Archive: Around Town

Ask IMOAsk IMO

 Lansing's Advice Column


Dear IMO,

A friend of mine is running in a marathon to raise money for a charity. He has sent me a pledge card along with a note about the charity and his decision to support it. I’m getting a bit tired of family and friends who have taken on these causes and expect me to support them. If they want to run, bike, swim, or pogo-stick for charity, I think that’s great, but I don’t want to serve as their source of revenue. Do you think that I’m right to feel this way?

Greg

Dear Greg,

You have the right to feel any way you want about any topic, but there are consequences to every action. Your friends have decided to raise monies for charity and have invited you to participate in this endeavor. They will run, swim, or walk for a considerable distance, and in turn, you are asked to give some amount to the charity. In one sense, both you and your friend are joining together as a team to help find a cure, provide clean water, or improve the living conditions for those less fortunate.

My brother recently ran his second marathon for a charity devoted to finding a cure for cancer. He along with some 117 donors (family and friends) raised over $10,000 for the charity. He begins his training some 7 months before the race. Several hours are set aside each day to train. His charity provides a professional trainer to assist him and the other runners. Volunteers work with him and the others providing assistance, encouragement, and support in many ways. On the actual day of the race, everyone is in place ready to do their part so he and the others can finish the race.

If he so chooses, he is assigned a “running partner” who is being treated by this particular charity. His running partner is an 8 year old with brain cancer. One look into this young man’s eyes and even the most cynical person is ready to put on a pair of sneakers and run. For this young boy, every day is a marathon of treatments, tests, and endless consultations with physicians and specialists. Again, it is a team approach as everyone focuses their energies on finding a cure for this 8 year old.

The real question you need to ask yourself is this, “do I want to be on this team?” If you feel that your participation can make a difference, then join the team. You are not a source of revenue; you are a member of a very special team. Never, ever forget it!

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