Unique Fundraising: Part I
By Rachele Foo, Content Contributor
When people think of SHN, boredom often pops into mind. Not being able to leave the room for a long time is dreaded, and the one thing that people on SHN look forward to is its end. For some, however, their SHN experience was not all dreary. It was unique and meaningful. This was the case for Chris Snook.
Chris runs daily. Hence, he knew that he had to find a way to keep fit when he was notified to serve a 21-day SHN. He was originally offered an exercise bike; however, when he saw his hotel room, he was pleasantly surprised by its size and realised that it would allow him to run around the room effectively. As he started to expand on the idea, he figured that he could gauge the distance covered based on the time spent. Since he usually runs for about 6km -7km each day outside, he thought that it would be possible to cover about 6km a day in his room. Coincidentally, running about 6km a day for 21 days would mean that he covered three marathons.
As everyone knows, it is hard to stick to a routine, especially when it involves running. Hence, Chris decided to find a solution for this by doing something that would force him to commit, and that is when he came up with the idea of a SHN Marathon Challenge. During this fundraising campaign, he would run three marathons totalling 126.6km in 3 weeks, in his hotel room, without a treadmill.
As the clock was ticking, Chris quickly acted on the idea and researched possible organisations to fundraise. That was when he came across Club Rainbow. He was drawn in by the fact that Club Rainbow supports chronically ill children and their families, who are often not appreciated enough. Additionally, as he was going to raise funds for the organisation from the public, he wanted to do it for an organisation that is trustworthy and recognised for its values, and that was why he was also attracted by Club Rainbow’s governance efforts and transparency.
To increase awareness of his fundraiser, Chris quickly contacted a friend of his, Bjorn Seegers, who runs Muddy Murphy’s, an Irish pub. Bjorn was keen on the idea and hoped to spread positivity in a time of negativity. He recommended the fundraising platform and helped to set the fundraiser up. Additionally, they partnered with Heineken and Asia Pacific Breweries to give three free pints of Heineken to the donors for every $50 donated as appreciation.
During the three weeks, to remain accountable to the people who donated, Chris also recorded the distance covered, the number of steps and his speed to share on the page.
Everything went smoothly, and at the end of the 21 days, Chris celebrated the end of his SHN and the successful completion of his fundraiser.
When asked about what advice he would give to others considering setting up their fundraiser, Chris mentioned that it is important to find a charity that subscribes to the values one personally embraces. Additionally, anyone considering a fundraiser has to be respectful and not pressure others into donating because everyone faces challenges that you might not be aware of - every donation, no matter how big or small, matters.
Chris shares his marathon route in a hotel room …
Lastly, running barefoot in the room is more comfortable than running with trainers. In case you are thinking of being the next SHN fundraiser!
Kickstart a giving back journey to the vulnerable little ones in the community!
Your efforts will be doubled as part of the Fortitude Budget, the government is matching donations to charities dollar-for-dollar till 31 March 2022.
To better support NPOs and givers, there will be NO TRANSACTION FEES on Giving.sg till 31 March 2022. Therefore, 100% of your donations will go to Club Rainbow (Singapore).
Do contact us crscpm@clubrainbow.org and we can guide you along to begin your journey with us today.