I had to take a moment and thank everyone who jumped in to donate to something that I think is worthy enough to train 600 miles for and walk 60 in three days.
I set a higher bar this year and I worked my tail off in various fundraising activities- but was still short of the goal I wanted to reach- $5000. I am required to raise a minimum of $2200 to participate in the Breast Cancer 3 Day. Even the organisers will tell you that the sum is arbitrary. They wanted to set the bar high enough that people understood what they were getting themselves into. I train for 6 months to walk this event. It isn’t a walk in the park.
Along the way in fundraising, we are enabled to teach people about breast cancer. We are able to relate to other survivors, even share a story about the angels in our lives. But the most important thing we get to do is raise awareness.
I set $5000 as my fundraising goal because it represents the national average for ONE chemotherapy treatment for ONE person- uninsured or underinsured. Consider this- chemo is generally 6 to 8 sessions for breast cancer. I only tried to raise funds for one session.
When I hit the wall in my fundraising efforts, I turned to my peers. People in technology. Holy Cow did you all come through!
Because of you, I was able to close the gap- I may even exceed my wildest dreams! You suited up, showed up, and gave. I can’t begin to tell you all how very grateful I am.
You have all taught me that I am right- believe in the world you want. I know that there are other problems out there. I just believe that cancer AWARENESS is just as important. I want to see a cure- not at the expense of all else- but as a natural result of increased knowledge. We can stop a killer if we are only willing to try.
The peers on this board are second to none. And if you think I am done, guess again- as much as I can raise in dollars goes directly to the fight- 85% of monies raised go directly to the Susan G. Komen for a Cure. The remaining 15% goes to the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Walkers pay to participate in the event. Our fees cover the walk itself.
I will be posting “Change your Avatar” week on the Monday of the event. TR promised that they would give that thread some “face time” and I plan to hold them to it. So many of the TR folk are behind this effort. I just don’t think anyone really knows.
Can I reach for $5500? I will surely try. PSer was my “over the top” donation. His reasons why tell you why this is important. Another peer made an extraordinary effort to make his gift- he has been my “donation of the year”. Yet another peer stepped out of his comfort zone to support- even though he had become tired of the charities that give next to nothing for the cause and had reasonable suspicions about this one. And he has become an enthusiastic supporter.
I have received donations from 5 countries (always looking to add more) and many in the US. YOU ALL ROCK!!!
Make a decision to do something today to raise awareness. Wear a pink ribbon, talk to a friend. Do something new.
We can fight this killer, one pink ribbon at a time.
The 3 Day. Changing lives, 60 miles at a time.
I will edit the title until it is time to send the call to the Pink Ribbon Brigade! My deepest thanks to you all!