In a recent e-mail exchange with 67Heaven, I mentioned the fact that I was considering doing a 'coast to coast' drive in my 73. I live in British Columbia, on the west & wet coast and my parents and siblings are all on Prince Edward Island which is on the east coast.

67Heaven made an interesting suggestion- why not make it a CF fund raising tour for my favorite charity? Get some sponsorships arranged, meet with CF members across the country and do some good for a worthy cause. Indeed, an interesting idea!!

I've never undertaken such a venture but I have the good fortune to know a person who successfully completed a trip around the world in a wheelchair.



In 1987, Rick Hanson, a paraplegic as a result of a spinal cord injury, completed the Man in Motion tour, wheeling his wheelchair over 40,000 km (25,000 miles) around the world to raise awareness about disabilities. If you're interested, his website is http://www.rickhansen.com with lots of details about the tour and what Rick is doing now as president of the Man in Motion Foundation (supporting research into spinal cord injuries).

While I would not anticipate success like Rick has created, it shouldn't be hard to raise a few thousand dollars (or loonies, in our case :D) to help fund Prostate Cancer research. I've participated in numerous fund raisers over the years, most recently in an annual event called "Cops for Cancer" which has raised over $800,000 in the past six years. The hallmark of these events was the head shaving. Basically, we police officers had people sponser us to shave our heads in a public forum. The first time for me was in a shopping mall. It was, well, quite an experience. I discovered scars that I never knew I had! Plus, the first time you shave your head, it's a sensory overload- every breath of wind, every drop of rain really gets your attention.



So what do you guys think? If my experience with the Cops for Cancer relates at all, what we did was have local groups undertake fundraising and then have a series of events where the funds were collected. So I would need to have groups of CF members across the US and Canada doing fundraising and then the culmination would be my cross country tour, collecting alms for cancer research. Do you think it'll work? I'm open to any and all input.

 

sure i am not a good fund raiser althoe you can count an my support with some cash

docmow

 

Always a great idea to attempt a fund raiser. Have a group meet you in the west with money they raised, stop along the way to pickup more vettes and collect their money.

You could organize a sister run from the US, coast to coast.

Even make it a North American charity run. This could allow us to join the group closest to us.

Could even run the US from east to west with a possible border meeting in the middle?

 

I like the spirit of the idea, but I'm going to play devil's advocate.

I'm not sure how much you'll be able to inspire people to donate for merely driving a Corvette cross country. Usually these types of events involve some physical excertion (long distance run/walk) or else some comical humiliation (dunk tank, head shaving). In other words, besides the charity itself, people feel like they're paying for something.

I think you'd need to find a way to sweeten the deal. Maybe sell rides in the C3 along the way. Maybe offer a ticket-fixing service. ;)

On the other hand (now I'll play devil's adversary), you will be able to collect a bunch of checks from CF types that you meet with along the way. But keep in mind that any of this can lengthen your time between BC and PEI by a lot. FWIW :)

- Mike Greene

 

I was aware of all of your points, Mike, which is one of the reasons why I cast this thread open, to see how people would react to the concept. If no-one was interested, the concept will die a quiet death. I'm not going to beat myself up for nothing.

The success would greatly depend on the local organizations because, as you stated, a guy driving his car won't inspire much of a following. The "Mac in Motion" tour would be more about CF then about Mac, trust me. Believe it or not, I'm a rather reserved person.

I was thinking I would drive across the northern states, making 8 stops or so, spend a week with my folks and then drive back across Canada. The US has a much greater population than Canada (for those of you who didn't already know ;)) so I figured 4 stops max; Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver (home). It would really depend on the locals as there's no way I could organization something long distance.

Let's say each 'stop' is a nature of a CF get-together, a show & shine event with a corn roast/barbeque and that's it. The hat gets passed around. Let's face it- we're appealing to CF members at the right level; a chance to show off their cars for a worthy cause.

Getting time off of work shouldn't be a big problem. The section I'm in is not a 'response driven' section and I've got lots of accumulated leave.

Serious donations get tax receipts here in Canada. I don't know about US tax law, so someone south of the 49th parallel will have to let me know on that. Each event should be able to raise a couple hundred bucks (or loonies, in our case) with a minimum of effort. If there is a motivated organizer at an event, the sky's the limit. My best year collecting for Cops for Cancer, I raised $2200 CAN (that's like $1500 USD) myself and there were others who raised more than I did, just to watch us shave our heads.

 

I like that. By throwing in the charity angle, turnout would probably be better too, because we'd have a better reason to give our wives for going. Obviously, you won't be making it through L.A., but if you did, you could certainly count me in.

Donations over a certain amount require a receipt in the U.S. also. I could find out the amount. You might save some headache by having checks made out to the charity rather than to Mac in Motion. Then you won't have to deal with any of the regulations and paperwork.

- Mike Greene

 

Count me in Mac. If this is a go, I'll talk to SuperFast80, CF's Southern Ontario Event Coordinator and we'll get Ontario ready for you. Knowing Flav, he'll talk it up with the Great Lakes Coordinator and others.

You've got a place to stay when you come through Toronto.
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