Fund Raising on Rügen
This was certainly going to be the strangest fund raising drive that I had ever undertaken, and hopefully the most fun. I have been raising funds for the children of Africa for over ten years now, in a variety of ways and in a lot of different places all around Europe. I have raised thousands of dollars in this time, mostly through traditional fund raising events and extensive networking. This time was different though as I had a bigger goal in mind and was trying to get some publicity as well as raise some much needed money for the cause. It was all going to happen on the island of Rugen, on this fabulous location off the coast of Germany I am going to run for an entire day and try to raise some funds and some awareness for the children of Africa.
My husband thinks that I am going through some kind of middle age crisis, and he may very well be right. I am not silly though and have been training for this event for many months now, getting my aging body into the best condition possible while also seeking out sponsors and potential media interest. It was the media interest that I was really after, as a bit of attention from a television channel or a major newspaper could really make a lot of difference to my cause. I arrive at the Hotel auf Rügen in only two days from now and I would be lying if I told you I was not nervous. It is not just the exercise and the exhaustion that are giving me anxiety but the possibility of failure, and not just any failure but failure while the world is looking on.
My program is fairly simple and I don’t think I have set my goal is too ambitiously. I am planning to run on a few of the tracks that the island has to offer for a full day. While this may not seem like something that will make news, a 53 year old woman running for a full day while trying to raise money for starving African children is a novel enough situation for a headline or two – at least that is what I am hoping for. I am just waiting now to get to my Baltic Sea Hotel (Ostsee Hotel) and enjoy a couple of nights of rest while I settle in to the island pace. Then it’s off and running I go, wish me luck, you may even see me on the news.