Ahhh, Wednesday. The middle of the week. It’s time for me to come up with another creative way to say “It’s time for my What’s Up With OJ Wednesday Blog.” Well, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is I don’t have a creative way to announce my WUWOJW blog today. But the good news is at least I wrote it.
First things first, in case you’ve never been here before, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I decided I wanted to find a way to use my running to make a difference in the autism world. My idea is to try to run 60 marathons in 2010 to try to raise money and awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 23 since January 1. Only 37 to go. Sort of. I’ll explain that in a bit.
Anyways, I write about various things here in my blog about four times a week and give a little glimpse about what it’s like to go through all of this. I’m going to read all these blogs at the end of the year, because it’s all such a blur and I’m going to want to see what happened.
Since today is Wednesday, I’m giving my weekly rundown on what’s going on with Operation Jack. Most of it is going to involve fundraising today.
What You’ve Done
I don’t have the exact numbers of what has been raised. I do certain things well, like running. I went 3:06 last Sunday in my 23rd marathon of the year. Finances aren’t my thing, though. I messed up on a transfer this week and bounced a payment. My wife will probably be mad at me for mentioning that. Oh well.
Anyways, my dad does certain things well, too. He ran his first half-marathon last Sunday in 2:53. A for effort, but maybe running isn’t totally his thing. But he’s been a CPA for the past 42 years. So he does a little better managing finances than I do and he takes care of the Operation Jack Autism Foundation. So according to him, plus according to what I can see from our Kintera site, I think we’re at somewhere around $19,000 raised. So we’re doing well, although I’d like to be better. I’m sure things will pick up as the year goes on and I’m still holding out hope that we’ll hit $100,000.
But that’s where we are for now. I get asked how we’re doing pretty frequently, so I know a lot of you probably wonder. That’s how we’re doing.
What You Can Do
Well, I haven’t asked in a while, but if you support what I’m trying to accomplish, the biggest thing I can ask you to do is to try to spread the word. If you’re on Twitter, let people know about me (@operationjack). If you’re on Facebook, “like” the fan page, join the group and invite your friends to do the same. If you know people outside of Facebook and Twitter who might be interested, drop them a line and invite them to check out the site.
Runners and people impacted by autism tend to take an interest in Operation Jack, but other folks thing I’m crazy, too, which is why I’m doing this. So please, spread the word. If nobody finds out, it’s almost a waste.
Also, I won’t lie … fundraising is a big part of this. Creating chapters for Train 4 Autism is a big part of it, but I’m definitely trying to raise money. I have sponsor levels, there are easy ways for you to raise money without even contributing money (I know, the economy is tough) … I’m not counting on any one person to make or break Operatoin Jack (unless Bill Gates finds the site), but I’m hoping that little tiny efforts from a whole lot of people can go a long ways.
If you have any ideas for anything, don’t hesitate to send them my way. If you work for a company that might be able to donate something for raffles we’ll have in the future or if you have a good idea that I’m not using (I’m smart enough to know I have no clue what I’m doing), PLEASE email me! I don’t know everything about everybody who’s following along, so if you have a unique way you think you can help, let me know!
What I Might Do
I’ve repeated this, but I’ll probably keep repeating it for a little while. I was talking with a runner named Lance Haney who lives in Alabama and he wants me to run Memphis on December 4. The problem is, I’m not dropping my race on December 5, so this would boost the total for the year to 61.
I’ve talked with Lance a little, and he’s a good guy and wants me to try to pace him to a 3:10 in Memphis. And I really want to do that for him. So we came up with a deal. He set up a fundraising page and if he hits his goal, I’ll be out there. I’d love to be there — I’ve heard great things about the race and I need to avenge my two poor races I’ve already run in Tennessee this year.
I Think That’s All For Today
I write these at night and I’m starting to get a little sleepy. Plus, I want to take an ice bath. So I need to get off the computer. Have a great Wednesday, everybody. I’ll be back tomorrow for my weekend preview.