Update from the road: We’re 500 miles into our bike journey from Vancouver, Canada to San Diego, and about a third of the way to our fundraising goal for World Bicycle Relief. We’ve had some crazy adventures along the way and met some amazing people. I’ve definitely learned a few things about planning a charity adventure that will be beneficial the next time around. First, here are a few helpful fundraising ideas that put us well on our way to our goal:

Bar Night–Jess organized the most successful fundraiser near her home in Maryland. She organized with a local bar for a portion of the cover for a night at the bar to go to our fundraiser. The deal was great–buy $10 worth of tickets for 5 beers, and $7 went to World Bicycle Relief. Through publicizing on facebook and via word of mouth, Jess was able to raise $623 in one night, making her the largest individual donor for WBR’s grassroots fundraising!

Basketball Tournament–Brendan organized a basketball tournament at his local courts. For a $5 entry fee, players competed in an afternoon of 2v2 basketball. This even was great because there was absolutely no overhead, so 100 percent of the proceeds went to the fundraiser. Brendan raised over $125 with the tournament.

Jess and Brendan look at the Columbia River as we ride into Portland

E-mail Plea–I sent out over a hundred e-mails publicizing our trip and fundraising website. This has been moderately successful, and we hope that as we get closer to the end of the trip and closer to our fundraising goal, we’ll send out more e-mails asking for people to help us reach our last hurdle.

Blogging–Updating our website (http://teamgreenjello.blogspot.com) has been a fun way to keep in touch with people at home and let people we meet on the road know how we’re doing. We’re using a website similar to CouchSurfing called Warm Showers (warmshowers.org) that matches bicycle tourers with hosts in various cities. We tell all our hosts about our fundraiser and a few of them have even donated (in addition to letting us crash in their house, do laundry, and take showers–people are amazing!).

One thing I would definitely do for my next trip is make business cards before I left that we could hand out to people instead of scribbling down my e-mail or our website on whatever scrap of paper is available. It looks much more professional and they’re practically free from places like Vista Print (vistaprint.com). Since it’s hard to get it shipped to me mid-route, I’ve made some fake business cards and will print them out at the next Kinko’s we see.

I’ve also played around with the idea of doing a few speaking engagements at cities we’re visiting. But I definitely should have organized these before I left–we never know when we’re going to be in a city and with limited internet it’s almost impossible to organize and connect with the right people. I plan on speaking about our trip at my local library and bike shops after we finish the trip, perhaps with a slide show and information about WBR.

I thought I’d also address an interesting issue I’ve been thinking about a lot on the road (and believe me, biking for 6-8 hours a day, there’s plenty of time for thinking). Before I left, as I was dashing out to the store once again to buy some last minute things, my dad commented that if I just stayed home and donated all the money I was spending on this trip to World Bicycle Relief, it’d probably be equal to the amount I’m fundraising. In terms of straight accounting, he’s totally right. But travel is an essential part of who I am, and this is a way for me to travel and support a cause I am passionate about. I feel strongly that we are spreading awareness about the power of bicycles. Most of the people we talk to have never heard of the organization, nor have they considered what a huge impact a simple thing like a bike has on people around the world. I am incredibly lucky to be on this adventure of a lifetime, and I’m so grateful that we’re able to support a worthy organization at the same time.

Until next time, happy trails and I hope your adventures are all a downhill coast!
Melanie