Hill Country Ride for AIDS (yes, again)

This is, more or less, an e-mail that I just sent out to most of my friends about the ride that I'm doing in - ulp - a little over 2 weeks. (Yikes! I need to train more!!) I talk about the Ride a lot here, and I wanted my DK friends to know what is up

Dear friends:  

So the Hill Country Ride is in a little over 2 weeks, on Apr. 26. I've raised $1601.01, which is quite good, and includes donations from folks who have donated more than once, and one really gigantic donation (thank you, Karen!!). But I really want to do better. If you have already donated - and many of you have - please pass this message on to any friends you think might be able to donate. The agencies benefiting from the Ride have had their budgets slashed to the bone.

(pictures! I forgot pictures!)

before:

during:

after:

I know we are all being asked to do more for charities, not to mention candidates, these days - well, I'm going to join the chorus. This is the biggest fundraiser of the year for most of these agencies, the event is a little over two weeks away & they've only raised 33% of their goal. As they say on their web page, no donation is too small. Even if you can only give $5 or $10, it all adds up. We can do this! I believe we can do even better than last year's record-breaking $573,000. It will take a lot of work, and every one of us. As the Ride director said in a recent e-mail: "Ask anyone who is living with AIDS, and they will tell you that every single day is a gift, every day worth a celebration. One of the many reasons to love this Ride is that it is a powerful example of what it's like to see life that way. It's when we are giving back and helping others that we are most alive and that we see we are in love with life itself.  Yes, every day is worth celebrating, and by giving just one day to do this Ride, you can give a gift to someone for the next 365 days of the year. Your gift goes beyond the food, medical care, and housing you make possible, it's also the gift of letting someone know you stand with them. We need YOU, not just because we need more people to meet the need, but because YOU bring to the Ride something only you can bring: your unique, one in a million way of bringing the gift of life to the Ride, and to the thousands of people who benefit from your courage and dedication."

So, my friends, even though they are facing cuts in basic services, we're still optimistic that we can make our goal. I know everyone is doing the best they can. I just ask that you keep AIDS Services of Austin, the David Powell Clinic, Project Transitions, & the many other agencies that benefit from the Hill Country Ride in mind.

Please donate by going to the Ride website by clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. If you pass this message along to others (please do!) here's the url: www.hillcountryride.org, select "donate" then "find/sponsor a participant" (Becky Helton, or any one else you wish - you can search for names of people you know who might be riding, or make a general donation). You are all just the best people in the world -- your support for this cause, whether monetary or just with good wishes, means a lot to those of us who ride - thank you!

thanks so much!
Becky

http://www.hillcountryride.org/...

Y'all are so cool & generous that I have had to update my fundraising goal, it is now $3,000. That is enough for two month's worth of meds for someone -- we can do that, right?