Next
weekend, I’ll be doing the FANS 24-Hour Race.
This race is a fundraiser for the FANS scholarship fund, and I’m asking
my friends to make donations.
FANS
stands for Furthering Achievement through a Network of Support. It’s a program of Pillsbury United
Communities. FANS works with middle
school and high school students in the Pillsbury and Phillips neighborhoods of
Minneapolis.
Students
in this program are counseled to avoid gangs, drugs, violence, and other counterproductive
behavior. Instead, they’re taught that
they can have successful lives, but they have to be responsible for their own
success. They’re encouraged to stay in
school and have a plan for getting a job.
They’re also taught things like goal-setting and leadership skills. The aim is to take students in troubled
neighborhoods and give them the guidance they need to become successful responsible
adults.
As
an incentive, students who participate in the FANS program through high school
are offered college scholarships. It’s
not a free ride, but it’s enough money to help them get started.
The
FANS race was originally organized in 1990 as a vehicle for raising donations
to fund these scholarships.
I
want you to know that I’m not asking you to make a donation so that I can do a
race. I had a choice of paying an entry
fee or pledging to raise at least $250 in donations. I opted to raise money, but immediately made
a $250 donation myself, so the minimum fundraising commitment has already been
met. I’m asking my friends to make
additional donations, because this is a cause I believe in.
The
FANS race is put on by volunteers. All of
the costs of putting on the race are provided by donations from corporate
sponsors. 100 percent of the money
raised by race participants goes toward the FANS scholarship fund. Donations are tax-deductible.
I
first ran the FANS 24-Hour Race in 1998.
Since then, I’ve been there almost every year, either running, crewing
for friends, or volunteering. I always
make a donation.
In
the past, each race participant would turn in pledge forms with the names and
contact information of their sponsors, who could either make a fixed
contribution or pledge so much per mile.
After the race, each donor would be contacted by the race staff to
remind them of their pledge.
Now
they’ve made it easier. You can go
directly to the FANS website and make a donation by credit card, using a secure
web page. There’s a field where you can
type in the name of the runner or walker you’re sponsoring.
Please
consider making a donation to the FANS scholarship fund. I’ve donated $250. Can you give $25? Here’s a link to the donation page on the
FANS website:
Click
on the amount you want to donate and you’ll be taken to a page where you can
type the name of a race participant.
Please type my name, David Holmen.
Then click on the Add to Bag button and proceed to checkout. When you’re done, you get an email receipt.
Thank
you in advance for supporting the FANS scholarship fund.
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