Entries Tagged 'Charity' ↓

Clarion West, the six-week writer’s workshop I attended in 2008 on a space station in geosynchronous orbit above Seattle, hosts an online donation drive called the Write-a-thon each summer concurrent with the in-person workshop (June 20 – July 30). This year I’m participating in the drive along with many other former students and instructors. Here’s the deal: participating writers pledge to complete a certain amount of work individually; their friends, family, and fans donate whatever amount they choose to Clarion West as a show of support for both the writers and the organization. My goal: “Each of the six weeks I’ll either write a complete, good first draft of a new short story, or finish revising an older, in-progress one.”

I describe my feelings for Clarion West and my background in terms of the Write-a-thon further on my personal Write-a-thon profile page.

The donation drive works on an honor system — but, if you want proof I actually meet my Write-a-thon goals, I’m happy to accommodate you privately pretty much however you see fit. And, no promises, but if you do donate and want a character named after you in one of the stories, let me know that, too, as long as your name isn’t Forrest Gump or Darth Vader; if your name is euphonious I’ll ask the Muse to see if It can work anything out.

Clarion West is a nonprofit organization, and in the United States donations there are tax-deductible, as described on the main Write-a-thon webpage. Remember the organization has to fly the space station, pay the instructors, and so on — a lot goes into making this wonderful workshop happen. Rest assured that it is totally, totally, totally acceptable to donate a mere $5 if you want; $5 times a lot of donors times a lot of writers equals a whole lot of money.

To donate, you can either 1) click the PayPal “Donate” button on my personal Write-a-thon profile page, or 2) send with a note mentioning my name a snail-mail check to:

Clarion West
P.O. Box 31264
Seattle, WA 98103-1264

Thanks everyone, and I really appreciate even a single $5 donation to Clarion West. Let me know if you donate: it’ll make me work harder! Feel free to badger me about my progress towards my Write-a-thon goals, too!

Clarion West, the six-week writer's workshop I attended in 2008 on a space station in geosynchronous orbit above Seattle, hosts an online donation drive called the Write-a-thon each summer concurrent with the in-person workshop (June 20 - July 30). This year I'm participating in the drive along with many other former students and instructors. ...

As a member of Team in Training, my girlfriend Kate will undertake a half-marathon this June in Seattle to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Every donation Kate gathers during her training will help accelerate finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.

She’s running in honor of Jason Harmon, who’s now receiving treatment in Houston for aggressive lymphoma. His Dallas doctors said there was nothing else they could do, and gave him a very short time to live. The estimated number of Americans who on this day battle diseases like Jason’s totals almost a million.

The Leukemia & Lyphoma Society is celebrating its 60th year. It is a worthy institution that has invested more than $600 million in blood cancer research. Please help Kate raise money for them. Even a small amount, such as $25, moves her closer to her fundraising goal.

Kate has raised 71% of her goal amount so far. It took me less than two minutes to donate through her well-organized website, where you can read more about her training and and the program. Donors receive email confirmation of their secure donation. If you cannot donate, please at least forward this information to someone who might be able to.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or to otherwise contact me. Thanks so much.

(Origami dollar photo used under Creative Commons from Thomas Hawk.)

As a member of Team in Training, my girlfriend Kate will undertake a half-marathon this June in Seattle to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Every donation Kate gathers during her training will help accelerate finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. She's running in honor of Jason Harmon, who's now receiving treatment ...