Fundraising Challenges and a Swank Hotel

So we - my sister and I - did our first fundraising event for our run this weekend. We did a 50-50 draw at Pat's Pub on Hastings Street and while it was good practice and a good first run at things, we need to do a lot better at the next events. (Here's where, if you have a really good fundraising idea, you write it in the comments!)

There were a couple of problems - I mean "Opportunities for Learning" - with our event. First of all, they were having a Cruiser Bike night in the early part of the evening, which was awesome, except they were already doing a raffle draw for some cruiser bikes. So we basically drank beer and waited for the crowd to roll over. The next crowd was a rockabilly crowd who had come to see a band and were not really interested in the 50-50 draw, running or ...anything we had going on. Plus we had to canvas everyone between bands because it was so loud, and that meant we were there for about 6 hours total and only did 2 draws. We made about $150 total, including what went into the donation jar, but I think next time we will go to a sports bar, do about 3 draws and only have about 30 minutes between canvassing and draw time and we'll do much better. I'm also going to do a 50-50 draw at Stacie's baseball tournament and I think that will go pretty well.

If we needed something to boost our spirits though, it came in the form of an email from the JIM Co-ordinator, with the website of the hotel we'll be staying at - the Royal Olympic. Pretty nice, eh? You'll be able to find me by the pool. Or maybe in the Library Bar. I should mention that fundraising money is NOT going to pay for me to stay in this hotel. 15% of the $6000 I'm raising covers travel cost and the rest goes straight to funding Arthritis Research and programs.

We also got a link to the Athens Marathon site, which is pretty interesting if you haven't seen it already.