Help me meet my goal!

[YaDa]

Im posthing this asking for donations and support for
the Avon 2 day Breast Cancer Marathon. I am participating in this 39 mile
marathon in memory of a patient that I had the benefit of getting to know
very well this past year. Unfortunatley Cancer got the better of her last
month and took her life at 41 years young. Sooo.. I need to raise $1750 in
order to participate but my ultimate goal is $2000. Any donations will
help, and you can make them right on this website
http://www.avonwalk.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1028&px=1021297&s_oo=iTLq_hAwhlOPLhYs3lnipg..
or by cash or check to me. I also ask that you forward this link to anyone
you know that might also be willing to help me meet my goal so I can make a
difference.

 

[Kain99]

Sorry YaDa but... I'm really stretched this month and could use help on my Mortgage! If you guys really wanna feel all warm and fuzzy, send your money to Kain....

 

[Sharon]

My excuse...

I'm a cheap, tightwad, penny-pinching, uncharitable beeatch!

Seriously though...
Why would they set a minimum limit for the participants? Then I read the webpage and it leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

We can make no guarantees about the percentage of funds raised that will be netted for the beneficiaries, and how much will be used for event expenses. There are too many variables involved, and it would be irresponsible, and probably untrue, to make a guarantee like that.

We do, however, have goals, and they're ambitious. The Better Business Bureau recommends that no more than 50% of funds raised by a special event be used for expenses. Our goal is to use no more than 35%. We can guarantee you that everyone involved will do everything possible to meet that goal or better.

Seems like there is a lot of overhead and could be done differently to have more participants and less event spending.

What exactly do they do with the money people send to you if you don't make your minimum and can't participate? Do they send the money back to the person who donated?

 

[YaDa]

If I do not meet the $1750 minimum, I make a personal donation to bring me to that goal.

 

[Kain99]

Why Yada? If your hearts behind the cause I bet you could make more of a difference volunteering at a local hospital.

 

[YaDa]

I actually work at the local hospital and also volunteer there. This is something I am doing for me, my patients I come in contact with and well as the cause. I am not asking for yes or no answers to donations, if you have an extra $5 dollars, its greatly appreciated beleive me any little bit helps. Honestly, I am surprised at the responses I am getting from this post though.

 

[SEABREEZE 1957]

My goodness folks, while 35% is high, YaDa is doing something she believes in & for a worthy cause. It's not like she's asking for a handout. It's a bit of a shame we have to analyse and scrutinize with so much distrust something that will help others. All charities have overhead...for example, the sweet Girl Scouts of America ~ Each troop only receives 12-17% of the money raised for selling their cookies. United Way has an overhead averaging 18%, In fact the average overhead for non-profit groups is 34 %. While we are not all able/willing to contribute, I feel a bit more sensitivity is in order.

YaDa~ I'll forward your link to my family & friends at work. We've all been affected in one way or another by cancer. Perhaps you'll reach your goal.

 

[Kimmy]

Originally posted by YaDa
Im posthing this asking for donations and support for
the Avon 2 day Breast Cancer Marathon. I am participating in this 39 mile
marathon in memory of a patient that I had the benefit of getting to know
very well this past year. Unfortunatley Cancer got the better of her last
month and took her life at 41 years young. Sooo.. I need to raise $1750 in
order to participate but my ultimate goal is $2000. Any donations will
help, and you can make them right on this website
http://www.avonwalk.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1028&px=1021297&s_oo=iTLq_hAwhlOPLhYs3lnipg..
or by cash or check to me. I also ask that you forward this link to anyone
you know that might also be willing to help me meet my goal so I can make a
difference.

I will also forward your link onto family and friends. I no what it is like to lose a loved one to cancer. Have lost 4 and my husbands father and grandfather are recovering from lung cancer. Right now we are trying to raise some money for my cousin that has a lot of rehab to go through.

 

[yakky doodle]

Cancer sucks ...

but so does being taken advantage of ... and I'm sorry, but in this day and age when we have people posting web sites soliciting money for various reasons (debt, bills, medical condition) and finding out 99% of it is a hoax, it isn't impossible to understand the hesitation some feel when being solicited by a total stranger on the internet for money. the best scam artists use "charities" that they know will bring people to tears.

sucks to have to question every little thing, but I know I'm way more cautious about my donated dollars nowadays in the wake of 9-11 scams and internet fraud.

 

[tater]

Re: Cancer sucks ...

Originally posted by yakky doodle
but so does being taken advantage of ... and I'm sorry, but in this day and age when we have people posting web sites soliciting money for various reasons (debt, bills, medical condition) and finding out 99% of it is a hoax, it isn't impossible to understand the hesitation some feel when being solicited by a total stranger on the internet for money. the best scam artists use "charities" that they know will bring people to tears.

sucks to have to question every little thing, but I know I'm way more cautious about my donated dollars nowadays in the wake of 9-11 scams and internet fraud.

And I don't really think people are being cold-hearted, they just don't know you, that's all. I don't give to anything anymore because of all the crap I see on 20/20, Hard Copy, etc. The one that really got me was the guy beggin on the street corner all day in raggedy clothes, the camera followed him (at the end of his "shift") to his $50,000 SUV. Sweeeet. Nice work if you can get away with it.

 

[Flo]

It is so sad that in this day and time, we can not trust anyone! But like the majority here, I find it hard to understand why (a new member) would go on the internet and seek out contributions. I was burned once or twice in my young life by scams, and don't trust a lot of stuff anymore.

Take for instance, the lady that had her daughter believing she had Leukemia, and bringing in donations left and right, or the parents that had their kid going door to door for the Boy Scouts. I also dislike e-mails telling me how hard of a person I am if I don't forward to 10 persons, and I will have bad luck from here on out! I can say that I would be the first one to contribute a donation for cancer, as I have had several family members who lost their battle with such a dreadful disease, but I of course contribute to a organization or person that I know and trust.

I also am an Avon Representative, and am aware of their advertising campaigns on Breast Cancer Awareness, but have never seen this type of advertisement for contributions.

 

[vraiblonde]

If ya'll follow the link YaDa posted, you'll see that it goes right to her page on the AvonWalk site. You can make your donation through Avon with your credit card and YaDa won't even see the money - it will go straight to the AvonWalk fund and be credited toward YaDa's goal.

This sort of fundraising is actually becoming more popular - my niece did her school's gift wrap fundraiser right online. All I had to do was go to the gift wrap website and make my order, give them my niece's account number and voila! They shipped it right to me, no pick-ups or her Mom having to tote the stuff around, and Megan got the credit.

 

[willie]

I contribute to this run each year helping to sponsor a very close friend. The overhead is obvious but as long as it makes her happy and some of the money goes for good then we're both happy. I would very much hesitate contributing to a stranger but there are a lot of ways to say "no" without being crude/obnoxious. Silence works the best.

 

[yakky doodle]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
This sort of fundraising is actually becoming more popular - my niece did her school's gift wrap fundraiser right online.

key word there is that it's your niece; not a stranger.

Originally posted by willie
I would very much hesitate contributing to a stranger but there are a lot of ways to say "no" without being crude/obnoxious. Silence works the best.

I was offering a suggestion to the accusation that we're all heartless and "thrifty"

 

[Sharon]

I was talking to a neighbor recently, who bought some goods from a child selling door-to-door for a school fundraiser. She had recieved her check back in her account statement and never received the goods that were promised to be delivered before Christmas. She didn't know the kids name, nor did she get a receipt. She called the school and they couldn't help her so she had to go and track down the kid's house and speak to the parent.

 

[SEABREEZE 1957]

I donated $10.00 ... I also checked it out thouroughly.. She's a local girl just trying to work (like 39 miles is easy) for a worthy cause. I don't think I'll be gyped in anyway...received a sincere thank you email & it's tax deductible...



I understand the hesitation by some, but this one's for real.

Cheers~
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is every wasted." - Aesop"

 

[SEABREEZE 1957]

Originally posted by Sharon
I was talking to a neighbor recently, who bought some goods from a child selling door-to-door for a school fundraiser. She had recieved her check back in her account statement and never received the goods that were promised to be delivered before Christmas. She didn't know the kids name, nor did she get a receipt. She called the school and they couldn't help her so she had to go and track down the kid's house and speak to the parent.

I think this is an unusual situation...& also different...she bought something, she didn't donate..I'd be a bit upset also..

 

[SEABREEZE 1957]

Originally posted by Flo

I also am an Avon Representative, and am aware of their advertising campaigns on Breast Cancer Awareness, but have never seen this type of advertisement for contributions.

Flo...I buy Avon from my rep on line all the time. It's so much easier.

 

[Oz]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
If ya'll follow the link YaDa posted, you'll see that it goes right to her page on the AvonWalk site.

So basically, it's a sneaky way for this lady to advertise her Avon business on somd.com without paying for it? She's cute, so it's worth a click...

I'll have to clue my Mary Kay lady in on stealth marketing...

 

[SEABREEZE 1957]

OZ...She's doing a walk-a-thon for Breast Cancer sponsered by Avon...It's an annual event, :shrug: