It's not time to give up!

Last year, On April 28th, a cyclist emailed me.  We'll call him Ric (because that's his name).  He said his fundraising had come to a halt at $1200 and he wished to withdraw from The Ride because, with so little time left, he knew he'd never be able to raise $3,000.  He was pretty broken up about it because he'd lost his partner to AIDS, and really wanted to honor him with The Ride.  I asked what he had done so far to raise money and he said he had sent an email to everyone he knew.  I told him I was sure he had not sent an email to everyone, as he hadn't sent one to me.  He responded, as nearly everyone does, that he hadn't sent an email to people he knew would NOT donate.  I thanked him for assuming I was such a tight wad, and then asked him to please try to send a fundraising email to EVERYONE for whom he had an email address.

Ric did send another plea to everyone.  He told me later about one friend who had told him many times that she never donates money to any cause, but prefers to volunteer her time.  Knowing that, Ric left her off his original fundraising list. This friend had also been a very close friend to Ric's partner and as it turned out, she made a pretty hefty donation for an unusual amount of money, $729.57.  It took Ric a few seconds to realize it was his partner's birth date, 7-29-57. 

By April 30th, two days later, he had reached his minimum. On orientation day, I ran into Ric, who was already sporting his $5,000 incentive jersey. I saw him several times on The Ride and he let me know he was having an amazing experience!  His final fundraising total was $5499.57. If you don't think you can reach your fundraising minimum, I am asking you now, please don't give up.

I know it's difficult to ask your friends to help you, but could you ask your friends to help put a roof over someone's head on a cold rainy night, or to provide clean needles to an IV drug user who lives in fear of contracting HIV?  Could you ask your friends to contribute to training an HIV+ sex worker in an underdeveloped nation to be a nurse? How about providing a hot line that a scared, at-risk teen can call for advice on keeping safe? Maybe you could ask your friends to help provide HIV testing for people in the city who have long been neglected, so that they might know their status, learn to protect themselves, and prevent the further spread of HIV. 

Your friends may very well contribute because they're helping "you" get to your goal.  You know in your heart where their donations are going so be proud when you ask.  If you haven't started, or you're about to give up, know that you can do it!  And those of you who have reached your goal, or feel like you're "done," I'm asking you now to please, ask one more time.  You never know how much of a difference that "ask" will make in someone's life! 

I can't thank you enough for being a hero!

ALC Love,

Your Rep Russ