I have come to love February. Not because of Valentine’s Day and certainly not for the weather. My fondness for this second month of the year has evolved per my family’s involvement in charitable fundraising.
My admiration for February began several years ago with my son Jimmy’s participation in THON.
Each February–this year it’s February 20 thru 22–something magical happens at Penn State. Thousands of students stay awake and on their feet for 46 hours straight; all united in working toward the sole purpose of supporting the fight against pediatric cancer. The THON website notes that back in 1973 the first dance marathon raised $2,000. Over 40 years later, THON now encompasses over 15,000 student volunteers, 700 dancers, and has raised more than $114 million, benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.
Watching Jimmy dance in 2013 is a memory I’ll carry in my heart forever.
Participant fundraising has inspired millions to contribute and donate not only money, but also time and sweat equity. We’ve long had our charity balls and telethons. However, the evolution of the participant fundraiser has expanded charitable giving far beyond the mere writing of a check.
It’s not only the younguns who are having all the fun – the 40+ crowd is happy to come down out of the middle-aged cheap seats and join in the efforts. Last year’s Ice Bucket Challenge is a good example of successful participant fundraising and it certainly included many boomers and would-be adults. Perhaps this is why charitable giving in the U.S. topped a staggering $335 billion in 2013–that’s billion with a “B” (see Charitable Giving 2013).
Image courtesy of Pixabay – http://pixabay.com/en/girl-child-astonished-surprised-388652/
It was not a total surprise when the Hubs announced he and my brother-in-law (BIL) would be participating this year, on February 14th, in the Krispy Kreme Challenge.
According to the Krispy Kreme Challenge website, the event began as a dare between a few North Carolina State undergrads back in 2004. The throw down? Run the 2.5 miles from the iconic Memorial Bell Tower on campus to the local Krispy Kreme doughnut shop. Consume a dozen glazed doughnuts. Run the 2.5 miles back to the tower. Yep, sounds like college to me. Who could have imagined that a pretty dumb double-dog dare from over a decade ago would evolve into a charity fundraiser that now looks like this:
Thousand of runners, including the Hubs and BIL and friend Randy, queued up in Raleigh last Saturday morning to run in this benefit for the NC Children’s Hospital. The weather, though cold, was thankfully not the ugly snow and sleet of recent weeks. SIL Chris and I were there to lend our support–and to hold their hair back if they puked. Hubs has done some crazy things, and BIL has even run with the bulls, but THIS, this is one we’ll be talking about for years to come.
As I watched them approach the mid-point and grab their box of glazed confection, I wondered if their boyish enthusiasm would carry them through this test of gastronomic fortitude.
I’m happy to report that all three finished the doughnuts and the race without hurling–though BIL did look a bit green about the gills around doughnut #7. For those of you out there who are wondering: how hard could it be to eat a dozen Krispy Kremes? Well my friends, a lot more difficult than you can possibly imagine. I wasn’t even part of the doughnut eating masses, but I promise you it will be quite some time before I am once again excited to see the KK hot light on.
The boys are looking for their next challenge. I hate to encourage them, but if you have suggestions, please send them along.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done for charity? Is there an event you’d like to recommend?
Cheers,
Kimba
Oh what a fun and inspiring post Kim. It was so enjoyable to read about the charities that really people involved to engage and bring awareness. I just read an article about this with branding in how the brands that do that really get so much more noticed and are extremely successful with their charitable work.
I love the idea of the THON. That would be so fun. I have not heard on anything like that here in the MICHIGAN area. I know you said that particular one was for the hospital there but others should jump on this band wagon idea. How fun.
Thanks for sharing.
Irish
I think it’s a branding coup for Krispy Kreme – and apparently it’s catching on at other college campuses. I bet there are lots of events around the universities in Michigan – this generation thrives on participant fundraising, one of the things I love about them .
Donuts, exercise, and charity – now that is a winning combination! It is always so cool to read about how people pair giving with fun! Just love it!
It was a really fun event – and the weather cooperated. The boys are looking for our next challenge, pray for us!
As a donut addict, I loved reading this! I think my record is 4 although I could probably eat 6 for charity 🙂
The boys seemed to do OK until about donut #7 – then it was a bit of a struggle. It’s cured me of my Krispy Kreme hot light enthusiasm for a while…
What a fun event! I am not sure I could eat those and run – but them again I don’t think I could do anything and run!
I hear ya! Running is difficult enough without a stomach full of sugar and starch!
I love how fundraising has become a community event. I remember selling Girl Scout cookies, candles, pizza, oranges, etc. to raise money for whatever item/projects we were doing at school but the door-to-door thing isn’t as cohesive as getting a group together to survive the ingestion of a dozen Krispy Kremes. Kudos!
I too am definitely a fan of participant fundraising. Give everyone a goal in addition to selling something or asking for money.
One of the best things about reading blogs is the inspiration I see all around me. And some unique ideas. Yah for donuts!
Carol, folks sure come up with some crazy/interesting fundraising ideas, don’t they?
Great idea but I would think of something better then eating donuts. They might be next on the cancer list. Donuts are one of the 10 worst foods. I know it is a one time thing, sorry. Keep up the great fundraiser work. I am all for beating cancer!
Yeah, donuts are really bad for you. But a one time deal for a charity seems worth it.
You know I’m a Penn State parent and attended THON several times, so was heart was with the dancers last weekend. Kudos to those amazing students for raising over $13 million. As for the Krispy Kremes … Just thinking about consuming that much sugar gives me the shakes! But if it’s all for a good cause, I say hooray!
$13 mil – can you believe it?! Those students are amazing, every year, always.
Love this story Kimba – okay maybe not so much the donuts cause I can’t even imagine eating that many and not hurling even without the running – but definitely the rest of it. In another lifetime I used to be a runner and then gradually gave it up as my corp life demanded more and more time.
Recently I got the bug to start again but after so many years away I needed a “hook” to get me through the early (pain-filled) stages so I recently signed up to run a 5K cancer benefit run this Fall. It probably won’t be nearly as much fun as your “Hubs” event but seeing these photos has definitely helped to ramp up my enthusiasm!
Marty, kudos to you for the 5k run you’ll be doing in the Fall. I have never been able to conquer my inability to run effectively, have never enjoyed it. But I enjoy supporting the fam!
This is a hilarious marathon! I once ate form crispy Kremes. I could probably eat more since I have the appetite of a Viking. But there’s no way I could run afterwards without puking!
Unfortunately, there were many that couldn’t keep the donuts down. The aftermath was WAY disgusting…
What fun! I don’t know that I have a crazy story to share, but now I’ll be looking for something crazy to do for charity — just because it’s fun! Thanks for sharing.
There are a lot of participant fundraising opportunities out there – hope you find a fun one! I’m looking for one that requires eating chocolate and drinking wine, stay tuned.
This looks like such fun! And I definitely could down the dozen. The running . . .? I’ve skipped. run, jogged, hoola-hooped and sat for charity. I’m tired.
Hoola hooping for charity – I could do that!
I live in SC and know about the donut race and would love to join in one day! We do the Alzheimer’s Walk but that’s far from crazy. My hubby though dressed up in glamour evening wear and played softball for the March of Dimes. He ended up on the front page of the newspaper and was humiliated but it was for a great cause!
Softball in Tiaras – THAT is a charity event I could get behind! There were many folks dressed up for the Krispy Kreme Challenge race. Lots of spandex and super heroes. My favorite were the mariachi brothers who serenaded as they ran along!