On the first day of my fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders, I published it to LinkedIn. Clearly sharing a fundraiser in which I will end up on business video calls and in serious business meetings with no hair except blue bangs is something my colleagues want to see. Many of the goals have already been met and I’m already at $810. Still $1,190 to go before the big haircut but huge progress in a very short time.
And so I’ve started on the rewards. Last night on Facebook Live on Sage’s page, I did the first task for meeting my $100 goal. It wasn’t easy. Those last three push-ups were hard!
Click here to donate and/or share the fundraising page. Thanks so much!
With $1,190 still to go, I could use your support. I know it’s a hard time for so many people these days so if you can’t donate that is totally fine. But your support by sharing this fundraiser or enjoying my discomfort and sharing encouragement means a lot.
Watch for the next task this weekend. I’ll be re-creating a scene from a movie with only the props and costumes available to me in my home. The scene was suggested to me by friends on social media and I’m already getting excited about doing it.
Go Outside Today 
Todd, I’m a little confused. Why would people want to see your discomfort or embarrassment as an incentive to donate to a good cause? I think it’s great the way you have faced/conquered your fears. But I’m unable to understand this.
Ah – I think the confusion may be with the words discomfort and embarrassment. None of these tasks are *truly* things I feel embarrassed or ashamed of. It’s fun to push past things that feel uncomfortable (like pushing through those last few push-ups), or like I will feel this weekend when I’m put on the spot re-creating a movie scene. Doing things like that feels scary and exciting in a fun way and I feel good when they’re done – like when you do a big presentation in front of people you’re nervous about and it goes well.
Probably it’s closer in a sense to the way some people feel about bungee jumping or even amusement park rides. Part of your mind thinks it’s the craziest idea ever but you also know it will be fun. And of course, raising money for a good cause provides extra motivation to take the plunge to do something fun you wouldn’t otherwise do.
Okay, thanks for the explanation. Still a niggling doubt though, to be frank. I can understand your viewpoint but not so sure about people who will donate only to see you shave your head etc. Surely a good cause should get donations just because it’s a good cause? Anyway I wish you all the best!
( I enjoy your posts and felt I could ask questions. Hope you don’t mind.)
Not at all. Your question is most welcome! Perhaps it’s a cultural difference. Here there are so many fundraisers based on people pushing past their limits. For several years I raised thousands of dollars for charity in long bicycle rides like http://www.bikerally.org. Other people dance all night. Children try to read as many books as they can, with “sponsors” pledging so much per book or page.
I think for me, raising money by bicycle is out even though I do have the ability to ride indoors. The fact is, people *know* I can do it. Riding 600, 1000, or more kilometres is just something I do. However, those who know me know that I can be shy and reserved by nature. So it is fun for them to see me doing things they know is hard for me (or possibly also hard for them to imagine doing). Perhaps this is why I was nearly half way to my goal after my very first day.
Keep watching. I’ll be posting more things including:
– Recreating two movie scenes with only the costumes and props I have in my house. (One with me, one with Sage)
– Sage is going to give me a box of randomly selected ingredients and like in the TV show “Chopped” I’ll be tasked with making a delicious and good looking meal out of them.
Soon after that there will be karaoke first in English and then after a little more money is raised, in Hindi.
Then I will bake a difficult dish that Sage selects (I have baked only 2-3 times in my life and always very simple dishes).
In the end, I don’t think anyone goes from not wanting to support a charity to being convinced to by a fundraiser like this. The cause is what motivates people. However, where things like this help is that people who already feel inclined to support charities are motivated by seeing someone also sharing their motivation to support a charity and doing something challenging, unusual or entertaining. (Or all of the above.)
Here, by the way, are just a few examples of the sorts of campaigns I’m talking about:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/glam-for-good-support-the-vulnerable-population/
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/shaving-my-beard-for-a-cause/
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/denali-in-a-day/
👍
I loved the accompanying laugh track. Pretty good form except for the very end. LOL