Template:2011FR/test-appeal-susan-120525-nodiv-nickel/en

From Wikipedia author Susan Hewitt

Ever wonder how Wikipedia can cover so many topics so well?

Ever since I was a girl, I’ve been a total nerd about seashells and snails. I’d bring home all sorts of creatures. My mother wasn’t too thrilled. I’ve contributed to hundreds of articles about gastropods. Now multiply that by 100,000 editors. That's how we got to 15 million articles.

For this to keep working, we volunteers need a stable infrastructure on which to work: servers, tech staff, a legal team to protect our independence and more. Wikipedia is the #5 website in the world, but its infrastructure is maintained by a small non-profit -- all paid for by donations.

If everyone donated a nickel, we'd have what we need. Not everyone can or will donate. And that's fine. Each year just enough people decide to give.

Wikipedia works because there’s this unspoken light inside all of us that comes from the desire to help educate, to help share knowledge. And that’s what makes Wikipedia so magical.

If you stop and think for even a second, you’ll realize how fabulous it is to get this information without a paywall, and to not have to read ads. It’s like a voice of sanity in a crazy, consumerist world.

If you benefit from Wikipedia, please consider kicking in at least a small amount of cash to support it if you can. Thanks,

Susan Hewitt Wikipedia Author