Blogathon 2005 Update: My Charity
Category: Blogathon...
Posted Thursday, June 23, 2005 at 04:47 PM [GMT-6]

While things seem relatively quiet over at the Blogathon 2005 website, I can assure you that progress is being made in planning the Gazette's participation. Among other things, I've selected a worthy organization to be the recipient of what I have no doubt will be some very generous pledges. And the recipient is...

...Midland Fair Havens, a relatively new (founded in 1995) local organization whose mission is to "equip single mothers and their children for self-sufficient living by addressing their educational, vocational, spiritual, and emotional needs in residential and non-residential settings." I've visited with DiAnn Koehl, the Executive Director, and received her enthusiastic agreement to let us do this for them (once I managed to convince her that all those weird things she'd heard about bloggers were, more than likely, exaggerations), so we can now make this official announcement.

I've also gotten an energetic endorsement from fellow Midland blogger and man-about-town Jimmy Patterson, who also happens to serve on the Midland Fair Havens board.

Now, I realize that when I first starting thinking about participating in the Blogathon, I mentioned that I was considering blogging on behalf of a global organization like World Vision or the Red Cross. Those are certainly worthy entities doing important work. But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that this is an opportunity to make a difference locally. I don't know how much we can raise together, but whatever amount we're blessed with will be important and useful to Midland Fair Havens, and the families to which it ministers.

So, even if you're not living in Midland, I hope you'll still consider participating with me as a sponsor. In the end, you're helping people...probably people just like your neighbors or co-workers or fellow students, and that transcends geography.

We'll be saying more about the work of Midland Fair Havens in the days to come, but I wanted to give you the latest news so you can start thinking about your involvement. Feel free to drop me a note or leave a comment if you have any questions. And, just as a reminder, all pledges will be made through the Blogathon website, and all donations will be made directly to the intended organizations. Blogger hands will never touch pledge nor payment, and I think we can all be happy with that arrangement.

On a semi-related note, I'm finalizing plans for the big blog push. I can tell you at this point that there will be prizes involved, but you'll probably have to share my pain in order to claim them. And, yes, record covers will be scanned.

Stay tuned...it's gonna be a wild ride!

Technorati tags: Blogathon | Midland Fair Havens