The Princess Guide: Has Anyone Seen My Soapbox??

Has anyone seen my soapbox? I need to jump up on it for a minute.

I'm pretty sure "dichotomy" is the $50 word for the two divergent viewpoints I'm about to address. But I'm not totally sure.

Either way, participants in the 3-Day don't always have the same views as I do about fundraising.

My viewpoint: The more walkers who get to walk in the 3-Day, the more impact we will have as far as awareness goes.

You see, everyone "statistically" has a range of influence with about 250 people. Some of us are on the high end of that; some of us on the low end. But, on average, we know about 250 people.

Using that figure, and not allowing for overlap, you could assume that Lisa and I influenced about 500 people the first year we walked. Going by the same theory, with 79 walkers on our team this year, Team Tiara can influence just under 20,000 people.

Disclaimer: Ya'll all know I can't do math. BUT.... I'm just trying to make a point here, so hang in there with me.

Whether or not my math is on target, it goes to show that the more walkers who walk, the greater the influence.

Clear as mud??

Okay. Well, here is where I take issue. Every year we hear about walkers who can't walk because they "couldn't" raise the $2300. Now.... we're not going to go into how hard they've tried, what have they done, haven't done, etc. (We're studying Grace in church right now, so we're just going to pause for a moment and apply that here.)

Needless to say, there are always walkers who can't walk because they're short on funds.

Where I have issues with that -- many of those walkers are on TEAMS. AND many of those TEAMS have "Superstars" who have far surpassed the $2300 mark. I can see how cool it is to stay in the New Balance tent if you're the top fundraiser. And I think that's pretty neat. But at the same time, wouldn't you feel pretty guilty if you were at the top of the leader board, knowing someone from your TEAM was sitting at home???

And what about all those of us who are blessed to have fundraising as a talent -- but we aren't in the running for the Big Tent? Where's the glory in being in the Top 143 fundraisers if your college roommate didn't get to come to the party??

Even more, what good does it do you to have $10,000 by your name if a survivor doesn't get to walk? Or someone who just lost her Mom? Or a woman whose husband was just diagnosed?

I told you I had a soapbox. And please, if it's in your heart, please share your funds with other walkers. You can do it in so many different ways. If you've got a check from a sponsor, print off a donation form from another walker's page and send it in. You can put a note at the top of your page asking your friends and family to sponsor another walker instead. Or you can send a special email asking friends to sponsor a different walker -- explaining why it's important to you for that other walker to walk.

Now.... On the flip side, in a couple of days my friend Kayren is going to do a Guest-Post about "owning" the walk when you raise every penny yourself. Prepare to be blessed.

Your Challenge for Today:
Whether it's $5 or $50, I challenge you to find a walker who is struggling and make a post under his/her name. AND.... On the part that will show up on the "honor roll," I challenge you to simply put "I Believe in You." You don't need to add your name -- But THEY need to know you believe in them.

What I'm Doing Today:
Holy Cow. I need to explain something. When I told you I walked up the ramps to the 3rd deck of Kyle Field without getting winded, I forgot to mention that we were late, and I hauled butt up the ramps. It was great --- but yesterday I was SO sore! I wish I lived in College Station where I could do that every day!!!

I DID do 12.50 miles on my bike this morning. My best ride ever. Carrie Underwood and I made our way around Fairfield, with me singing at the top of my lungs. Man, I love her music. Now, I'm gonna go find me a walker who's struggling with fundraising. I feel some blessin' coming on.