As we approach the final fundraising deadline June 1, I am only $1,000 away from being fully funded and able to complete the last 5 months of this trip. It’s been a great journey full of its own ups and downs and I am excited to see what is in store for the rest. Without further adieu, here are the top 10 reasons to help me raise the remaining 7%:
- I bring love, hope, and laughter everywhere I go. Sure, many people can do that… but not like I do.
- I Write awesome blogs to keep you updated on the adventure. Admittedly I don’t write often because I chose to leave my laptop at home… but that leaves me doing reason #1 above more often while everyone else is watching every season of Friends and How I Met Your Mother. The kids benefit and so do I.
- I connect with people in a different way. I have plenty of my own struggles and questions with Christianity… but in the long run, that makes me much better at debating the hard questions and showing the human side. Therefore, many people we meet relate better to my style and honesty.
- I’m useful. Let’s be honest, I build stuff, fix things, lead projects, get dirty, carry the weight, analyze problems, find solutions, and never let hardship or circumstance allow my team to turn around.
- It’s a whole year! 1 year without sex, pornography, beer/alcohol (personal challenge, not policy), hot showers, comfortable beds (even my sleeping pad is flat. Ugh.), clean sheets regularly, a gym, protein shakes, a fridge full of food, eating something other than rice every day, random roadtrips, surfing, mountains, snowboarding, my mountain bike, alpine fishing trips, bacon, and all those other things I forgot to mention. Some are not so hard… others are harder… but they all add up. I can do without most of them. But no mountains?!?!?! Really?!?!
- I’m a pretty good dude. Really. I like people. People like me. I build relationships well. It comes in handy now and then. And more importantly, it represents God, the World Race, and ‘Merica well… all over the world. #Winning
- I’m 93% of the way there. 93%!!! I gave up beer for a year. Donate your next case of Bud Light or PBR or craft brew or whatever to me. Seriously, $15 can put a smile on a child’s face for like a month and then you can down your next case knowing that you’re a good person and you made someone’s life 10x better.
- You wish you could travel the world but you’ve got a job and a wife and a dog and kids and stuff. Disney land is cool too. But what would you give to visit 11 countries in a year? Live vicariously through me and then go put on your favorite college team shirt and have a BBQ with all your friends and enjoy summer!
- I give back more with my own dollars. I bought soccer balls and wood for goalposts in Swaziland and took the big kids into town for a day of KFC and video games (They never get to leave the orphanage). In Thailand I bought an armful of movies and snacks and had a party. In Nepal I traveled everywhere with pockets full of candy for all the kids we met while trekking. In Cambodia I bought 4 mattresses so the kids wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. I’ve also raised over $15k for other non-World Race charities since January. I’m not saying this because I’m applying for Sainthood; I’m saying it because I’m a good investment. I give back more. I love doing it. And I Can’t wait until I don’t have to worry about being fully funded so I can do it more. Seriously, if I can raise this next $1,000 it means that I will spend that much more of my budget for this year on doing awesome things for the people we meet.
- Did I mention no beer and no sex and no bacon for a year??? You ever try to do all 3 of those? Holy crap. That right there should be enough to raise $15k.
I hope you enjoyed this blog. If any of it offended you, I’m sorry. I have no idea what my reader audience is like. At least everyone can imagine the sad world of a year without bacon.
To donate, click here: https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20Dave%20Smith
You can also share this awesome post on your facebook, donate a tweet, put it in your Google+, and leverage any other social media outlets you have. This is the final push folks. Let’s get er’ done.
As an added bonus, here is the video from our month in Nepal. I wasn’t joking. Kids love me. And I love them. See embed below.
Dave
