We’ve officially past Girl Scout cookie season. However, we’ve smacked right into Walk-a-thon season. The same rules as Girl Scout cookie season apply during Walk-a-thon season except it’s that much harder to say no to a co-worker when they add some story about someone in their family having Lupus, MS, Spina Bifida or Athlete’s Foot.
Why can’t they space these ‘thons’ out? Sure you want nice weather for these walks. So why not do another type of ‘thon’. What about, Sit-on-your-ass-a-thon, where you get paid to sit on your ass for a day. Honestly, these walks nowadays aren’t even required. For goodness sake, when I was a kid, contributions were based on the mileage walked/ran/biked. Now, it’s a flat fee regardless if he/she walks.
One request came from a friend in Vermont who has taken to adding their dogs into their plea for money. “Cookie & Robbie will be placed in the MS Best Dressed Dog contest. Please contribute. Did I mention my second cousin on my step father’s side by marriage has a friend that was diagnosed with MS?” Of course, I contributed. How can I deny their second cousin on their step father’s side’s friend by marriage.
Now, don’t think I’m a grouch. I truly believe in volunteering. I don’t believe in the ‘Cure for’ Walks because I believe that many pharmaceutical companies would prefer a for-profit drug then a non-for profit vaccine. If they stopped making twenty million erectile dysfunction drugs and concentrated a bit more on finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, I’d be more open to donating to these organizations. What I do believe in is donating to causes that help families and patients.
When a serious illness hits a family, they need so much support not only financial but also emotionally and physically. I recently donated to the Living Donors foundation in the hopes that it would help educate others about the prospect of living donorship. What’s Living Donorship? It’s when a living human being donates a kidney, marrow or part of a liver to another living human being. Many think you need to wait until some tragedy happens and to donate organs but this is not true. For more info, check out the living donors site run by the National Kidney Foundation.
Anyway, back to the office and the many donation requests. My husband doesn’t get as many or at least he hasn’t told me. On the other hand, my office is home to every bake sale, walk-a-thon, cub scout, girl scout, theatre camp, soccer camp and parochial school parent within the Tri-State area. Ok, not my current office. But friends and co-workers from my old office have left me in their rolodex for such an occasion. So if you’re signed up for the Bike-a-thon for potable water, email me soon. Supplies are going fast. Priority attention will go to those who offer to buy me lunch since I’m broke from all this donating.
