Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.I recently had the honor of attending the inaugural Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Goalkeepers event, which aims to do good both domestically and abroad by expanding educational opportunities, enhancing worldwide healthcare and reducing extreme poverty. The organization is teaming up with some of the world’s most influential people to help advance progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals — otherwise known as the Global Goals — which 193 countries committed to achieving two years ago. The lineup featured President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Her Majesty and UN Secretary-General Special Advocate Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and Nobel Peace Prize winners Leymah Gbowee and Malala Yousafzai, among others.President Barack Obama, Melinda Gates and Bill Gates. Image by Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images.The event highlighted the inspiring role that local women’s organizations and movements have played in driving progress and fighting inequality. And yet, some of the leading women’s organizations and movements around the world sadly remain unrecognized and underfunded. So, I’m pledging to donate five million miles. If you’re part of a local or grassroots non-profit organization or movement in the global south that strives to improve the lives of women and girls — and could use the points and miles — I want to hear from you. Visit thepointsguy.com/goalkeepers and fill out the information for your organization or campaign. I want to hear what your organization does and how it would use the points and miles to make a difference. If your organization is selected as one of the recipients of the points and miles, I’ll work with you on how to best maximize them for your needs.By showcasing the value that points and miles can have for global good, I’m convinced that we, as points and miles enthusiasts, can help make a difference.“Our challenges are real. They’ll take time to solve. But each of us can make a difference, and all of us ought to try,” said President Obama. “That’s what I believe, that’s what the ‘Goalkeepers’ believe, and I am certain that if we all keep pushing forward, the world will make even more progress in the years to come.”
