Thursday 25 Mar 2010 19:55

People are great

by Tony Edgar of Steppe By Steppe

I'm pretty stunned to be sitting here a couple of weeks after launching our fundraising, already almost a third of the way to our target.

We've been dumbfounded by people's generosity - in these still-tough times I never for a second expected people to be stumping up such large sums.

Money has been landing with a meaty 'thunk' in our Justgiving account on a regular basis, and even a couple of people I follow on Twitter have seen fit to swell Go Help's coffers... 

People seem to really want to get behind the cause, and whilst I know no one was actually sponsoring me purely because I was running the Reading Half Marathon on Sunday, the knowledge that people had parted with their hard-earned cash after I approached them prior to the race spurred me to the finish despite my right leg feeling like it was going to fall off.

So a million thanks to our sponsors so far - Julie-Anne & John, new parents Im & Si (who should really be hanging on to their nappy money), Silja, Lizzi, Andrew Mueller (buy his books - they're one of my main inspirations for getting out and seeing the world), Gav & Imogen, Helen & Lee, Jennie and of course, me dear old ma....

No going back now we have people's goodwill and quids behind us! Onwards and sideways!

Tuesday 09 Mar 2010 23:07

We got one!

by Tony Edgar of Steppe By Steppe

I tried to find a suitable Ghostbusters clip, but to no avail...

So imagine, if you will, a lady in '80s glasses whacking a bell and screaming.... "we got onnnnneeeeee!!!!"

Yup, my mass email of everyone in my Hotmail address book (updated c.2005) has resulted in our first sponsorship!

The beautiful, talented, exotic and wonderful Julie-Anne has sponsored us a whopping £25 for the rally! Well, her and her bogan of a husband John, but I have fewer adoring adjectives about him. As if by magic or design, whilst out running last night (18km, baby), just as my blisters started biting, Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" came on my Ipod - a song I for some reason always associate with Julie-Anne. It was like fate or some shit. I don't have a 'song' for John, but am determined to get some Acca-Dacca on the play list for the run in his honour.

The rush you get when the first sponsorship comes in is amazing. It makes it all seem worthwhile. So come on, the rest of you! What are you waiting for? Give Go Help money RIGHT NOW!

Sunday 07 Mar 2010 22:35

First contact

by Tony Edgar of Steppe By Steppe

Inspired and terrified in equal measure by this evening's conference call for the rally participants (and the website announcing it's only 125 days to go), I have finally taken some affirmative action on the fund-raising front.

I've emailed the background to what we're doing to everyone in my hotmail address book - which hasn't been updated since around 2006 and if the number of undeliverable messages I got back are anything to go by, contains approximately 55% non-existent email addresses. Still, you never know, and if anyone sees fit to bung our Justgiving site a couple of quid as a result then it'll all have been worth it.

And if you are reading this as a result of that email - welcome! I promise the quality of the banter will improve exponentially, dependent on the size and number of donations we receive.