Friday, October 20, 2006
And so it begins.....
My first fundraiser is under way!! I am doing a nickel drive I am calling "Change for Change - Give Your 5 Cents Worth For Arthritis Research." My goal is to collect 1 kilometer of nickels. Then I hope to actually line them up for a kilometer to create a 2 kilometer out and back running/walking trail which I will run, with as many of my supporters who wish to participate. I am still working on the details, but I like the idea!! I am a math and science teacher so of course I see all kinds of opportunities for students - how big is a nickel, how many nickels will be needed, what will be their total mass, what will be their total value, calculating your walking and/or running speed, what new advances have been made in arthritis research, and who knows what else creative teachers could do!! Obviously, I am hoping that my school division embraces my idea, and that I have hundreds of children, young adults, and teachers enthusiastically sharing their nickels with a very worthy cause.
I have a wonderful group of women friends that meet monthly and, as fate would have it, our hostess for October organized a poker party and asked us all to bring our nickels. Despite the fact I lost our Texas Hold 'Em evening on the last hand, I came home with over 320 nickels!! Fundraising always provides many humbling reminders of the generosity of people, and I have very generous friends. In addition to their nickel donations they also kindly offered to help build the 1 kilometre trail of nickels in the spring! Their enthusiastic support is very encouraging and is appreciated more than I can say.
I have also received messages of support from my four female running companions. They were aware of my desire to climb a mountain and do the Peru trek before I committed to the Arthritis Society, and they are excited that I have decided to go for it. These women are such an inspiration to me - they began running marathons when they were in their 50's and have, in total, completed 10 Joints in Motion marathons and one "Conquer the Canyon" Grand Canyon hike, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the Arthritis Society. They have learned to swim and ride a bicycle while in their fifties, and have completed tri-atholons and rigorous bike excursions. They remind me that life is a wonderful adventure, and that anything is possible. I am exceedingly grateful for their love and friendship.
One last note - I went to see the Rolling Stones in Regina on October 6 and was very moved to see, on the big screen, close-ups of Keith Richards' hands. Although some described them as gnarled, to me they also looked beautiful - like hands that had packed in as much living as they could!! I was told that Keith Richards has arthritis so, even though I am not sure if that is true or not, I emailed him to ask if he would be my Joints in Motion hero. You see, every participant in a Joints in Motion marathon or hike chooses a hero - someone with arthritis who reminds us during our difficult moments of training and fundraising exactly why we are doing this. I haven't heard back from him as yet, but I expect to any day now!!! If any of you are in contact with Keith I'd appreciate you reminding him of my request!!
I have a wonderful group of women friends that meet monthly and, as fate would have it, our hostess for October organized a poker party and asked us all to bring our nickels. Despite the fact I lost our Texas Hold 'Em evening on the last hand, I came home with over 320 nickels!! Fundraising always provides many humbling reminders of the generosity of people, and I have very generous friends. In addition to their nickel donations they also kindly offered to help build the 1 kilometre trail of nickels in the spring! Their enthusiastic support is very encouraging and is appreciated more than I can say.
I have also received messages of support from my four female running companions. They were aware of my desire to climb a mountain and do the Peru trek before I committed to the Arthritis Society, and they are excited that I have decided to go for it. These women are such an inspiration to me - they began running marathons when they were in their 50's and have, in total, completed 10 Joints in Motion marathons and one "Conquer the Canyon" Grand Canyon hike, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the Arthritis Society. They have learned to swim and ride a bicycle while in their fifties, and have completed tri-atholons and rigorous bike excursions. They remind me that life is a wonderful adventure, and that anything is possible. I am exceedingly grateful for their love and friendship.
One last note - I went to see the Rolling Stones in Regina on October 6 and was very moved to see, on the big screen, close-ups of Keith Richards' hands. Although some described them as gnarled, to me they also looked beautiful - like hands that had packed in as much living as they could!! I was told that Keith Richards has arthritis so, even though I am not sure if that is true or not, I emailed him to ask if he would be my Joints in Motion hero. You see, every participant in a Joints in Motion marathon or hike chooses a hero - someone with arthritis who reminds us during our difficult moments of training and fundraising exactly why we are doing this. I haven't heard back from him as yet, but I expect to any day now!!! If any of you are in contact with Keith I'd appreciate you reminding him of my request!!
# posted by Joanne @ 5:55 AM 
