Coasting For Kids 2012

Mission accomplished!

Has anyone on here done this event at Ca Great America? I am not generally a huge fan of the park but I was thinking about participating in this there.

That would be great. That's one of the parks that could use more participation.

As Great America is generally the "afterthought" of the Cedar Fair chain, this doesn't surprise me.

Still going to consider it though since it seems like a good cause and their featured ride Flight Deck is still a nice ride. Would still love to hear from anyone who may have participated there. :-)

If the ride/park is your only motivation for participation, you're doing it wrong.

^Doing it wrong? ;) I came in 5th last year at Kings Island. It was really a blast, I was surprised. Except for having to be at the park at 830, that was uncalled for...

Probably won't be doing it this year, tight budget. It's really a great cause and fun to boot, can't wait to do it again. I sure couldn't see myself riding an intense B&M inverted coaster for the whole day, though...

I do it for the cause, not the rides. Anything else is doing it wrong..

Was a bit concerned with the intensity of the ride for this myself.

There are definitely lots of good causes out there that you can devote your time and effort to (including this one from what I can tell). It is great that the organizers of this give a great additional reason to raise funds for this particular organization.

Raven-Phile said:
I do it for the cause, not the rides. Anything else is doing it wrong..

As long as the cause gets the money how is that doing it wrong?

Because a number of people are all, "What's in it for me?" That's lame. Over the years we've been doing this, some people and groups are trying to leverage some gain for themselves (or engage in attention whiting). Make no mistake, this is about raising money for a charity, not about how awesome you are or what you think you're owed for participating. The focus should be squarely placed on the good that every dollar does.

Well said, Jeff. Looking forward to helping again this year.

I see your point but to some extent these type of fundraisers rely on people getting something in exchange for the money. If that is not the case why have a coaster riding fundraiser at all? Why not just have people send money just "for the cause"?

I just assume people give the money and do the riding and that is the end of it. Sort of a you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours relationship. I have not seen the darkside to this event that you describe. But if enough people do what you say I see the problem.

That's not the point of the coaster riding. The point is to raise awareness. Having worked the midway for the event, I had almost a hundred dollars donated by strangers, kids and adults, because of the event. It's the same thing for individuals who participate. They can say to people, "Hey, I'm going to ride a coaster all day to raise money for GKTW," which tends to garner more attention than, "Just donate some money."

If people were willing to donate money up front, for someone to do nothing - "but it's a good cause," it wouldn't work.

Hence, Girl Scout Cookies, candy bars, marathons, etc. The first step is TO ATTRACT attention to get that money. Of course the main point is to get the money to give to the charity; you need to 'cool event' to attract the attention to get the money, and the cool side effect is that you usually have fun doing it. And then you get to wear a cool tee shirt (or not so cool) and tell people - "yeah, I rode the Racer at Kings Island all day and the money I raised went to Give Kids the World." And then, maybe they say "hey, that sounds fun, I think I wanna try," etc., etc...

It's a good cause, and you have fun doing it, how nice :)

Having worked for a non-profit organization the past several years, I can definitely say from experience that you are correct that "just donate some money" doesn't generally work all that well. Non-profit fundraising is the same as any other "business marketing" in that you must first create the interest.

I wonder how much if any success anyone has had fundraising as a "virtual rider" for this event? I would imagine that would be much more of a challenge.

No. Not really. But again, you guys are twisting it. I never said the rides weren't part of the fun, but basing your participation solely on whether or not you get to ride exactly what you want is still doing it wrong.

People giving money couldn't care less if you're spending your day riding the carousel, your favorite coaster, or a hoveround. If the idea of a marathon on a ride is what gets them, it's not going to matter which one.

Not twisting much, just looking from a different POV.

I know I wanted to do it for the riding. But, at the same point I am glad it was for a good cause. I feel it is a great perk to be able to ride all day without getting off. I am not going to complain about what ride it will be or hrs or anything. If they chose MF, I would still do it even though I don't like the ride. Marathoning a coaster is not something you can do everyday, and it's great to raise money and awareness at the same time. I felt bad that I didn't raise more than I did. I put postings up where I work (we have 1,000+ employees), and didn't get one donation from any one!

Looks like I'll be missing out again this year as I'm going to Holiday World and a concert in Louisville that weekend. But I'll certainly be donating something towards the cause. :)

I'm waiting for the official info before I decide on doing it this year.

It's great that it creates awareness for the charity, but I view the coaster marathon event as a reward for my hard work. I don't think that makes me a bad person.