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It all started at 6:45 when I dragged myself out of bed, cold and sleepy, while it was still dark outside. I had originally planned on running the Back On My Feet Marathon Relay in downtown Indy, but decided to pull out a few days before due to my shin splints. I’m playing it really safe to make sure I get to the starting line on November 1st healthy and strong. I was going to bike on Saturday morning, but it was 39 degrees when I woke up (ahem- why did we jump from the 80s last weekend to winter this weekend?), and I didn’t have clothing appropriate for that with me. So, I did the next best thing: sat on the couch drowning my sorrows from my first “DNS” for a race by watching The Office and eating an apple fritter.
Yes, it was delicious, but I was still a little bit sad. I had also agreed to volunteer at a bucket shake for team in training for 4 hours on Saturday, as this was a way to get more money towards my fundraising goal.
I have to be honest and say that I was pretty grumpy about it on Saturday morning. It was pretty chilly outside (in the low to mid 40s and windy, and my body is NOT used to that right now), and I wasn’t keen on standing alone for 4 hours asking for money. And as I was grumbling aloud, I very quickly realized that I needed a little attitude adjustment. Yes, it might not be the most fun thing I could spend my Saturday doing, but I was doing it to raise money for research for blood cancer, and for those who are fighting hard with a cancer diagnosis. Me standing outside for 4 hours is not worth complaining about, especially compared to what those with leukemia and lymphoma are going through right now. This changed my attitude quite a bit, and I was off to Kroger (a grocery store).
When I got there, I realized that they let us set our table up right in the entry way (outside of the actual store, but where people can pick up the carts). The door was wide open, so it was still chilly in there, but at least it wasn’t as windy, and I was thankful.
I took over for the people ahead of me, and I was off. Confession time: I really dislike when people stand outside of stores and ask for money. I feel uncomfortable and hate saying no, but often do (part of that is that I don’t have cash on me very often). Sometimes I don’t even make eye contact with them as I scurry by, busy with my day. I had been told to expect about $75 per 2 hour segment I stood out there, but I was really hoping that I could maybe pull out about $200 for the day. However, I wondered who also would give (I guess I figured that people wouldn’t want to donate?).
This experience swept my expectations away, and I was humbled by people’s generosity. I was SHOCKED at the number of people who tossed money in one of the buckets- absolutely blown away actually. Some people silently put in a few dollars, some people just thanked me for being out there and raising money, and some people stopped to chat briefly (or one person talked to me for about 20 minutes) and share their stories (some were survivors, some had just lost a family member to cancer, and some people had just received a cancer diagnosis). These stories left me choked up, inspired by their determination and courage, and overcome with desire to get out and do all that I can to help fight against cancer.
An important lesson for each of us here: Plenty of people apologized for only throwing in a dollar or two, and I think they felt bad that they were only donating “a little bit”. Here’s the thing though- the “little bit” that we donate or give to things adds up to SO MUCH. When people say that every dollar helps, they REALLY do mean it, and I got to see that first hand this weekend. Even the extra change that we have adds up (I got somewhere around 15 dollars just in extra coins that people tossed in, which is awesome). I did get two twenty dollar bills and maybe 8ish 5 dollar bills, but the rest were in $1 bills. You know what that added up to be?
410 dollars! (By the way, I made sure to wait to post this until after the money was safely taken to the TnT office and was out of my house. haha) All of those “tiny” donations added up to something SO huge and unbelievably more than I was expecting or hoping for in those few hours. Every little bit DOES help, and I’m so thankful for all the generous people who were shopping and chose to stop and give.
I now have only 40 dollars left to reach my $500 fundraising goal! Would you consider donating just a few dollars (maybe the equivalent of one starbucks drink this week?) to my fundraising goal to help fight blood cancer?
I’m so, so proud of you for this incredible day of fundraising! (And for taking the day off of running, since I know how painful that was for you to do.) I think we’ve both learned a huge lesson over this cycle of fundraising, and now we know what to do next round! Love you and very proud of your fundraising efforts!!
Your attitude is so awesome and I think it’s amazing that you raised so much. My sister in law’s mom just died in July of cancer. It’s really a horrible thing, but it’s people like you who are raising money for research to stop it that what will help in the long run.
Thank you SO much Rebecca! I’m sorry to hear about your sister in law’s mom. I hope one day we can get to a place where we aren’t losing people to cancer anymore.
[…] *After reading the post below, head over to Lindsay’s blog to read my guest post on “5 things I wish people understood about having a chronic illness“! […]