I Reached My Fundraising Minimum!

This is my third major fundraising event. The first was the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk in 2002, where I walked 60 miles from Baltimore to DC, and raised over $4,700. The second was last year's Hike for Discovery to Yosemite National Park, where I hiked for 8 hours (on a trail with significant changes in elevation) and raised over $6,700. I've also participated in a couple of smaller-scale fundraisers in-between. One of the reasons I continue to do these events - apart from the obvious "raising money for worthy causes" reason - is because it reaffirms my faith in humanity. More and more of the what I read in the papers or see on the news these days seems to focus on all of the bad things happening in the world, and who is to blame for them. It's exhausting to absorb all of that negative energy and not let it bring me down. But when I see the outpouring of generosity from people (because they are my friends, or they are related to me, or because they believe in the cause, or all of the above) it restores my belief that people are inherently good and kind, and mostly, want to help.

Some of it is selfish on my part, I'll admit. I get so excited when I see a new donation email alert from my website, meaning someone has made an online donation, or when someone says, "Oh, let me write you a check right now." I feel like they are investing in me, allowing me to help make a difference in the world - for the better.

Last night, I received a significant donation that officially put me over my minimum fundraising amount for this event ($4,000). This minimum is the point at which the donations cover the cost of my participation while allowing over 75% of the money raised to go back to the charity's programs. If I hadn't made this minimum, I would have had to pay the difference out of my own pocket. Fortunately, I have many generous and supportive friends and colleagues whose contributions exceeded this amount. So thank you - all of you who have donated so far - for helping me make this a successful event!

For those of you who like statistics, here are a few on my fundraising efforts:

Funds raised to date: $4,185
Total number of donors: 49
Average donation: $85.41
% of donations made online: 86%
Average online donation: $90.95

Now this does not, by any stretch, mean I am done fundraising. On the contrary - for every dollar I raise over the minimum, 100% of the money goes to fund programs like: medical research grants; gaining access to clinical trials for life-saving therapies; and support to patients undergoing treatment for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, or Hodgkin's disease. My goal is to beat my personal fundraising record from last year, and raise $7,000 before the end of September. I'll be sure to keep you posted on my progress...