Fundraising Preparations and Thoughts

Only three more days until we leave for Atlanta to fund-raise for our fight poverty expedition! We have been doing a lot of prep work; getting in touch with local stores and making agreements to fund-raise in the front(no luck for stores owned by corporations yet, but we have had luck with Latino and Korean stores), getting in touch with churches, preparing posters in English, Korean and Spanish, preparing mentally and discussing with other volunteers what to be ready for and a few other tasks.

I am feeling confident in what we are about to do. The money we raise goes to us and pays our way to Central America and sends our team to projects in Belize. I used to work for a non-profit named Clean Water Action(CWA) we fund-raised door to door but the money went to liberal lobbyists and lawyers who made a great salary, had comfortable homes and comfortable lives who's actions probably were only directed by big companies anyways. I always felt uncomfortable with them because I knew that the money the people gave me would have no impact in the betterment in lives of those who needed help.

But with IICD I think I will feel comfortable fund-raising because I'm fundraising for myself and a cause which will have a direct effect on those who could use a crutch to keep them going in their everyday lives, not pigs in Washington. My insurance for people will be that I care for those in poverty and will prove to the world that I do, through action. If not through action then what, through words? My problem with the everyday hippie making a living going door to door is that she/he may not comprehend what their raising funds for, in fact in CWA we really didn't and we weren't encouraged to. At IICD I know what I'm fundraising for, I know I'm not begging, I know I fund-raise to create and sustain sustainability here at IICD Michigan and there in Central America.

I really look forward to going to Atlanta and taking on this major challenge. From what I hear I will feel tired, energized, mad, happy, weak and strong but what nearly every person that I have discussed fundraising with says at times you will feel overwhelming feelings of love.