Panama Fundraiser Information
Welcome to my very first blog post...ever. In anticipation of this very exciting undertaking, I've decided to start a blog and keep you as updated as possible on my journey through Panama. A bit of background on this adventure/ trip/ ride/ vacation / FUNDRAISER
Aaron Zukoski:
Aaron is a good friend of mine from San Francisco State. We were fraternity brothers, and have kept in touch sporadically since I left school in 1999. Never the less we have always had a good friendship, and a fraternal bond. Well Aaron has been traveling the world for the last 15 months. When I heard about him doing this, I was so envious. Since he has gone he has been through southeast asia, india, all through europe, he completed the camino de santiago through spain which is a pilgrimage (on foot) from northern spain all the way to southern spain. He also traveled through North Africa, and most recently South America. I have followed Aarons travels throughout the year by reading his blog and sent him emails here and there telling him how excited I was for him, his travels, his growth, realizations, and all that he has been able to experience. I have always dreamed of doing something like that, as have so many people, and Aaron was the one guy who I know personally that had the balls to sack up, and say "F$%^ It" I am going. And he did.
The Organization: So back in the fall at some point I get an email from Aaron asking me what my thoughts were on this fundraising idea that he had. Through Aarons travels he has seen some amazing things, but some of the things that he seen that effected him most deeply was the extreme poverty, and horrid living conditions that some of the people live in and suffer in every single day. Aaron decided that he wanted to do something about that. He did some research, and found a very reputable organization PLAN USA, who works around the world to help improve living conditions and feed children in need. You can check them out at http://www.planusa.org/ So Aarons idea to help is to start a grassroots fundraising effort, to help bring awareness to the plight of these children, and raise $15,000 to help support some of the projects that PLAN USA is working on in Central America.
How is he going to do this? So Aaron's idea is to ride a bike, not a motor bike, a bicycle, from Panama City, Panama all the way through Central America, Mexico, and California into his city, San Francisco , CA United States. Aaron (and me while I am there) will be blogging about his adventures, and his growth, and posting pictures along the way. You can look at his blog at http://www.lasthillbeforehome.blogspot.com/ He will be stopping in select cities and meeting with PLAN USA offices, and going to see various projects in the region, and seeing first hand how the money he will raise will be used and who it will benefit. He is asking that people bookmark his blog, and pass it on to all of their friends, and keep track of him as he makes his way through this journey of a lifetime.
How to Contribute to the Organization: Aaron has made it so easy to donate, that even YOU can do it. Look at the top right corner of my blog page and you can see the donation icon, labeled "firstgiving". Click on the donate icon and fill out the information and contribute anything that you can. Seriously as little as TWO DOLLARS will help. The second step is to email it off to all of your friends and contacts and ask them to support the cause, support Aaron, and most importantly the children who will benefit.
How I fit in? Well when Aaron brought the idea to my attention, I immediately loved it. It was the perfect conclusion to his world travels. It was the exclamation point to what has been an amazing journey. I asked how I could help support him and how I could be a part of it. Aaron said he'd appreciate it if I could meet him on his ride. So back in December, I decided I would join Aaron on the ride, and go for the first two weeks. Together we will cover close to 230 miles, although he keeps referring to kilometers, I do the conversion since I still speak miles. haha. So from Jan 16- 31st of 09 I will be riding a bike through Panama with a great friend, who has been a great source of inspriation to me through the last year.
I'd also like to encourage everyone to send in comments, or emails to Aaron along the ride. I am sure any notes will help to keep him inspired, and let him know that what he is doing actually means something to someone. I can only imagine how hard it will be some days to keep going, and those little notes and comments of encouragement adn support could easily be the difference between keeping on, and giving up.
Aaron Zukoski:
Aaron is a good friend of mine from San Francisco State. We were fraternity brothers, and have kept in touch sporadically since I left school in 1999. Never the less we have always had a good friendship, and a fraternal bond. Well Aaron has been traveling the world for the last 15 months. When I heard about him doing this, I was so envious. Since he has gone he has been through southeast asia, india, all through europe, he completed the camino de santiago through spain which is a pilgrimage (on foot) from northern spain all the way to southern spain. He also traveled through North Africa, and most recently South America. I have followed Aarons travels throughout the year by reading his blog and sent him emails here and there telling him how excited I was for him, his travels, his growth, realizations, and all that he has been able to experience. I have always dreamed of doing something like that, as have so many people, and Aaron was the one guy who I know personally that had the balls to sack up, and say "F$%^ It" I am going. And he did.The Organization: So back in the fall at some point I get an email from Aaron asking me what my thoughts were on this fundraising idea that he had. Through Aarons travels he has seen some amazing things, but some of the things that he seen that effected him most deeply was the extreme poverty, and horrid living conditions that some of the people live in and suffer in every single day. Aaron decided that he wanted to do something about that. He did some research, and found a very reputable organization PLAN USA, who works around the world to help improve living conditions and feed children in need. You can check them out at http://www.planusa.org/ So Aarons idea to help is to start a grassroots fundraising effort, to help bring awareness to the plight of these children, and raise $15,000 to help support some of the projects that PLAN USA is working on in Central America.
How is he going to do this? So Aaron's idea is to ride a bike, not a motor bike, a bicycle, from Panama City, Panama all the way through Central America, Mexico, and California into his city, San Francisco , CA United States. Aaron (and me while I am there) will be blogging about his adventures, and his growth, and posting pictures along the way. You can look at his blog at http://www.lasthillbeforehome.blogspot.com/ He will be stopping in select cities and meeting with PLAN USA offices, and going to see various projects in the region, and seeing first hand how the money he will raise will be used and who it will benefit. He is asking that people bookmark his blog, and pass it on to all of their friends, and keep track of him as he makes his way through this journey of a lifetime.
How to Contribute to the Organization: Aaron has made it so easy to donate, that even YOU can do it. Look at the top right corner of my blog page and you can see the donation icon, labeled "firstgiving". Click on the donate icon and fill out the information and contribute anything that you can. Seriously as little as TWO DOLLARS will help. The second step is to email it off to all of your friends and contacts and ask them to support the cause, support Aaron, and most importantly the children who will benefit.
How I fit in? Well when Aaron brought the idea to my attention, I immediately loved it. It was the perfect conclusion to his world travels. It was the exclamation point to what has been an amazing journey. I asked how I could help support him and how I could be a part of it. Aaron said he'd appreciate it if I could meet him on his ride. So back in December, I decided I would join Aaron on the ride, and go for the first two weeks. Together we will cover close to 230 miles, although he keeps referring to kilometers, I do the conversion since I still speak miles. haha. So from Jan 16- 31st of 09 I will be riding a bike through Panama with a great friend, who has been a great source of inspriation to me through the last year.
I'd also like to encourage everyone to send in comments, or emails to Aaron along the ride. I am sure any notes will help to keep him inspired, and let him know that what he is doing actually means something to someone. I can only imagine how hard it will be some days to keep going, and those little notes and comments of encouragement adn support could easily be the difference between keeping on, and giving up.
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