Page 36 - issue
P. 36
GREATERRUNNINGFORA
PURPOSE
Sby Emma Michelsohn
omething new has overtaken Baltimore. Organizations
are putting a new kind of ‘fun’ into fundraising. Once
upon a time, a typical fundraiser was a charity tea, a
banquet, a Chinese auction, or a heart-rending letter in
our mailbox. Today, we are seeing organizations turn-
ing to the internet to host “24-hour” all-or-nothing su-
per-fundraisers, as well as using social media of every
stripe to spread awareness of the cause. But nothing
can beat the “fun” of sports-related events which marry athletic
competition with serious dollars.
Two local groups that have successfully taken this route are
the Jewish Caring Network (JCN) and Bikur Cholim. The for-
mer has been holding 5K races for men and women for the past
five years, while the latter jumped in a year later with an annual
men’s bike-a-thon. Both draw large enthusiastic crowds of all
ages and have opened the world of fundraising to a whole new
audience.
uuu
On June 4, I ran the JCN Woman’s 5K Care Run and Walk
along with throngs of other Jewish women and girls from our
community. While I’ve run quite a few races by now, sponsored
by various organizations, nothing beats the JCN run. It is one
thing to approach running as a sport and to sign up for a race
just for the sake of having something to train for. It is another
to be doing it for so much more than beating your record or
getting into shape.
I’ve lived in Baltimore my entire life. Amazingly, our com-
munity is growing in number by the year. It is so large that I
don’t recognize half the people I see at Seven Mile Market, at
28 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
PURPOSE
Sby Emma Michelsohn
omething new has overtaken Baltimore. Organizations
are putting a new kind of ‘fun’ into fundraising. Once
upon a time, a typical fundraiser was a charity tea, a
banquet, a Chinese auction, or a heart-rending letter in
our mailbox. Today, we are seeing organizations turn-
ing to the internet to host “24-hour” all-or-nothing su-
per-fundraisers, as well as using social media of every
stripe to spread awareness of the cause. But nothing
can beat the “fun” of sports-related events which marry athletic
competition with serious dollars.
Two local groups that have successfully taken this route are
the Jewish Caring Network (JCN) and Bikur Cholim. The for-
mer has been holding 5K races for men and women for the past
five years, while the latter jumped in a year later with an annual
men’s bike-a-thon. Both draw large enthusiastic crowds of all
ages and have opened the world of fundraising to a whole new
audience.
uuu
On June 4, I ran the JCN Woman’s 5K Care Run and Walk
along with throngs of other Jewish women and girls from our
community. While I’ve run quite a few races by now, sponsored
by various organizations, nothing beats the JCN run. It is one
thing to approach running as a sport and to sign up for a race
just for the sake of having something to train for. It is another
to be doing it for so much more than beating your record or
getting into shape.
I’ve lived in Baltimore my entire life. Amazingly, our com-
munity is growing in number by the year. It is so large that I
don’t recognize half the people I see at Seven Mile Market, at
28 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
