Template:2011FR/appeal-basil-EU-1214/en

The greatest eureka moment of my life happened in 2004, when I was 15 years old.

I was researching the presidential election for a school report, but the encyclopedia at home was from 1993. I needed the up-to-date information of the Internet and the reliability of an encyclopedia. And I found both in Wikipedia.

After that I was hooked. I spent nearly all my free time on the site, and even started editing. It allowed me to unleash my fascinations and discover all kinds of things I was curious about.

I use Wikipedia every day. That’s why I feel a sort of moral obligation to give something when I see the fundraising campaign. I hope you feel the same way, because instead of running annoying ads, Wikipedia runs on reader donations and depends on our support.

Will you pitch in a few dollars today?

You wouldn’t question that you have to pay for your Internet service or electricity or running water, right? Wikipedia is just as much a utility, with costs that are just as real.

To be the #5 website in the world, to serve hundreds of millions of people every day, that all takes technology, servers, staff and, well, money.

Please donate $5, $20, $50 or whatever you can afford. Every bit will help keep Wikipedia active, alive and providing all of us with the full spectrum of human knowledge.

Thank you,

Basil Soufi

Wikipedia Author