Charity Walks Blog

More than 4 feet of snow has fallen so far in my area this winter. That is more snow than any other winter since 1895!

The snow has shut down roads and contributed to traffic accidents. It has closed businesses and schools. Events were canceled due to the snow.

We can’t control the weather, but we need to be prepared for the unexpected when it happens.

When you are planning charity walks, you don’t expect bad weather to happen at the same time as you scheduled the charity event. You don’t expect volunteers to be late (or not show up at all) for setting up and conducting the charity walk. There are a multitude of things that can go wrong.

To ensure a successful charity walk, consider what can go wrong and have a plan to address it.

Here are some examples:

• If it rains on the day of your charity walk, will the event take place as scheduled or will there be a backup date planned? How will you communicate this to your walkers and the community?
• If some of your volunteers aren’t able to show up on the day of your event, what can be done ahead of time to cover the need? You might schedule additional volunteers or have a list of people who are “on call” who can respond quickly in case of this happening.
• If electrical power goes down during the walk, is there a backup plan that doesn’t require the electricity or are there generators available?

While you plan your charity walks, identify potential things that could go wrong. Then develop ways to help prevent it from happening and/or have a plan on what to do if it happens.

Have you had a crisis happen at one of your charity walks because something unexpected happened? What did you do? What could have been done? Leave a comment below.

Thanks,

Technorati Tags: Charity Event, charity walk, charity walks, Volunteers, Walkers, Winter Snow

Members of the group were spread out over a distance of 100 miles. A presentation had to be created by this team of 5 in less than a week. One member proposed using Skype as a coordination tool and the rest of the team agreed. This took place just 2 weeks ago in my college course and this is what happened…

Only 2 members showed up for the 1st conference call. One person didn’t know anything about Skype and wasn’t prepared to participate. Two of us were caught in traffic and didn’t have access to a computer. It was a disaster!

We eventually recovered, but it didn’t have to be that difficult. All of us could have participated if we chose to use the lower-tech telephone conference capability.

A charity walk I am involved in started using an online scheduling service to support planning activities. It was my idea. Many of the members have said it is a tremendous help. However, yesterday I talked with a member of the team and discovered she has not been seeing any of the meeting reminders being sent out via email from this service. I don’t know yet if they were ignored because the sender of the email is a service or if the emails are being trapped by a spam filter. Regardless, it was another reminder that careful consideration needs to be used when selecting and implementing technology in support of charity walks.

Technology can be extremely useful in support of things like charity walk planning, walker registration, and fundraising. However, before implementing a new technology solution consider the following:

• Assess the user friendliness
  of the technology. This includes not just how easy it is to use, but also how accessible it is to your team.
• Is adequate training & support available? If not, guess who will be providing it?
• Provide a low-tech/no-tech option in addition to the more tech savy one. This can help prevent alienating some members of your team (and some potential members). It will alo provide a backup when problems come up.

When you are ready to select technology solutions for volunteer management and registration/online fundraising for your charity walks, go to the charity walk resource page at http://www.CharityWalksBlog.com/walk-resource.

Thanks,

Technorati Tags: charity walk, charity walks, Conference Call, Implementing Technology, New Technology, Scheduling Service, Skype, Spam Filter, Technology Solution, Technology Support, Telephone Conference, User Friendliness

Charity Walks Blog was mentioned in the December 2009 issue of Money Magazine as the resource to turn to for a list of walk-a-thons nationwide that you can join.

The article “How to give when the giving gets tough” describes 13 ways we can support charities that do not require significant amounts of money. It is an informative article and you can read the online version at http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/30/pf/charitable_giving.moneymag/.

Thank you George Mannes, Money Magazine senior writer, for recognizing the value of walkathons and including them in your article.

p.s. If you are planning to start a walkathon, be sure to get your copy of The Walkathon Guide at http://TheWalkathonGuide.com.

Technorati Tags: Charities, charity walks, Cnn, George Mannes, Money Cnn, Money Magazine, Walkathons

Author: Erica Brooks

One of the best ways to relieve yourself from the stresses in life is by giving to others. When you help others it takes the focus off of you and your problems and shifts the focus to the needs of others.

Helping others brings about change in the community and a peace to you and someone in need. Below are 10 ways to volunteer and give the gift of yourself to others:

1. Walkathons

Walkathons are charity walks. The only thing required is desire, determination and some good walking shoes. To participate contact the charity of your choice who is hosting the walk to register. Once you register you will be asked to get sponsors to donate money on behalf of you walking. Sponsors can be anyone- your family members, co-workers, church members, local businesses etc. Donations can be anywhere from $1.00 to as much as your sponsor is willing to donate.

2. Local Nursing Home

Many residents of nursing homes don’t have anyone to visit them and would love a visit from a warm and friendly person. It would only require an hour or two of your time a week and it would really make a difference to an elderly resident who does not have family or someone to look after them. Check with you local nursing home to find out how to volunteer at their center.

3. Boys and Girls Club

Many of the youth today are in need of activities to keep them out of trouble and someone to guide them so that they stay grounded and out of harms way. Your local boys and girls club does just that by providing sports and fun activities for children in the area. The club is always in need of responsible, patient adults who are willing to help. Check your local yellow pages to find the center near you and give them a call to find out how to volunteer.

4. Local Church Ministries

The church is a place where people can go to find help in a variety of areas. Put your spiritual gifts to good use at your local church by joining a church ministry. There are many areas that you can be of help in- youth ministry, usher board ministry, missions ministry, prison ministry, music ministry, just to name a few. Check with your local church to see where you can be of the most help.

5. Local Food Bank

This is a wonderful charity where you can help those in your community get the food they need. All it takes is a phone call to your local food bank to get started.

6. Homeless Shelter

Help those who need shelter to get the food and shelter they need. Think of the difference you will make to those in your community by devoting a couple of hours a week of your time to this charity.

7. Girls and Boy Scouts of America

What a fun charity. Responsible and patient volunteers are always appreciated. It requires only a few hours of your time a week meeting with the children. You would play games, participate in badge earning activities, go on local outings and more. Check with your local Boys Scouts or Girls Scouts office to find out about the volunteer opportunities in your area.

8. Domestic Violence Centers

There is a great need in our country to protect those suffering from physical abuse. Volunteer opportunities are available in the shelters and to answer domestic violence hotlines. Contact your local shelter today to find out how you can help.

9. Rape Crisis Center

Rape is a serious crime and rape victims need all the help and support that they can get to recover from this form of abuse. Volunteers are needed to work in local crisis centers and on crisis hotlines. There may be special training that is needed for this type of charity due to the circumstances of the service. Check with your local rape crisis center to find out how you can help.

10. Pet Shelters

Pets need love too! There are many pet shelters that are in need of volunteers to care for sick and homeless pets and to help them to find good homes. If you love pets and enjoy working with them this is a great charity for you.

The opportunities to volunteer in your community are endless. Still not sure where you can volunteer? Visit www.volunteermatch.org to match your skills with one of the many charities in your area. Giving of yourself to others in such a positive way is one of the bests gifts you can give to yourself and others.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/stress-management-articles/stress-relief-through-charity-270806.html

About the Author:

Erica Brooks operates http://www.richlyscentedsoycandles.com and http://www.gourmetsoycandlefundraiser.com which helps groups and organizations to raise money for special causes.

Photo by Alex Bramwell

Technorati Tags: Boys And Girls Club, Charity, charity walks, Fundraiser, Fundraising, Helping Others, Stress Management, Stress Relief, Stresses, Volunteer, Walkathons

Maps are important to most charity walks. Unless the route is on something like a race track, maps will be required. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an online tool that could help map out your charity walks?

The benefits would include:

• Automatically calculation of  the distance of the charity walk
• Printed map with an accurate route description would be available for route approvals
• Committee knows the route in advance for planning (signs, water stations, etc.)
• Safety crews know the route in advance for planning (radios, etc.)
• Walkers know the route in advance
• The map could be used to help promote the charity walk

Online mapping programs have been primarily developed and used for street maps. But there are a few available that create maps to support walking tours and training for runners. Why not use these online tools for charity walks?

Check out the following websites to map out your next charity walk:

• Gmaps Pedometer (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com)
• bluewalks (http://www.bluewalks.com)
• CommunityWalk (http://www.communitywalk.com)
• MapMyWalk (http://www.mapmywalk.com)

Be sure to leave a comment if you know of other online mapping programs that could support charity walks or to add your personal experience from using any of these tools.

Thanks,

p.s. Be sure to get your copy of The Walkathon Guide at http://TheWalkathonGuide.com for an inexpensive ebook with additional charity walk tips and resources.

Technorati Tags: charity walk, charity walks, Create Map, Create Maps, Distance Map, Mapping Programs, Online Mapping, Route Description, walk map, Walkers