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Saturday, July 08, 2006

Diabetes

For those of you who have been following my blog you know that part of my time here is devoted to raising money for Diabetes research. When I first decided to go public with my weight loss story I wanted to do something else that would benefit others as well. Having had some experience raising funds for other non-profit intrests with which I'm involved I figured that using this forum to benefit diabetes research was as important as anything else I could do here.

My goals for this blog then became to chronicle my journey and methods as I attempt to lose 250 Lbs, or roughly half my bodyweight, and to attempt to raise $50,000 (US) to fund Diabetes research.

Since starting this blog a little more than a month ago I am happy to report that while I am having difficulty accurately measuring my exact weight I am exercising regularly and have dramatically changed my eating habits for the better. I feel better, my cloths fit better and I am very optimistic about what the future has to bring. And, as soon as I loose a bit more weight and find a trustworthy scale I will resume updating my weight loss progress. This being a long process I hope everyone will bare with me until I can get the technical issues worked out.

On the fund raising front I haven't really gone all out yet with the promotion of that part of my mission but from the few mentions i have made and through the amazing generosity of the find folks I endearingly call "My Watchers" we have been able to raise a grand total of $381.11 with the last donation being a fantastic $100 from Chris B.! Thank you Chris for your incredible gift!


Goal: $50,000 (US)
Achieved: $381.11


With this post I want to take the opportunity to, not only, thank those who have already donated and encourage those of you who, are able, to consider donating a couple of dollars or even $1 if possible. I know it's been said a million time before with regard to fund raising but it's so true. If we were able to collect 1 dollar from $50,000 people we would reach our goal within a matter of days. I wonder if we could try something like that. Im putting out a challenge to everyone reading. I'm asking everyone to find $1 that they can donate and if you feel up to it ask 5 friends if they will donate $1 and let's see how much we can raise during the month of July.

Oh yeah something I forgot to mention. I'm not exempt from this and I wouldn't ask you to do anything that I'm not willing to do myself. I have pledged to donate $100 of my own money each month that it takes me to lose 250 LBS. I Just made my first $100 donation Today for the month of June 2006.

I'm also looking for business or individuals who would be generous enough to do a matching donation. I'm willing to post your company's logo or your picture in a prominant place on my site for the duration of your matching period plus you getto be part of something special that a lot of people will get to see on a daily basis. What I'm asking is for a pledge to match incoming donations for a day, week or month of your choosing! What do you say? Are you game? Oh and it is tax deductable for those of you looking to maximize your giving dollar!

In a future post I will go over my own personal experiences with Diabetes but for now if you want to learn more about where your money is going I urge you to go to The American Diabetes Association for more information and then if you feel compelled please make your donations HERE: Diabetes Donations

Thanks everyone!

P.S. the donations page takes Credit Cards and goes directly to the ADA but if you would like to donate and you wish to make an alternate type of payment such as Paypal or by mailing a check Please email me at ukefoo@earthlink.net and I'll tell you how to do that. I will then make the payment to the account on your behalf and make sure that you get credit for the amount donated by name!

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sean, I know this is out there, but it might just work. I happen to know that Starbucks does some great community involvement stuff. If you find the right store, the right manager, the right staff, you could put together some funds for the diabetes association quickly.

Here's how it works. Talk to the stores in your area and ask them if they'd be interested in participating in a 'Make Your Mark' project to benefit the diabetes association. If you want to work directly with the association, find out when/where their major fundraiser is, and coordinate the project with manager & the diabetes assoc. The manager has to fill out a bit of paperwork that includes the tax id number of the local chapter in Sacramento (or where ever you're having it donated). Then, you volunteer! In a single day (designated on the paperwork the mgr fills out), up to 100 hours volunteered by any Sbux partner, friend, or customer, can be matched with a $10 in kind contribution the the diabetes association.

For quick math, that's a thousand dollars to the association for one day of volunteering. At the end of the project, the mgr has to fill out another form providing an evaluation of the project, then the check is sent directly (about 3-4 weeks later) to the receiving charity. Here in Texas, we've managed to get those 100 hours in one day at least once per month with just a few dedicated, good-hearted people who truly want to make a difference. We've worked with Campfire USA, Habitat for Humanity, the Ronald McDonald house, and a local shelter/halfway house, just to name a few.

You can, say, clean up a local park, teach kids music, work with the local schools, almost anything, and have the hours spent there be contributed to your cause. Many stores (at least in this area) have passionate people, just not a cause to rally for.

It sounds complicated, but I know there are people reading your blog who would love to actually DO something to support you, not just 'watch'. If you have questions, or need help getting started, just let me know.

8:02 PM, July 08, 2006  

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