There Is More We Can Do.
Is there no better way? Twenty-two teams of four plus various faculty and their offspring descend upon the weather hardened Tabor Academy track. For many it is there first time seeing the track, unaware until this moment the possessed one or a team to go along with it. Today these one hundred or so people gather together for a noble purpose, to raise money for cancer research. How are they going to do this you ask; simple enough every one will just run around the track for four hours. The day goes off smoothly, encountering only some slight rain a couple cramps and a few sore muscles. As a community we feel good we did a decent job raising money for those who need it and we ran a little, listened to a little music, and ate some food.
Well after being one of those who participated in the Dana Farber Lap-A-Thon I think the Tabor community can do better than a decent job. Allow us to take a critical look at this fundraising event; solely with the intentions of improving it. Where did we go wrong? The instant the word free is mentioned. Signs up all around school project the fact that the event will be catered with free hot dogs, hamburgers, water, and more, all FREE! The truth is this food was donated and the cost had to come out of someone’s pocket. That money could have easily been donated instead of used to draw a crowd. As a community are we so self-centered and preoccupied with ourselves that we can only be conjured to do community service by the alluring smell of recently cooked farm animals? This is not to mention the select few who decided to show up to the event and help themselves to the accommodations without participating or donating.
Even with it’s flaws the event as I said before went well all in all and Tabor raised money for a worthy cause. But looking at fund raising with a critical eye brings up good questions on a global scale. How much money is wasted on fundraising? Banners, balloons, bands, and burgers are all provided to donators at fundraisers. Taking solely into account the fundraisers at high schools around the world the amount of money loss at fundraisers to these attractions, must tally up to the millions. Taking a broader look at fundraising in general I hypothesize it is probably somewhere in the hundred millions. We must shake the notion that in order to donate our time or money we need something in return. To help the save the whales I don’t need a free t-shirt, or in order to research cancer treatments I don’t need a free hamburger.
Not to mention my qualms with the annual walk for hunger held in Boston. A twenty mile walk is a great way to create thousands of hungry stomachs, which all get filled with, “Free” food along the way.
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I completely agree. It is absurd that Mr. Sousa had to resort to that to draw a crowd. The food should have cost something, the t-shirts should have cost something, and there should have been a bake sale all benefiting Mr. Sousa’s cause. I’m pretty sure he was not too excited with the outcome of the event because he was aiming for much higher than he actually raised. This community really came together last year for the first Lap-A-Thon. Next year, I hope this is an actual community event, with maybe even citizens from Marion participating, day student parents and families, everyone can get involved. Maybe even get a car wash going. There should be more organization in this event and I hope it is an even greater success than the first year.