Soles4Souls, is an international shoe charity dedicated to providing free footwear to those in need. This year they are planning their first race to raise funds and awareness for this cause. The race will have chip timed 5K and 10K courses which wind through both the city streets and waterfront properties. The event will take place in Nashville on September 13, 2008.
If you mail in your entry with a donated pair of shoes, or drop it off at the Soles4Souls World Headquarters you can subtract $10 from your race entry fee.
Today over at Step by Step Fundraising I wrote about several organizations and individuals who are doing great things for their favorite causes. Since there’s several kudos for people involved with charity athletic events, I thought I’d continue the good vibes here also:
Charity Mile member Dan Hughes, along with his friends, completed a 78 mile trek to raise funds for The Joseph Salmon Trust. Congratulations guys!
Emily Schreiber is featured in the July/August issue of Advancing Philanthropy magazine. Emily, now 14 years old, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at the age of nine. She raises fund to find a cure for by swimming laps and now serves as chair of her own foundation, Laps for CF.
Amy Katz, a new Charity Mile member, is training for her 24th marathon! 10 of those marathons were on behalf The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as part of the Team in Training program. Over all, she’s raised over $15,000 in about four years.
Rosie Swale-Pope has spent the last five years on a round the world running trip. She is doing this to raise people’s awareness of cancer. She is scheduled to to complete the adventure and return to her home in Wales later this month.
Earlier this year BBC America ran the third (and final) series of The Catherine Tate show. Following in the footsteps of fellow Brit Tracey Ullman, she embodies a number of oddball characters in a sketch comedy format. One of my favorite characters is Georgie. She is always doing some kind of fundraiser - a run, swim, rockcliming, etc. for “charity.” As a perpetual fundraiser myself I can relate… though I don’t think I was ever as pushy on my co-workers as Georgie is of her office mate Martin. (FYI, this is one of the PG rated sketches; others are bit more racy.)
It was a few hours before the 2008 Fredericksburg Arthritis Walk was to start. It was warm and sunny in the early morning hours with rain not expected to start until sometime in the afternoon.
Several volunteers were still trying to wake up. Trucks started rolling in with tables, chairs and large bottles of water. The volunteers started to scramble, unloading the trucks, setting up the tables and chairs, and putting up signs on the site and around the walk route. The DJ arrived with his equipment and soon popular tunes filled the air. Once the volunteers and sponsors setup the display tables, we were ready for the walk.
The walkers started arriving about an hour before the actual walk was scheduled to start. They were excited to turn in the money they had raised, receive their Arthritis Walk t-shirt, view all of the sponsor displays, get something to eat and drink, and find out how they could get even more involved with the Arthritis Foundation.
Just before the walk started, the volunteers and sponsors were thanked for their participation, the junior hero and dog hero were introduced (yes , dogs get arthritis too), and a representative from the local YMCA led the walkers in a warm up exercise.
Then they were off! The junior hero started the walk. The route allowed a choice of walking one mile or three miles. The route circled the campus of Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Ice cream was available to everyone at the conclusion of the walk. Several door prizes were given away and a new campaign was announced called Let’s Move Together.
Everyone had fun. I can’t wait to get started on the planning for next year’s walk.
The Arthritis Walk is an annual event that raises funds and awareness for the important work the Arthritis Foundation. They support the 46 million people in the U.S. who suffer from arthritis. Go to LetsMoveTogether.org for more information about getting involved with an Arthritis Walk in your area and to discover the health benefits of being active daily.
Ben & Jerry’s retail shops have a “benefit nights” fundraising program. It offers a percentage back to your group when your volunteers scoop ice cream and advertise to bring in customers on that night. Participation varies by location so contact your local shop for more information.
What cause are you running, walking or cycling for? Create or update your CharityMile profile with info about your next event, or introduce yourself on our forums!
Would you like to participate in the highly competitive Chicago or New York Marathons? Not just anyone can get in… but if you hook up with a registered charity you may have a better chance. Charity slots are limited too so check out the non profits that are approved for these races and see if they are ones you would want to support fundraising as you train for the marathon.
Soles4Souls, is an international shoe charity dedicated to providing free footwear to those in need. This year they are planning their first race to raise funds and awareness for this cause. The race will have chip timed 5K and 10K courses which wind through both the city streets and waterfront properties. The event will take place in Nashville on September 13, 2008.
Today over at 
A Canadian team