0 to $500 in 26 hours

I can't believe it, but we've done it already: since yesterday at 12:31 PM you guys have donated $500!! I'm stunned, and totally inspired and hopeful by what's been accomplished in such a short amount of time. So rather than stop now, I'm upping my goal to $1000. Let's see how much we can raise. And of course, thank you so much for your generosity!

Here's the original post about why I'm running and what the money supports. And you know me and my love for stats, so here's one for you: It only took 31 people to get $500, making the average contribution a little over $16 a person. Woo hoo! 🙂

Howard Dean rules Meetup

I hadn't been over to Meetup, the web site that "organizes local interest groups," in a while. So when I visited last night, I was astounded by a statistic I saw on the front page. Meetup has 779,451 users (as of this writing) and the National Dean in 2004 Meetup Day has 135,378 members, far and away the largest Meetup group. Which means that roughly 17.4% — nearly 1 in 5 — Meetupers are signed up for Dean meetups. That's incredible, and totally cool.

Running to help people living with HIV/AIDS

I love running but I have a hard time running consistently. Having a race as a training goal helps me a lot, and running a race that's also a fundraiser for a good cause motivates me even more. So I've registered to run the Race to Deliver, the annual fundraiser for God's Love We Deliver. Don't be scared off by the "God" in the name, it's not a religious organization.

God's Love We Deliver's mission is to improve the health and well-being of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses by alleviating hunger and malnutrition. We prepare and deliver nutritious, high-quality meals to people who, because of their illness, are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves.

The race is 4 miles, and takes place November 23, so I've got my training cut out for me. I know times are hard for a lot of people right now, and many folks are laid off or worrying that they will be, but if you can afford it, I'd love your support. I've set a donation goal of $500, so if 100 readers can pledge just $5 each, we can reach it! Here's my donation homepage. Thanks so much for your help.

Update: already over $100 has been pledged, so we're more than 20% of the way. Woo hoo! You guys rock! 🙂

Update @ 10:23 PM: We're at $270! I'm totally floored, I can't believe people have contributed more than 50% of the total amount in less than 12 hours!!