Coasting for Kids 2010?

I am trying to get stories in newspaper, but doubt will have much luck as Columbus has so much going on. I do think it's not the best that they told us $50 = Riding and all else and now after signed up and have donors paying for me to ride this all day I may not get to. If I don't ride I don't feel right accepting the donation since that's what people were paying for, had they thought of this? It's like doing a run for charity and having people donate and then not running. It might've been better to limit to the first 60 riders who signed up.

http://tinyurl.com/CoastingForKids

While I understand you wanting to ride, you do get admission to the park, and the included meals so long as you raise the minimum $50. I don't really see the use in complaining. I'm going to take part in some of the marathon, but I'm doing this for the kids, not the "ERT".

I will say that I'm glad they included the meals for everyone now, and not just the riders, because then everyone gets to at least be part of the overall event, and not just there for the day.

The problem is I am telling people donate because I'm doing something, if I don't do that I'm not fulfilling my portion of the deal, in which case I can't knowingly keep their money, but at the same time if I get alot I can't easily refund their money. The analogy I gave earlier, if I don't ride it's like raising money to participate in a race for charity, telling them I'm going to be running, and then donating the money and just going to the exibits. That wouldn't be right. I've actually had a donor express concern that I may not be riding and that the donation was for me to be riding. For that reason, even though I'd rather ride other coasters, I was planning on staying on the whole 10 hours. It would be entirely different if I had just paid $50 of my own money and nobody else had given, then I would see it as a day at cedar point with the money going to a good cause. I don't know though how anyone can consciously tell people they're riding for 10 hours and ask for donations without planning on actually riding for 10 hours.

I've actually had a donor express concern that I may not be riding and that the donation was for me to be riding.

No offense to your donor but if they were donating based soley on you riding, and not out of wanting to donate to a good cause, that's kind of silly.

Things happen. Maybe the parks could have said "First XXX Amount" get to ride. But this is a weekday, right? See if you can marathon on the Mine train ;).

While I fully plan on taking part in some of the marathon, I'm absolutely going to step away for a while. Everyone I've told hasn't made any sort of deal about me "running" or not. It's all about the day, and the kids. I can't stress that enough. Things like a charity walk/run that involve money-per-lap and require some kind of physical exertion are a whole different ballgame. Riding a coaster, for all intents, is a passive activity.

For those going to Dorney, I added a team, the Steel Force Squad (I'm still having a hard time believing I came up with something so lame, but alas, I did). If any of you can think of anything better, I'm happy (and hoping) to change it. I just thought it would be a cool way to see who all is on the crew for Dorney.

Edit: Apparently, it also shows you the total amount your team has raised, so that's pretty cool. Here's hoping my efforts to get donations start, I dunno, working.

Really, Whtvrrob? Riding a coaster is doing nothing to help the kids. Raising money is the key. As Josh pointed out, it's not even a per lap sponsorship event.

You had to realize when you signed up that there was not going to be any way to know what the weather was going to be like, right? What if any of us got sick and couldn't go? There are no guarantees here.

The entire point of this is to raise money for Give Kids the World and help children and their families like Maddy (who I posted about earlier.) That will happen whether we ever sit down on a coaster or not.

As I approached people about this, I was honest and told them it's just a straight fundraising event. Everyone I've talked to was cool with that. Why would anyone care if I actually rode a coaster or not?

I wish I was closer to Dorney. I wanna ride with Carrie.

sirloindude said:

For those going to Dorney, I added a team, the Steel Force Squad (I'm still having a hard time believing I came up with something so lame, but alas, I did). If any of you can think of anything better, I'm happy (and hoping) to change it. I just thought it would be a cool way to see who all is on the crew for Dorney.

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!! I was hoping we'd figure out a way to make this really fun. Thanks, Justin! And I don't care about the name... the hokier the better. I think we should be the Dorney Dorks... ;)

Raven-Phile said:

I wish I was closer to Dorney. I wanna ride with Carrie.

I wish that, too, Josh! That would have been awesome.

Whtvrrob: Did you sign up here just to complain? Are you the same person who did on PB? If so, you aren't going to get a different reaction here. This event is not about you. It's not about how many laps you get on Gemini. For the bare minimum donation, you get into the park free and they'll feed you, and GKTW wins. The park is the only party encurring expense.

I've donated hundreds of dollars and I'm not even going to be there. It's offensive to me when you start throwing around entitlement issues. This is for kids who might not have long to live, not you.

Raven-Phile said:

I wish I was closer to Dorney. I wanna ride with Carrie.

I wish that, too, Josh! That would have been awesome.

... that is, unless by "I wanna ride with Carrie" you meant that Moosh is hot. ;) (I don't want to fall for that one again... )

I just met my fundraising goal. Woo hoo! Now I have to decide if I should raise it or just hope that people keep on giving. Hooray!

Carrie M. said:

... that is, unless by "I wanna ride with Carrie" you meant that Moosh is hot. ;) (I don't want to fall for that one again... )

Nope, I meant it just the way I said it. :-D

I am loving raising money for this event. More than talking about my nerdy coaster obsession, I have had the opportunity to tell people about the awesome things GKTW are doing. When I first started raising money for Coasting for Kids, I was really excited about the event at the park, but over time I've become more and more excited about the cause itself. I'm hoping to get down to Orlando this fall and see the village for myself.

Almost half way to my goal! Hoping to find some way to make a late push and go above and beyond my expectation!

Way to go Carrie! And Josh (Raven-Phile), it's great to see your donations going up as well! Let's keep getting the word out!

Admittedly, if you won't be marathoning Gemini, it does seem like people are just paying for you to get a free ticket to Cedar Point. But since the money is going to a charitable organization, not the park, I don't see it that way. I told one of my friends to just think of it like any other donation to a charity, and forget the perks. Since I have a season pass anyway, the only real added value for me specifically are the meals and t-shirt (and possible Gemini ERT). Also, since donations are accepted on-site, having one entire side of Gemini devoted to Coasting-for-Kids-ers raises awareness amongst guests and might get them to contribute as well.

Raven-Phile said:
I wish I was closer to Dorney. I wanna ride with Carrie.

You know, I was going to sign up for Dorney so I could ride with Carrie too. But since she came out proclaiming not to be a gay man, I've changed my mind. ;)

Way to go Carrie. I would also like to thank the Anonymous Buzzers that have gone above and beyond.

Yeah, the "" really came through for us. Thanks a lot.

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Think of it as raising money for a good cause, and getting a free day at the park for your efforts, provided by the park. :)

Jeff said:
Whtvrrob: Did you sign up here just to complain?

No I didn't, I talked with the people who donated so far and explained why that I wasn't choosing not to if I'm not in the top 60 just that there weren't enough slots, and they're cool about it, so it's not as big of a deal now. I didn't mean to come across as complaining and I apologize for that. I do want the event to be as great as possible, and if I'm not in the top 60 I'll just see it as a fun day with the small amount I've raised going to a good cause. And I didn't write about it on other forums for the record, I don't even know what PB is, but whoever it was it wasn't me. I hope those of you who do end up getting to ride have a blast, and I'm sure I'll stop by and catch a ride or two on the other side and see you all. Hope there's no hard feelings.

Everyone knows that PB means peanut butter. ;)

I really like the idea of Cedar Fair allowing people who were signed up for Cedar Point to sign up at another park with less sign ups.

Can anyone give me some creative tips on raising additional funds? I had a great start, but haven't seen any donations in over a week. I've talked to co-workers, sent emails, had FB and Twitter posts, and while I definitely feel I have got the word out about GTKW, no one seems to want to donate any more. I've hit a brick wall, and would really love to be able to hit my goal!

I hope things are going well for all the rest of you. Only 11 more days till the event! Can't wait to see those of you who will be at CP.