Charity Walks Blog

Mango, banana, and chocolate are a few of the flavors of frozen custard that were available this afternoon at my favorite deli. It is great to have a choice. Providing choice appeals to more people and allows variety.

Charity walks also come in multiple flavors to meet different needs and to include people with different interests and abilities. I have divided charity walks into five different types:

Awareness Walks

An awareness walk is a charity walk that is held for the primary purpose of rising awareness for a cause, not for raising funds.

A good example of this flavor of charity walk was the Walk for Healthcare. Dr. Ogan Gure walked from Chicago, IL to Washington, DC to raise people’s awareness of the problems in the healthcare system. He also used it as an opportunity to collect stories from people who have been personally affected and share those stories with the world.

Walkathons

A walkathon is the flavor of charity walk that is the most common. Individuals and teams meet together and walk for a set distance or time. Funds are raised for a cause through sponsorships, donations raised by the personal fundraising efforts of the walkers, and/or registration fees.

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life is a good example of a walkathon. This walkathon is a signature fundraising event for the organization. Although fundraising is a primary purpose of the event, there are many additional benefits that come from holding the event as well.

Hybrid Walks

A hybrid walk is basically when a walkathon is combined with other events. Several charity run events are adding a charity walk component to increase participation. But runs are not the only events that are being combined with walks. There are events that include biking, dancing, duck racing, and many other creative combinations.

A good example of this flavor of charity walk is the Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Run/Walk. This event started out solely as a charity run event and has expanded to include walkers as a prominent part of the event.

Virtual Walks

A virtual walk is an extension of another type of charity walk. Some people will not be able to directly participate in a charity walk because it is located too far from the walkers home or the potential participant is not able to physically walk at the event. Virtual walks allow people to participate by participating in their own community or in another way they can physically participate. Walks can be supported by methods including “walking” laps around a pool and walking on treadmills.

A great example of this flavor of charity walk is Food For The Poor’s Walk for Hunger event. They are only able to manage a single charity walk in their local area. However, they recognize that many people outside of their area will want to participate as well. So they are encouraging anyone to sign up and walk in their own community for the cause.

Virtual World Walks

If you have never joined a virtual world, this flavor of charity walk may not make much sense to you. However, every year there are many people sitting at their computers controlling a computer generated avatar that participates in a virtual world charity walk and raises funding for a cause.

An example of a virtual world walk is the National Down Syndrome Society’s Second Life Buddy Walk. Although this walk was held in a virtual world, it still included things like sponsors, auctions and live entertainment. Imagine, it wasn’t that many years ago that this was considered science fiction. Now we are holding charity events using this technology!

Are you aware of other types of charity walks I haven’t captured in these five categories? I would love to know what they are. Do you have a favorite type of charity walk that you enjoy participating in? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Thanks,

Photo credit: Becco Eliacik

Technorati Tags: American Cancer Society, arthritis foundation, Charity Event, charity events, charity walks, Duck Racing, Fundraising Event, Healthcare System, Relay For Life, Walkers

Blue skies greeted walkers as they parked their cars and exited the subway station onto the National Mall in Washington, DC. Finding the walk location was easy. Head to the tallest structure in the District of Columbia, the Washington Monument. It was the morning of May 15, 2010. The day of the 2010 DC Arthritis Walk.

The charity walk started at the National Sylvan Theater, right next to the Washington Monument. I can’t imagine a better setting for charity walks.

My son and I arrived while volunteers were in the middle of setting up for the event. There were multiple tents set up for volunteers, registration and refreshments. There were fun activities including a basketball game and pitching game. Face painting was also a hit. The location was spacious enough that some even played catch with a frisbee.

The stage at the National Sylvan Theater allowed everyone in attendance to see and hear the opening ceremonies. Two MCs kept the opening portion running smoothly. Of special interest was a proclamation from the Mayor of Washington, DC in support of the event that was read to the participants and the attendance of both the reining Mrs. Virginia and Mrs. Maryland (they helped lead exercises before the walk).

The charity walk route took walkers around the Washington Monument and past the National World War II Memorial and Lincoln Memorial. People travel from all over the world to visit these sites!

The DC Arthritis Walk raises money and awareness to support the Arthritis Foundation in the fight against arthritis. A disease that affects 46 million people and 300,000 children in the U.S. This year, the DC Arthritis Walk has already raised more than $105,000 for this important purpose.

To learn more about how you can get involved in an Arthritis Walk in your area, go to http://www.LetsMoveTogether.org.

Thanks,

Technorati Tags: arthritis foundation, arthritis walk, charity walk, charity walks, District Of Columbia, Lincoln Memorial, Mayor Of Washington Dc, National Mall, National World War Ii Memorial, Sylvan Theater, walk events, Washington Monument

It rained on the morning of the Richmond Arthritis Walk, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the many who turned out to support the fight against arthritis.

The charity walk event was held on April 24, 2010 at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center at Stony Point in Richmond, Virginia. The Arthritis Walk is the signature fundraising event for the Arthritis Foundation.

The area was filled with music, food and fun. Just seeing the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile put a smile on my face as I arrived at the charity event. The participants were led in a Tai Chi warm up exercise routine just before walking the three-mile or optional one-mile course.

One thing I found very interesting and exciting is that the Arthritis Foundation is now accepting donations via text messaging. This event was the first one to offer the service to participants. I wrote about the importance of this donation technology a couple of years ago at http://www.everydaygivingblog.com/2008/05/mobile-giving.html.

I enjoyed being a part of the Richmond Arthritis Walk. If you were not able to be there, watch the slide show below to view some of the pictures I captured at the event. Consider getting involved in an Arthritis Walk near you.

The Arthritis Foundation is addressing the needs of some 46 million Americans living with arthritis, the nation’s most common cause of disability. To learn more about how to get involved in an Arthritis Walk in your area, go to http://LetsMoveTogether.org.

Thanks,

Technorati Tags: Arthritis, arthritis foundation, arthritis walk, Charity Event, charity walks, Fundraising Event, Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, Richmond, Richmond Virginia, Stony Point, Tai Chi, Text Messaging, Virginia Commonwealth University

Enjoy these photos I captured at the 2009 Richmond Jingle Bell Run/Walk held on Saturday, November 21 at the Stony Pointe Fashion Park in Richmond, Virginia. Funds raised from this walk event benefited the Arthritis Foundation. To learn more about the Jingle Bell Run/Walk, go to http://www.arthritis.org/jingle-bell-run.php.

Technorati Tags: arthritis foundation, Jingle Bell Run, Richmond, Richmond Virginia, walk events

Training for your charity walks does not have to be boring. A little creativity can have your participants wanting more, rather than wanting it to end quickly. This is important because people are more open to learning new ideas when they’re having a good time.

I recently had the privilege of attending the training event Arthritis College. The event was put on by the Arthritis Foundation, Virginia Chapter and the students included board members, staff , and volunteers from across the state of Virginia.

Class topics included arthritis research, charity events, and leadership. house education on these topics turn from drab to dynamic? Here are some of my observations:

• A college theme was used throughout the day.  We entered as freshmen and progressed to sophomores, etc. after participating in each class. The decorations and dialog used throughout the event stayed consistent with the theme.  At the end of the day, there was a graduation ceremony.
• Dr. Loren Erickson discussed his research at a level everyone could understand. He also showed how the research has already made great strides in the fight against arthritis.
• In the middle of the day, Christine Walters led a session of improvisation that had all of us laughing while we created funny dance routines and pictures with crayons.
• The instructional classes each used props and student participation throughout. Some even sprinkled contests with simple prizes to increase the fun and participation.

What are you going to do that is fun and different to help motivate and train your charity walk participants? A little applied creativity can make a big difference.

Thanks,

Technorati Tags: Arthritis, arthritis foundation, charity walks, training, virginia, Volunteer, Volunteers, walk events