Sometimes, you have the best intentions of doing something and then the rest of your life stuff gets in the way. That’s how it’s been regarding helping the husband raise money for his MS150 ride this year! I rode the MS150 with him for a couple of years and the last few years he’s done it on his own, as the kiddo has cut into the training time. In case you aren’t familiar, the MS150 is about a 150 mile bike ride done in two days to benefit the National MS Society. He’s riding the one from Houston to Austin. It really snuck up on us as it’s THIS weekend!
The one thing Jason loves about the fact that I knit is that he gets hand-knit socks that he wears while cycling. He likes them better than any other socks. He loves the socks to be in bright colors, the wilder the better, so at Sock Summit, he helped me pick out yarn to make him some socks. I’m almost finished with the second one!
So, in light of this, I’m borrowing a little contest from Carrieoke (hope you don’t mind, Carrie!)
For every $5 you donate to his ride, you get a chance in a drawing (see below for other ways to win, too)
The prize – socks hand-knit for you by me
The deadline – Wednesday, April 21st (luckily the deadline for fundraising extends a bit past the ride itself)
Here are the instructions to donate using a major credit card:
1. Go to his rider profile and click on “donate to participant” below the little goal thermometer.
2. It will have a few monetary options there for you, just put the amount you wish to donate in the blank.
3. You don’t have to make your donation public to be entered in the drawing (though I did accidentally when I was testing to make sure you could donate $5), just put your first name and email address in the “personal note” area of the form there, so I can contact you if you win!
I’m terrible at asking for money. I generally stink at fundraisers, but this is a great cause and even though I’m not riding this year, I want to be a part of it. My most memorable MS150 moment was driving through a small town and seeing a man by himself on the side of the road with a poster that said “Thanks for Riding for Me”. He was yelling for us and cheering us on and to put a face to the cause was a turning point for me.
If you are already contributing to great causes and can’t contribute monetarily (or if you are contributing $5 but want an extra chance), I’ll give you a chance to win if you leave a comment with either your favorite fund raising experience or your biggest fund raising disaster. 🙂
onestitchshort 
I know what you mean about being bad at asking for money–I had the same problem every year when I did the MS Walk in Texas. Of course, it’s easier for me to put a face on it since I have MS myself…although I always walked for other parents who have a harder time than I do.
I’d always done the walk with my family–it was Jeffrey in his stroller and I the first year (Steve was deployed), then Jeffrey, Steve and I the second (I’d just learned I was pregnant), and finally Jeffrey, Steve, Lexie, and I the third. But the fourth year, the forecast was for rain and the kids had the sniffles. So I decided to walk by myself. It started raining at mile 1 of the 5 miles I was walking, and I’d failed to bring either an umbrella or even a ball cap with a brim to keep my glasses clear. The rain got harder and harder before stopping just as I finished–I was soaked clear through by the time I crossed the finish line! 🙂
What yarn do you use to knit him socks? Chris bikes a lot but he thinks hand knit socks would be hot…