Epic Impact Day

For those of you who don't know (I know some of you already do), I've signed up for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. It's a 200km bike ride with the goal of raising money for cancer research. This ride takes place in 4 Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. I will be participating in the Alberta ride, travelling through the rocky mountain foothills.

The money I raise goes directly to the Alberta Cancer Foundation. That's not to say that the money only benefits those of us living in Alberta. The money goes towards cancer research and education, which benefits everyone worldwide. A lot of research goes on in Alberta, and I'd like to see us move forward with more break throughs.

In order to even participate in the ride, each rider must raise a minimum of $2,500. I've set myself a lofty goal of raising $10,000. Will it be difficult? Well, yeah. Haha. However raising the money will be easier than the bike ride, and the bike ride is hands down easier than what people have to go through when battling cancer. I just hope that my little drop in the bucket will help someone out there who needs it.

If you couldn't tell from my post title and the picture at the top of the page, today is Epic Impact Day. The goal of today is to have every rider get at least one donation. This is to prove that small contributions, when done on a large scale, can add up to make a huge difference. There is somewhere around 2000 riders in Alberta alone. If there are similar numbers in the other provinces, and everyone manages to raise $25-$50, that's $200,000-$400,000 raised in one day alone. That's huge!

I know a lot of people who read this blog are concerned about their personal finances. I completely understand that. However, I'm asking that if you personally know anyone who is riding to please donate to them. If you don't know anyone who is riding, please donate to me ;) When you donate online, they will e-mail you a tax reciept for any donations over $10. If you want to donate, but funds are tight, you have the option of spreading smaller amounts over several months. Every little bit helps.

I'm not a huge fan of shameless self promotion, but there are some causes that are worth it. In my opinion, this is one of them. I hope you guys don't mind. Have an epic day :)

School Fundraisers... Helpful?

Hopefully you all had a very merry Christmas and are finished sleeping off the self-induced turkey coma.

If you have school aged children, or know people with school aged children, or for that matter live anywhere near a school, you are most likely familiar with school fundraisers. Chocolates, magazines, baking products, 50/50 tickets, calendars, cookies, Christmas decorations, and other things which can be easily sold to earn money for various class trips and projects. More often than not they’re purchased out of a sense of social obligation or guilt (pleading 6 year old eyes anyone?) I love chocolate covered almonds as much as the next person, but my waistline doesn’t need any more of them thanks, neither does my wallet.

I was pleasantly surprised by a school fundraiser for one of my coworker’s daughters recently; it was affordable AND useful. They’ve been taking orders for grocery store gift cards at the 4 largest grocers in the area. The denominations ranged from $10-$250 depending on the store, with no expiry date. For every $100 the kids sold, the store would donate $6 to their fundraiser. So basically, the stores received guaranteed patronage, the people who bought the cards received their full donation in groceries, and the kids received money for their fundraiser. It’s a win-win-win situation. I plunked down $200, and ordered 6 - $25 gift cards and 5 - $10 gift cards to the grocery store I most commonly frequent. It gives me one less reason to carry my debit card around with me, and if I’m careful it will look after my dietary needs for the next 2 months or do. They’ll be carrying on the fundraiser until April, so I’ll have the opportunity to order more cards when I run out again.

I figured I’d mention the fundraiser on here in case others hadn’t heard about it before (I know I hadn’t) and might want to consider suggesting it to their children’s schools. I’m sure there might be a mom or two out there who would like to look after some of their families needs while doing their fundraising rather than trying to split their money between the two.

How about you guys? Have any fundraisers caught your eyes recently that would be worth sharing?