Word is Spreading!
I don't know about you, but when others become excited by an event in which I am deeply invested, I get PUMPED! Well, excitement is exactly what is taking place right now related to the One in a Million campaign to raise One Million Dollars, One Dollar at a Time, One Person at a Time in 2009!
I am chair of the newly formed Advisory Council for the Journey of Hope Grief Support Center - a non-profit organization that provides free group grief support to children, adolescents and their parents or adult caregivers as they learn to mourn the death or impending death of a loved one! The organization has served families from 47 different communities located in 11 different counties in the North Texas region! We have been doing this consistently now for almost 11 years!
Unique Times and Unique Challenges
As with any endeavor that works to fill a needed gap in services to families and communities, economic down cycles create unique challenges. That is why the One in a Million campaign is such a vital component of the existing and ongoing efforts by the Journey of Hope to remain viable!
This is a campaign in which anyone, from anywhere in the country at any time may participate and I invite you to take a moment to visit the Journey of Hope website at http://johgriefsupport.org to see what is happening. Once there and after perusing the site, simply click the One in a Million link, donate one dollar (the cost of a soda on a good day) and then pass the link on to your friends, family and co-workers! It's that simple!
My Personal Progress
Now for an update on my commitment to run 1,000,000 steps or 504 miles @ 12 miles per week between now and the end of 2009!
As of this morning -- after logging another 6,000 steps or 3 miles -- I have traveled 22,000 steps for the Journey of Hope and lack only 978,000 more to reach my million! Remember, I'm also committing one dollar per mile to the cause as an added incentive for me to finish my goal! That will be $504 by year's end. I'm not sure, but I think I may have convinced a couple more runners to join in on the challenge of running/walking 1,000,000 steps for the Journey this year.
Just as in the last post, only 2,000 runners logging 500 miles gathering $500 in support pledges would generate the $1 Million for Journey of Hope.
Thus far the One in a Million campaign has generated $1050 toward the goal of $1 Million in 2009 leaving only $998,950 to be raised! As the total increases and the deficit decreases, I will keep you posted!
Information Tidbit
Did you know that one out of seven children by the age of ten will experience the death of a loved one? Putting that information into perspective. Let's say we take one first grade class in one school located in one city or town. If that first grade class has 21 students then according to the stats, 3 children in that one class will experience the death of a loved one by the age of ten. That's just one class in one school in one town. Now begin adding the number of first grade classes in a single elementary school, the number of elementary schools in a given district, the number of districts in a particular state and the number of states in our nation and the scope of this stat begins to clarify!
What's Next?
Yesterday's meeting generated other outstanding ideas about how to reach the Million Dollar goal! I must begin thinking about the kind of celebration to hold when we meet our goal! Any ideas?
I invite you to join in this project! With the little effort and time it takes to click a few links, donate a dollar and pass the information along you can make a tremendous difference in the life of a child! Thanks for helping u s serve the needs of children!
Again, the website for the Journey of Hope is http://johgriefsupport.org
Mark
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