Fundraising

I have a lot to learn about all this fundraising and sponsorship stuff. Recently I contacted John Pace about sponsorship and he gave me some good and valuable information. Thank you, John. On the fundraising side, I was disappointed with the Chicot Challenge total this year which, at just over $1,700, was about $100 shy of last year's total. But I have a new plan.

Six dimes, four pennies, and a button

Part one of the new plan involves picking up pennies from the bottom of the pool. During Tuesday's training session at Twin Rivers Rec Center, I scored 64 cents which is one of my largest hauls ever. I always swim in lane four, the center lane of the 50 meter pool. But if I am the only one there, or if it is only John and me, I swim every lane at least once. John asked one time, "What are you doing swimming all over the pool like that?"

"Well, duh, I'm looking for money."

My all time highest haul was 76 cents a couple of years ago, three quarters and a penny. Tuesday's score consisted of six dimes, four pennies, and a button. I took the coins home and put them in a bag. Fundraising for the 2016 Chicot Challenge has begun already. I normally take in between two and three dollars per year on pool coins. Pray that a lot of kids get careless with Dad's change. They didn't need those nachos anyway. My cause is better than theirs.

Another part of the new plan involves picking up change I find when out running. My wife got me started on this a few years ago, and we always gave the change we found to a pastor/evangelist in Kenya. But now that we no longer have our church, all my change is going to the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. I find around three to four cents per week while out running. Multiply that by fifty and you get a buck and a half. The problem is, however, for the past several years I have not run fifty weeks per year. If I can stay healthy and run more miles, I can get the coin total up. Also, I have plans to run some parking lots this winter when I do much of my training at night.

A third part of the plan involves my school parking lot. For some reason, students will not pick a penny off the pavement. They won't do it. I will. I estimate my take per semester from this source is around four to five cents. Per year that comes out to almost a dime. But wait, there's more.

If you are adding up the numbers, you can easily see I need that fourth prong. I have one: loose change around the house. The problem with this is I don't have much loose change anymore. While I once had heaps of coins at all times, with the advent of the debit card, I almost never spend cash anymore. According to my calculations, my yearly change now amounts to somewhere around five bucks per year. Ah, you say, but that leaves more in your bank account so you can give more. The problem with that is I am on a fixed income. Each year there is less and less in the account. 

Whenever I hear someone say something about being on a "fixed income," I always ask, "What subject and what school?" They never answer. If you are on Social Security, DO NOT say you are one a fixed income because you get a cost of living adjustment each year. I DO NOT. I now make LESS than I made eleven years ago. This upcoming school year makes twelve years. Since the K-12 teachers did not get a raise this year, we will not get one next year because the K-12 teaches always get one or two or six raises before the community colleges are at the front of the line. Sorry, I just needed to rant.

The fifth part of my new plan is to clean out my truck console. That should easily come up to fifty cents per year. Like the loose change at home, this source has dried up also due to the rise in debit card usage.

That leaves me looking for number six in the new plan which I have not yet nailed down. I thought about selling sunglasses on Facebook. You've seen all the adds? Open a Group Page and see how many people want to join your group. I get dozens of request to join my Vicarious Butt Beets group by people wanting to sell sunglasses. Really? Can there me that much money in selling sunglasses on Facebook?

Another thing I thought about was that wrap stuff. You know, that plastic wrap you put on your body to make yourself lose weight and become beautiful. I'm giving that a real think up. What are your thoughts? Would you buy from me if I go into the business? Would you be a repeat customer? 

It may be going slowly, but it is going. Bethany Theilman, I am working on the "boat bag" as I call it, for next year's swim. One way or the other, I am handing off a heavy bag to the DFM representative who shows up at next year's Chicot Challenge. You can take that bag to the bank.