The Two-Line Pass

Well, the 826 Boston Write-A-Thon is now over, and I raised by far the most money out of all the 43 people involved. A lot of the 826 people have congratulated me and wondered if they could pick my brain about how I raised about $2,750 more than the next-closest participant (I was totally keeping score the whole time, though it feels like I shouldn’t have), but I don’t know how much help I’ll be able to offer them.

(Addendum: I’ve juuuuust been informed that though the event is over, you can still donate to 826 via the Write-A-Thon page through Oct. 31. That means that though the fundraiser fell short of its goal by about $1,800, you and I can help bridge that gap before the end of the month. Let’s go!)

The secret, if you want to call it that, to my fundraising success is actually pretty simple: I happen to be connected through Twitter and the blogosphere to the most generous fans and/or writers in all of sports. There’s nothing else to say about it. I know Kevin Paul Dupont might not necessarily agree with this — and certainly $3,758.10 doesn’t match Globe Santa, so I feel like I must have wasted my time — but bloggers (and even some of the actual Mainstream Media people with whom I’ve crossed paths) overwhelmingly made a series of a few dozen posts on a website I never update a smashing success.

Some real basic stats for you: In all, 96 people contributed to my Write-a-Thon project and, again, raised $3,758.10. I was told at some point in the process that it was important to keep track of your average contribution, so that number works out to $35.15 per person, which is way bigger than a punk like Barack Obama gets I bet. Included in those donations were 19 on the final day alone, totaling $685.10.

Altogether, you guys helped pay for three kids to get an entire school year’s worth of after-school tutoring absolutely free of charge, as well as whatever the leftover $758.10 will cover. Believe me when I tell you, it covers more than you probably think.

And as a person who works for a living, I know how much it means for you to give even $10 to, y’know, anything. Least of all a nonprofit organization not located in your home cities, and especially when there are so many other causes that are just as worthy of time, attention and resources.

I see the good 826 Boston does for kids’ lives every week when I volunteer there every Wednesday afternoon, and I know how much it means to the kids who get help with their homework and discover a love of writing through its various programs. Some take to it better than others, obviously, but I hope all you bloggers won’t begrudge their work in another 20 years when we’re old and crusty and they’re willing to work for whatever’s less-than-free. “Thoughtloggers,” we shouldn’t grumble, “try matching Twitter fundraisers.”

I do also want to say that if you took the time to read up about 826 Boston, you should know that there are other 826 programs elsewhere in the country, and many are located in or near NHL markets. There’s 826 Chicago for Blackhawks fans, 826 DC for Caps boosters, 826 LA if you like the Kings or Ducks, 826 Michigan if you’re a Red Wings fan, 826 NYC if you back the Rangers, Islanders or Devils, 826 Seattle for when the Oilers move there, and Sharks partisans can take a trip down to San Francisco to visit 826 Valencia, the original. (Word on the street is that in the next year or two, Wild fans might be able to help out as well.)

All of these tutoring centers, not just the one in Boston, do great things for local students, who typically attend underserved schools, every day. And even if there’s not an 826 where you are, there are sure to be other tutoring centers that would love for you to swing by and help. Even if you can’t, dropping off stuff like school supplies and children’s books will almost certainly be welcomed. You should see the number of erasers these kids go through. It’s crazy.

So again, a huge, huge, huge thank you not only to everyone who donated, but also those who RTed my dumb messages and posts, had me on radio shows, and otherwise helped to get the word out about the wonderful things 826 Boston does. You really don’t know how much I appreciate it.

Full list of donors (in alphabetical order), some of whom I know, many of whom I don’t, but to all of whom I owe considerable gratitude:

Jasmine Arroyo, Katie Baker, Sarah Barnett, Jay Baruchel, Patrick Boyle, Craig Brownstein, Maria Camacho, Cristin Carr, Justin Cerenzia, Kasia Chalko, Jeffrey Chapman, Prairie Clayton, Jennifer Conrad, Matt Costabile, Erin Cozens, Will Crist, Craig Custance, Thomas Drance, Spencer Dubas, Burke Dunphy, Richard Elliott, John Evans, Nate Ewell, Amy Fiscus, Cameron Frye, Megan Frye, Allison Gaine, Sean Gentille, Cornelius Hardenbergh, Ryan Harnedy, Brittney Hemela, Dave Henderson, Fredrik Hilding, Brad Holbrook, Dave Hurwitz, Jo Innes, Jeff Israel, Brian Kelley, Arik Knapp, Eric Lam, David Lasseter, Brian LeBlanc, Dave Lozo, Cameron MacEachern, Mike Machnik, Jennifer MacRostie, George Malik, Jordan Marlatt, Will Martinez, Sean McIndoe, Dana McIvor, Mike McMahon, Kristin Merbach, Matthew Milne-Smith, Andrew Monrreal, Harrison Mooney, Will Moran, Mike Morse, Dan Nemchek, Vincent Nguyen-Hoai, Michael Obrand, Colin Odneal, Jason Orach, Andrew Panturescu, Zach perry, Jen Porter, Nicole Raymond, Jeremy Reid, Joe Rice, Nicholas Rockwell, Julian Sanchez, Dan Saraceni, David Sarch, JD Sarginson, Steven Savoldelli, Nick Schneider, Jason Segarra, Jared Shafran, Alan Siegel, Glen Sincic, Justin Soderberg, Jesse Spector, “Fake Steinberg,” Anna Swartz, Robert Tufts, Kelly Twomey, Julie Veilleux, Ulreh Vogt, Tommy Watson, Naluturuk Weetaluktuk, Shane Wensel, Travis Wertz, Greg Wyshynski, and Joe Yerdon.

(If I missed your name, please let me know and also forgive my depthless stupidity.)

Seriously, thank you all. Let’s party.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 12th, 2012 at 2:39 pm and is filed under Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.