On the road to half way

Dear regular viewers,

This year will be a milestone on the walk. I will pass the halfway mark in miles on my trip to walk the length of every street in Grand Rapids. I have lots planned for this blog, including fulfilling promises long awaited and a few surprises.

I am waiting for setup of the Donate link, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still walking and I have not forgotten you!

Thanks for your continued support!

Dan

Nor'easter

As I have mentioned before, the MS Society is a worthy charitable organization, helping people that need it. Most of the money donated ends up with the people that need it most. If you can not donate, tell others about this website and visit the MS Society web page to learn more about this disease.

So, if that is not reason enough to donate, how about this: my next walk will be across Ann Street Bridge and into Northeast Grand Rapids. What is significant about that? I have walked every street North and West of the Grand River.

Some highlights were:

• Stumbling on to OctoberFest after completing a long walk and having a beer and a brat with a friend.
• Seeing a chihuahua defend its house from the crown of the roof.
• Walking with friends and 
• talking about ice cream trucks and software quality
• reunioning
• brothers
• Hearing all the reasons for donating
• The hilarious donation messages I received (I still owe someone a "strut")

Even though there were some "interesting" times as well, like getting chased or scared by dogs and seeing someone get hit by a car (they were all right), I can safely say every walk has been a pleasure, without exception.

Now to the Northeast side of Grand Rapids. Only 400+ miles to go!

Still Walking

The most common question I have had this year is "Are you still walking Grand Rapids?", both solicited and unsolicited.

The answer is yes.

Yes, I have neglected to blog as often as I should.
Yes, I am behind in my pace, but still well within reach of my 100 mile goal for 2010.
Yes, I should finish this year's walk before snow flies.
Yes, in 2011 I will have only 400 more miles to go.
Yes, I really have finished the vast majority of the Northwest side of Grand Rapids.
Yes, I will post some maps soon.
No, there is still not a cure for MS.

Please consider a donation. I realize times are tight, so if you can not donate pass on this site to someone else. If everyone on my list, or their friends, donated $5 today, I would meet my goal and there would be one last email for the year. If not, please check out the information sites to the left and learn about MS and how it affects more people in Michigan than any other state.

I spent a lot of time researching the MS Society and they are a responsible organization. A large percentage of the money donated gets to the people with MS that need it. Check them out at the charity watch sites on the web.

The Donation Site listed on the menu on the right is secure and will credit my fund-raising efforts.

Check out the two earlier posts for this year's Long Walk and thanks for reading!

Donation Site available again

The Donation site is available again in a link on the right. This is a secure site that contributes directly to the MS Society. This is the easiest and safest way for you and me to collect money for the drive. You can donate safely and securely online and have your money start working right away for the MS Society and I won't have to handle the money. (Those who know me best know how forgetful I can be!) I will receive a message for every donation, so I can thank you for your support. The site will tally the total so you can follow along with the drive.

Checks and cash are difficult to handle (I have to write a separate check for cash to send it in) and I have discovered in the past that it takes quite some time for the MS Society to process checks. So please (I'm begging now...) take advantage of the donation site.

For those who do not know me, the site is also available directly from the MS Society's web page (Search for Team AOSE, who has generously let me join, even though I do not ride.) and look for my goofy picture in the team sites. Or donate directly to the MS Society and skip my site. The whole point is to raise money for them!

Thanks again for your support!

I would walk 500 Miles...

After procrastinating last fall to finish walking the first 100 miles of Grand Rapids streets, you would think I would learn a lesson and begin early this year to take advantage of the cooler weather.

Nope.

I started walking again last night. I am about 5-10 miles behind my pace right now, with hopes to catch up this month. The donation site is not yet available, due to technical difficulties. It will be up soon. I have decided to rename this odyssey "The Long Walk in Grand Rapids for the MS Society". Let me know what you think. This year's theme is "I would walk 500 miles" since I have about 500 miles of GR streets left.

Some lessons learned:

I can't take seven months off and expect to walk as far as I was seven months ago.
Grand Rapids is safe and beautiful.
There are no more streets to walk near my house.
It's hard to track miles in new developments, since they are not yet on the map.
A long-time friend shares favorite flowers.

Some thoughts for this year:

Blog more (really, I mean it).
Raise more money for the MS Society.
Publicity (I know I can, and will, walk every street possible in Grand Rapids. It is time to let people know.)

You are the first step. Please tell your friends about the site and post links to this blog and comment on the contents.

Watch for fun stuff coming to this blog.

Thanks for your continued support!

100% miles / 57% funds

This is my last official appeal for this year. For everyone that has been waiting to donate until they see if I am serious, this is it. I have completed well over 100 miles today with a final walk of around three miles. I would like to thank everyone that donated, everyone that walked with me and everyone that told someone else about the MS Society.

As of this point I am 57% of the way to the goal set of $750. I understand that funds are tight, in spite of the "economic turnaround", but this is less than half of what I have raised in previous years. So, here is my offer:

If everyone on my email list that has not yet donated were to donate $5, I would be well above my stated goal. Please consider using the donate link (it still works) on the right and donating $5 to a cause that will help people right here in the Grand Rapids area and fund important research to fight MS. I can not offer much more than a few words on my blog, so if anyone has a burning question about the walk, I will post the answer for a mere $5 donation. Let me know if I should post your name or just leave a comment here on my blog.

If funds are just too tight, consider finding out about MS and the MS Society and tell someone else about it.

Thanks for your consideration. Plans are in the works for next year's walk, covering at least another 100 miles!

Ok, so it has been a long while since I posted. I apologize.

88% of the way there in miles, 50% in pledges.

Please consider pledging $5. If everyone on my email list that has not donated pledged just $5 we would be over the goal of $750. Please consider a pledge today.

I am loving the walks. I have covered a large portion of NW Grand Rapids and have ventured outside familiar neighborhoods (I thought that would take longer). My pace was 1 mile a day through 50 miles until I fell behind. September came with about 75 miles. The past two weeks have been too busy to walk. I will finish soon (100 miles this year), so get in your pledges today!

It will take several years to walk every street, yes, every street in Grand Rapids. That will be 600 miles total. I am already planning for next year (200-250 miles total?)!

25%

I am little over 25% of the way there on miles covered.

I am a little over 15% of the way to the fund raising goal.

Walking has been fun so far, I have had many volunteer to walk with me.

The most beautiful walk so far has been across the Sixth Street bridge.

Thanks to everyone that has supported me so far! Tell your friends and neighbors! Read the information at the MS Society page. Send them the link to this blog (it is the cheapest way to support the cause!)

Frequently asked questions

The walking is going pretty well. I am a little behind schedule, though I am catching up fast. I am hearing a lot of questions that I would like to answer here.

1. Are you going to walk every street or will you use your bike? I am going to walk each and every street. I will use my bike to avoid overlapping streets, to get out of my neighborhood and to avoid walking cul de sacs and turnarounds twice. It will take a number of years, so my goal this year is 100 miles or more.
   
2. Are you going to walk both sides of the street? No, once is enough. There are 600 miles of streets. I want to finish before my son graduates high school.
3. Will you repeat streets? I am trying to avoid overlapping on streets by walking the length of as many streets as possible. I record as few overlaps as possible.
   
4. Some streets are not very safe. Will you walk those streets? Grand Rapids is pretty safe. I will be smart about walking streets in the daylight and with a phone. I hope that some friends will join me. (Chris T. and Barry and Jon W. have offered. Thanks guys! Please let me know if you want to walk too!) I will only walk legal, non-private streets. No walking the S-curve unless they open it again for foot traffic.
5. Has anyone walked with you yet? My son and wife have walked with me. I walk too fast and too long for my son, so he usually joins me on his bike.
   
6. How are you tracking your progress? I am using a pedometer, a AAA map and a pencil, a calculation of 1980 steps to a mile and a spreadsheet to track and translate steps to miles. I am playing with Google Maps to track progress, though it is not really designed for this kind of mapping, and it does not appear to display all the paths on one page.
7. Is that pedometer really accurate? It really is. I went on a four mile walk the other day and the number of steps was right on. I did have a short reading the other day, so I generally check against a map. The readings are never too long, so everyone will get their money's worth.
   
8. Did you really see a guy on a bike get hit by a car? Yup. He was about 2 feet from me. He got up and walked away. Neither he nor the guy in the car were paying attention to where they were going.
9. Why are you doing this? MS attacks the central nervous systems, sometimes stops people from moving as they want, sometimes causes memory failures or blurry vision. The MS Society does a good job of helping people that need it. I can not raise money riding a bike, so I walk, or shave my head. People actually donate money to the MS Society because of these silly things I do. So I keep doing them.
   

Taking a long walk

Friends,

I am starting late on the fundraiser this year. I am not shaving my head. I have a new stunt that actually involves more work on my part.

The fundraiser went pretty well last year, considering the economy. I have noticed that not as many people are interested in my shaved head since my hair is not long anymore. I also got a lot of attention with my bald head at the end of the fundraiser instead of the beginning, when I really needed it.

So, this year's agenda is:

1. Get noticed early in the campaign, not later
   
2. Let more people know
3. Make it easier to donate
4. Update the blog more often
   

I hope the orange hair helps objective number one (It is no "Super Blonde" like the package said. It is more of a "Patchy Orange Highlights").

Letting more people know means starting a walk that leads down every street in Grand Rapids. Every street within the city limits that legally and safely carries pedestrians is on my map. Since there are 600 miles of roads in Grand Rapids, this is a multi-year project. This year my pedometer and I are planning on covering 100-150 miles of the the good old Northwest of GR. Let me know where your neighborhood is and you can walk with me. Most importantly, let other people know how to donate, even if you can not spare a dime. Also, if you know how to map my walk progress nicely online, please let me know.

Steve and Team AOSE helped me get my own donation spot on the Bike MS Website this year, so I can track donations in my name. So donating will be as easy as clicking the Donate link to the right. This is a safe and secure site and a very large portion of the money actually ends up helping people instead of paying administrators. Thanks to Steve and Team AOSE for letting this slacker join the effort as a virtual rider.

The donation site is available now for your donating pleasure!

Thanks again for your support and God Bless!

Unshaved head

Since there were not enough donations, and since I needed to set a good example for Frankie, who needed a haircut for school, I received my first haircut in 10 years (not counting shaved heads).
I told the hairdresser, a real good sport, to be creative. She really didn't care for the lack of direction, but I told her it couldn't be goofier than it was now, or goofier than a shaved head. After some deep thought, she decided on a Faux-Hawk. See the before and after pictures below.

Thanks to everyone that donated! The total so far is $620, though there appear to be some missing donations, so I will report back if the total changes.

(I think the new haircut really brings out my Polish nose...)

All the pledges in...?

The total so far is...

$620.

I am going to wait for news from Steve on the final amount, since I know that there are a few online donations made in the past couple of days and Steve has the week off. It does not look like we made the goal of $1000, though it is possible.

Cody and Friends Dog Walk and Wash

The above picture is a special visual thanks from everyone that donated to Frankie's fundraiser for Gilda's Club, complete with Frankie, my lovely wife, clean and tired dogs and two great friends that rode in our wagon. That little black and white dog, Candy, made it a full mile, while the brown dog, Emily, made it 3/4 of a mile at the ripe old age of 16! And she still had energy to fight the nail clipper! There is always time to make a donation!

Last week closing fast!

The last day for this year's drive is 22 August. Steve has to have the money mailed in by Wednesday, 20 August. Website donations will be up until 22 August. It is always possible to make a donation past this point, it will just not count toward this year's drive. Remember: $1,000 by 22 August, or the head will not be shaved!

Donations have been slow this year (less than $200 so far). For everyone that has been waiting to make a donation, now is the time!

Please take some time to find out a little about MS.

Cody and Friends Dog Walk and Wash

Thanks to everyone that pledged money to Frankie for Cody and Friends Dog Walk and Wash. He raised $180 total. Our dogs, Candy and Emily were not as tired out as last year. Emily (16 years old) made it about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile before giving up. They still had some energy left to fight the dog washers! I will post a picture soon and you can see why 1 mile is a long walk for these dogs.

Just a few short weeks...

Yes, my hair is sufficiently long (and goofy looking) enough to start another Shave this Head campaign for the MS Society. Many things have moved the date to this late August.

Since Steve wraps up his campaign for the MS ride in August, we need to wrap up soon. So, here is the deal: all pledges and submissions must be in by 18 August 2008. My goal this year is $1,000. No more free shaves this year, so get your pledges in early!

I know that I have yet to make $1,000 in pledges and money is tight with the price of gas and corn so high. The difference is that I am working with a great new team of people. It is much larger than the team I used to work with, and I fully expect to play both teams off each other to increase donations. 8^)

Please make your donations payable to the MS Society. Since checks take a long time to process, I recommend using Steve's secure donation site. Just let me know that you made a donation, so I can count it toward my goal. I will be happy to split donations with Steve, since it all ends up at the MS Society.

Feel free to leave a comment here if you made a donation and do not have my email or snail mail address.


Frankie is also taking donations...

for Gilda's Club Grand Rapids' Cody and Friends Dog Walk and Wash. Cody is a great kid that started this event and now it is a big fund raiser for Gilda's Club. Gilda's Club was a God-send for our family after Kelaine's diagnosis. Sign up at my desk or, better yet, donate online at Gilda's Club Website before 9 August 2008. Just choose Cody and Friends Dog Walk and Wash in the selector on the right hand side and leave a note saying it is for Kelaine and Frankie. Bring your dog for the walk and get them washed and pampered too!

Thanks!

"Are you growing your hair out?"

The most asked question for the months of May - July has been, "Are you growing your hair out?". The answer is yes, but only so I can shave it again. No dates or news right now - just be ready for a quick campaign this year.

I have only updated the links to the right and will have more news soon.

On the night of the Shave, both of our cameras were out of commission. Luckily, Larry stepped in to snap these pictures. All of them are from before I broke out the razor. I have one more post-Bic picture to post and a special mohawk picture for those of you who remember my punk days.

There's one bag of chips left. There was $27.50 worth of chips, but there was $48.80 in the till. Thanks so much to everyone for the contributions.

We are so close to being over the top! Remember to put in your pledge at Steve's site.

Over the Top?

Thanks to everyone for all their help and donations. Thanks also for spreading the word - that has been the biggest help of all. The head has been shaved now and is growing back fast. I even shaved three days after the event to keep the bald dome longer.

Many have asked how the fund-raising is going this year and I have said, "It looks like the biggest year yet!". I continue to say that, though we are just a few dollars shy. So if there is a pledge waiting on payment (three right now) or you have been waiting to put the fund-raising over the top, now is the chance. I will post the pictures of the shave when we go over the top.

There are still Chips left for everyone here at work. This has gone way beyond my expectations ($40 and climbing and there are still half a box of chips left!) They are in the Cafe just across from the Blue Room, so dig in (and take some chips! I'm not complaining about the extra cash, just have some chips as well!)

It's not too late....

It has been very busy since I last posted. I am actually in a lunch meeting now - multitasking. The big news is tonight is the night for the shave!

Today is not the last day for donations though! I will continue to accept donations. If there is a pledge amount you have in mind, please let me know. There are still other opportunities to contribute. The snacks at the office have been very successful so far. I may put a few out in the cafe as well. After the Shave, I will post information about donating for ad space on my head (yes, ad space on my head). Also, I am coming up with a scheme for a chance at a cheesecake, pending a run in the "test kitchen".

Lastly, thanks to everyone who contributed in any way, told their friends, bought chips or had positive thoughts about this endeavor. All the details are not in yet, but it looks like contributions are greater than last year and may exceed the first year.

Trickle of Pledges and Contributions

There has been a trickle of pledges and contributions coming in since day one. Thanks to everyone who has contributed! The secure online donation site is just a click away - see the previous blog for instructions. If you see me, cash or check (made out to MS Society for instant receipt for tax purposes) is fine too. If the time is not right now, feel free to email or let me know a pledge amount.

Kelaine's website has a hint to just some of the fun I have planned. I am going to try the cheesecake recipe that has made Steve's pledge drive so famous (top-secret recipe for top contributors). I have not tried the recipe yet, though I have tried the result and it is incredible. I have an Alton Brown DVD with some tips and tricks as well, so I figure I can't go wrong. More news to come on this.

I plan on offering snacks in the office for a modest price for some of your spare change as well. Watch for an email.

Thanks for all of your support!

How to donate

Wow! What a great response already. Unfortunately, most have responded with "How do I donate?" I have updated the links on the left for Steve's Donation site. Steve Stetler is the in the middle of the picture on the the left and the man who got me started in all of this by riding 150 miles in two days. This is all to help him and his team with fund-raising for a great cause. Just click on the "Donate to Steve" button at the top. If online donations are not your thing, send me an email pledge or send me the pledge in the mail. Make out checks to "MS Society" and get the tax benefits as well. Any donations directly to the MS Society would also be great, though Steve and his team can't count those in their total. Either way, please leave a comment and let me know how much you are donating - just for my records.

Next blog is all about surprises....