Walk for Hunger –
Did you know that 13 percent of children under 18 in our state live in food-insecure households?
For 44 continuous years, Project Bread has organized an annual pledge walk to fight hunger in the state of Massachusetts, making it the oldest annual pledge walk in the U.S. Last year under clear skies, an anticipated 41,000 walkers, including a team from EC Boston, raised an estimated $3.6 million which was granted back to 450 community programs including schools, farmers’ markets, community suppers and many more (www.walkforhunger.org).
In 2013, as Corporate Social Responsibility Champion at EC Boston I appointed myself Team Captain for the 2013 Walk for Hunger, excited to rally and lead a team of teachers, staff and students toward the goal of raising a minimum of $500, and walk the twenty miles as a way of giving back to the community in which we live and work.
What I was not excited about was the inevitable task of raising funds. I hate asking people for money.
But if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Sigh.
So with bated breath, I carefully crafted an email requesting donations, and posted it, cringing, to my Facebook page. Within ten minutes I had received my first two donations which totaled more than my humble goal of $25. I was dumbfounded. Now, three days after the start of my fundraising efforts, I have exceeded my goal by 440%.
Stephen King was right when he said “The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
