This is the second time that Team Sparkle Pony will be walking in the San Francisco AIDS walk. Since our fundraising has begun we have been in the top 25 and were asked to write a biography of the team. Below is what we submitted. If the story touches you, please donate at the link here.
Team Sparkle Pony is small but powerful. It is compromised of three friends: Jordan, Megan
and Mike. The team formed the same week
that we all became mutual friends.
Last April, on my annual spring break trip to San Francisco
from New Jersey the idea to participate in the San Francisco AIDS walk came to
fruition. Jordan and I were meeting for
coffee when we commented on the AIDS walk banners flying overhead.
One of us said, “We should do that this year.” The other
responded, “Yeah, we should.” Of course
over coffee we started thinking of names and fundraising ideas. With us, when the ball gets rolling there is
no stopping it!
We mentioned the idea to our new friend Mike and he jumped right
in. We set the lofty goal of raising
$1,000 a piece and came within $25 of our team goal. The money was raised in many different ways.
Each of us e-mailed every one we knew and sent reminders
when ever we could. We also used facebook
to bombard the internet with our support requests. Personal thanks were e-mailed and hand
written for every donation made. Our
perseverance paid off, we started to see the temperature go up on all of our
thermometers. Friends, friends of
friends, students and their families, and people we did not even know began to
donate. Every day this team of three got
stronger and sparklier.
For our final push to reach our goal we hosted a fundraising
event with a raffle of locally donated gift certificates. We had the support of the event’s location,
the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and a radio station. Other walkers came out to help us at our
fundraiser even though they were fundraising on their own. We even sold our team t-shirts off our
backs.
This year we are going to reach that goal of $3,000 or
more. Even though our team is located on
two coasts, we won’t give up. We don’t
raise money for anyone in particular, but for all of mankind. We each know someone who has been battling
this disease and want them to have all the support that we can give.
Team Sparkle Pony is stronger and sparklier than ever. A great team name and t-shirt can get you far
but amazing teammates get you ever further.
Team Captain of Sparkle Pony
