expand our haircutting station, massage station, and footwashing station (among others), and we've placed orders for supplies in high demand, including sleeping bags and tarps. We will send a final update highlighting the impact of your contributions in approximately a month. 

A recent shipment!

In the meantime, please feel free to follow our clinic's instagram page (@thesuitcaseclinic) and reach out via our webpage or email (suitcaseclinic1989@gmail.com) for any inquiries. For information about perks – including if you would like a perk but forgot to select one – please contact suitcasefinance@gmail.com.

You have enabled our community spaces and all the good that they bring. Thank you for helping us dream of new possibilities for our organization. We are all deeply grateful for your support. 

Thank you,

Aralyn Connolly (Finance Director, Spring 2026) 

Dear donors,

There are only three days left in our campaign! ⭐ crowdfund.berkeley.edu/suitcase26 ⭐

Thank you for your incredible support. We don't take any donation for granted – please continue sharing and donating to support our clinics while you still can. 

⭐ Seeing your impact: 

• We'll receive your donations in approximately a month! At that point, we'll send a final email highlighting your donations' impact in our clinic spaces.
  • Expansions already underway include....
    • ...adding another haircutting station and purchasing improved equipment (e.g., cotton towels, new clipper blades, and equipment for 4C hair)
    • ...ordering sleeping bags, tents, and tarps for clients in need
    • ...purchasing new materials for our footwashing station (e.g., cotton towels, clean socks for clients, lotion)
    • ...and more! Follow our instagram page @thesuitcaseclinic for regular updates.

⭐ Perk information: (If you donated an amount that qualifies for any of the perks below, but did not select a perk/would otherwise like to receive one, please contact suitcasefinance@gmail.com)

• Social Media Shoutouts ($25+):
  • See your name displayed on our Instagram page here (recent donors) and here (all other donors) :^)
• Thank-You Notes ($100+):
  • All thank-you notes have been distributed! If you did not receive a thank-you note, it was likely because we did not have your preferred mailing address. If you would still like a card, please contact suitcasefinance@gmail.com with your mailing address, and we will get back to you shortly.
• Personalized Video ($500+): 
  • We will be sending you your video via email by this upcoming weekend, so please keep an eye out!

This has been an incredible crowdfunding season. We're so grateful for your support and will make the greatest impact we can with your contributions.

Thank you for making our work possible.

Best,

Aralyn Connolly (Finance Director, Spring 2026)

Dear Donors,

You’ve let us dream bigger. As of today, we’re at nearly $9,000 - over 4X our original goal –  in just 8 days, with the help of only 49 donors. Your support has already been sparking waves of hope and positivity throughout our clinic spaces – we’re excited and planning many new ways to serve. 

Because of your response, we’re announcing a new stretch goal of $15K.

⭐ How will the $15K be used?

Donations will be distributed proportionately to our clinic spaces, used to restore our depleted post-COVID rainy day fund, and go towards funding new service expansions, including…

• $600 for meal improvements and to-go containers
• $300 for haircutting station upgrades and professional barber services
• $200 for new footwashing station materials
• …and more! :) See the full budget breakdown on our updated crowdfunding page here: https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/suitcase26. In particular, see what your donation is supporting via our Weekly Service Spotlights – updated Sundays on our socials and crowdfunding page, and featuring different spaces, volunteers, and projects within Suitcase Clinic! 

⭐ How can I still help?

Please share our page with 2-3 people – e.g., family, friends, community groups, and/or any other entities or organizations potentially interested in a tax-deductible donation to our cause. One minute of outreach can fund an entire semester of meals! For any questions or inquiries about non-monetary donations, please email suitcaseclinic1989@gmail.com and CC aralyn_connolly@berkeley.edu. 

Thank you for your incredible support.

Best,

Aralyn Connolly (Finance Director, Spring 2026)

https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/suitcase26

(A message from Aralyn Connolly, Suitcase Clinic's Finance Director)

Dear donors,

There's nothing like waking up, logging into ScaleFunder, and seeing your monthly project nearly fully funded. I speak for countless members of Suitcase when I say that support for our mission was entirely unprecedented and awe-inspiring. In under 24 hours, you more than doubled our original semester finance goal - helping us reach 227%(!) of our needs - and singlehandedly ensured that we won't need to shut down any essential services for clients this semester. We have been overjoyed by your response, and I hope that you feel the good, hope, and impact from your actions as much as we do. 

The crazy thing is, is there's still 29 days left in our campaign! The members of Suitcase and I don't want to see reaching our goal as an ending, but as a start to providing better services - little things like upgrading paper towels and tissues at our footwashing station to actual towels, getting a printer for our legal support booth, and purchasing sleeping bags and tents. We're digging through our old plans and bringing ideas back to light. 

Please keep sharing our link, and stay tuned! By no later than EOD Sunday, 2/1, we'll release new stretch goals for our campaign. (Hint: interested in learning more about our individual clinic spaces...?) All donations will still entirely go toward the Berkeley community that we serve, and we value every dollar that you generously donate. 

Thank you for making our mission possible!

Sincerely,

Aralyn Connolly