I’ve been thinking about what I want to do to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation this year and how to combine it with running. (I haven’t made a final decision about the 2013 NYC Marathon, but there’s a good chance I won’t be there. I don’t think I want to train for a marathon this year.) So what’s a girl to do to combine running with raising money? Yes, I have a long list of supporters who are just awesome and I’m sure will help me again this year, but I’d like something new and a little different.
That’s why when I read this blog post from AnotherMotherRunner.com I had a “lightbulb” moment. You see the woman featured in the post is queen of finding money and random other articles on her runs and she donates all of it to charity. What a great idea! I might not raise my entire target goal of $5000 doing that, but why can’t I aim for $500 in found money? Life definitely works in mysterious ways so why the heck not?
I even once found two $5 bills on a run. I saw the bills just as I was passing and doubled back to pick them up. I was thrilled by my $10 find. WooHoo!
I’m not sure of every step I will take to reach my $5000 goal, but I do know that I will be watching like a hawk on every run for whatever I can find. And whatever I find will help Team Fox get just a little closer to their goal of curing Parkinson’s Disease.
If you have any good tips about where to find lost change or dollar bills while out for a run, let me know!
It will be interesting to see how this adds up! What a great idea. I would suggest looking around areas where people are ‘busy’. I know that if I am in a rush, I am less likely to stop to pick up dropped loose change. I’m not sure if these are always the best places to run though
Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestions! I found 1 cent yesterday so I’m on my way.
What a cool idea! I once found a $20 bill on my run. I was so excited, haha.
$20 on a run would make me happy that’s for sure!
LOL! I found two $5 bills on a run once two. I was happily running along, looked down, spotted the first one, picked it up and a few steps later, spotted the second one. It is funny how great found money makes you feel.
I like the idea of giving found money to a charity. It’s got me thinking about how much money I’ve found while running over the years. Besides those two $5 bills, it hasn’t been much. Mostly pennies and nickels. Maybe because almost all of my running is done on trails.
Thanks Lisa! We’ll see how this goes. I’ll provide some updates as I continue on this journey.