Day 81: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”
This is a challenging post for me to write as I feel my girlfriend Joanne should be writing it – it is her GIVE not mine.
I attended my first fundraising event for 365give last night. I am overwhelmed that someone would take the time and energy to raise money for my cause. I am so honoured it has left me a little speechless.
I will always remember the first time my girlfriend Joanne read my site. It was early one morning and I was working on a post and received an email from her which I realize she sent at 2 am. The email almost brought me to tears. She was so moved by my project she couldn’t sleep and was emailing me instead about ideas she had on how she could help 365give. She always has a million things on the go from her 3 year old to her business and 10 other projects she constantly helps to support. I couldn’t imagine her finding the time to help 365give – and she did.
I get a Facebook invitation from her just a few weeks ago inviting me to an “industry” party. I wasn’t clear why I was getting this invitation at the time but she explained it to me. She had decided to get raffle prizes for her holiday industry party and would sell raffle tickets at the event to raise money for 365give. I was in shock. I was so excited and told her we would decided the perfect charity to GIVE it to. She stopped me in my tracks and told me I had to take the money to help create awareness and cover any costs I personally incur for 365give. Wow! That was a tough one for me. The generosity was overwhelming.
GIVE 81 / DAY 81
I never thought I would write this but the GIVE today is for 365give.
I went to a great holiday party last night at a funky restaurant called B.B.Ques in Yaletown. I had a the opportunity to meet some lovely, generous people and sold raffle tickets for a number of hours for 365give. I am sharing this GIVE with my girlfriend Joanne as she spent so much of her precious time getting raffle items for the party and to all the generous merchants that donated some beautiful gifts items.
The amount of money they raised has once again put me into shock. Over $600 in just a few short hours. Imagine if every Christmas party did something like this. Raffle tickets were just a $1.00 each and look how much that accumulated with just about 100 people. If you don’t think a dollar makes a difference it does. It’s all the $1.00 together, or all the voices together that create the change.
I have many ideas for the money and how to spend it very wisely to get the word of 365give out into the world. I am happy to take any suggestions as well how to maximize any social media opportunities I can tap into. I will also GIVE to causes or charities I am passionate about and share those with you as future GIVES.
A special thank you to Travis and his wife as they organized the party and kept selling raffle tickets long after I had to leave. Also to my girlfriend Joanne who has a heart bigger than I ever knew. If anyone will change the world one day it will be her. Her determination and passion are contagious and I feel blessed to be in her line of fire!
If you need some holiday shopping ideas here are a list of the merchants that were so generous to donate to 365give.
The Urban Tea Merchant, LuLu Lemon, blo, Kiss & Makeup, Glowbal Group, Forma Athletics, Urban Fare, Chulo Pony, Westview Dental
Time Commitment: 3 hours
Joanne’s Time Commitment: Endless
Cost: 0
Funds Raised: Over $600