Julianne's Hope Runs 777 Challenge Blog

I’m Famous! (Ok, not really…)

Julianne — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:34:50 +0000

Since I’ve started fundraising for the Hope Runs 777 challenge, I have been blown away by friends and strangers coming out of the woodworks to help me. Not just financially (which is great and still need more), but also in ways to promote my cause!

Here are two great examples…

Chris Russell (also @cyktrussell) from RunRunLive offered to interview me on his famous running podcast! I was totally nervous about my first live interview for a podcast but everything seemed to fall into place. (Even if I did bumble up a few times… *sigh*) Maybe good practive for live TV one day? Well, one can only hope! If you’re interested in checking out the podcast, you can either click here OR search in the iTunes Store for “RunRunLive” and download episode 63. Let me know if you listen to it one day. Again, I can’t thank Chris enough for willing to feature me. Wow!

Ethan Austin from Give Foward (an innovative giving/fundraising site) and Play City (where you can use sports to make a positive impact on our local and global communities), who offered to interview me on their Play City blog. Ethan has not only been fantastic in giving me fundraising tips and ideas but providing really great emotional support. My interview with Ethan just went live today and you can check it out here. There are pictures of me on the blog post.

Most of all, thank you ALL for being part of my adventure. I love my social network/community on my running blog, Twitter and Facebook. You make me feel like I’m not doing this alone!

#happyhoursf Tweetup Recap

Julianne — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:58:23 +0000

Last Friday, I had a small local Tweetup at SNOB (Sonoma, Napa or Beyond) in San Francisco that I organized to benefit my Hope Runs 777 Challenge. I created a Tweetup invite via Twtvite (a very simple event manager) and tweeted the event several times. It was RT’d a few times and next thing you know, I had about 40 people show up at SNOB. It could have been more, but I wasn’t really doing a headcount. Friends of friends, strangers and very nice Tweeps showed up to support my event. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was meeting new people on Twitter or maybe it was to support the cause! I didn’t have high expectations on the fundraising part but still, I walked about with about $100 in donations. And, at the end of the night, I was touched and encouraged. Raising $40,000 is no small feat and every dollar counts. I also need all the exposure and free advertising I can get and I found Twitter and other social media outlets (like Facebook) have become an invaluable tool. Even a few days later, I received a donation from a guy who happened to be there and took my brochure promising he would donate. I didn’t think he would follow through… but he did! Wow. I didn’t take a lot of pictures, I wish I could have. In between explaining Hope Runs, shmoozing and having fun, I forgot to snap some shot on my iPhone. I did get a chance to take this one because it was towards the end of the night and well, it was too fun not too miss!

@mvbaybea @mcnitt @smellycents @TLM26

Also, I have to give a special shout to @stoweboyd and @gravity7, who gave some sound advice on fundraising and offered their support. Thank you for being my “Chair” and “Director of Marketing” respectively.

Of course, I have to thank my hubby @donutfan who’s my #1 fan, our favorite cousin @jyamasaki, who’s also so darn supportive and @ianryerson who showed up first.

Status Update on Fundraising

Julianne — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:29:00 +0000

Give Forward has generously offered to partner with me and Hope Runs to help me gain more exposure and fundraising. Thank you Ethan for your willingness to help and offer up so many great suggestions!!

Here’s where I am so far. I have officially raised $900. A paltry amount to $45k. But, this is from my personal network of friends and family, who opened up their wallets to support me. I have had donations as big as $100 to as small as $5. Every little bit counts. I also had a small Tweetup last Frday at SNOB (Sonoma, Napa or Beyond) where I was able to meet some great people from Twitter. I absolutely LOVE my network on Twitter. I didn’t raise a whole lot of money there but it was great to network and meet people who gave me some great advice.

I have a few other events coming up in the next few weeks. On April 3rd, I am hosting a Ghetto Gourmet style dinner at an undisclosed location in the San Francisco East Bay. It’s a gourmet 4 course meal with wine pairing by a talented chef who has worked at various upscale restaurants in the Bay Area. One of them being a Michelin Starred restaurant. It’s a major deal to get a Michelin Star, by the way! Here’s the link, if you’d like to attend.

Another event I have is a Guest Bartending gig at The Boardroom in San Francisco. I’m doing it with a few other girlfriends, who are willing to donate their time to make you some delicious cocktails. ALL CASH tips will go straight to Hope Runs. So, if you’re in the area on April 9th, please stop by and bring lots of dollar bills!! (Larger bills are ok, too!)

First things first…

Julianne — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:34:36 +0000

Welcome to Julianne’s Hope Runs 777 Challenge blog. I also have a blog about running over here… but for the sole purpose or raising awareness and funds for Hope Runs, here I am! First of all, what is the Hope Runs 777 Challenge? In 2010, Hope Runs will be leading a Guinness World Record-breaking endeavor to complete 7 marathons on 7 continents in only 7 weeks. With a team of dedicated runners, we are committed to breaking some fantastic Guinness World Records (yes – there are some left to be broken in the area!). We are also proud to be running a green event through carbon-emissions-offset sponsoring. The Hope Runs 777 Challenge will help bring the issues facing the 14.5 million AIDS orphans in Africa alone to the forefront of the world’s consciousness. By pushing ourselves to the limit, our team will raise awareness for the issues facing orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) all over the world, mobilizing people everywhere to become more involved. With each member of the team covering his or her own costs and committing to raise thousands more toward the cause, this effort will help to make a lasting impact in places that need it most!

My attempt at raising $45,000 will be recorded here. I hope it’s more ups than downs but time will only tell.

Would you like to support me and be part my latest adventure? Here are some of the ways you can support me.

1. Donate! Pledge! Any donation, no matter how small, will add up and will be most appreciated!!
2. Link to my blog! I need as much exposure as possible. And blog about my adventure for Hope Runs 777 Challenge!
3. Donate your network, either on Twitter or Facebook or any other social network. Please refer to my blog http://www.bicoastalite.com And either post on your Facebook status or Tweet about my fundraising efforts at least 7 times (for 7 marathons, of course)!
4. Join my Facebook group for Julianne’s Hope Runs 777 Challenge here: http://bit.ly/BSMrC
5. I’m also looking for corporate sponsors and donors. If your company would be interested in international exposure or in matching donations – please let me know. ANYTHING is most welcome.

Do you have any other ideas, suggestions or tip? Please leave me a comment!!

Thank you again!