Posted on December 30, 2009 by walkathonguide
Are you thinking about planning a walkathon? Go for it! Start here:
- Lead with confidence. Get the book.
- Set your laminating committee free! Order custom Lap Cards.
- Stock up on walkathon supplies at Useful Stuff.
- Get blog posts in your in box with the Email Newsletter.
- Read the blog. Just scroll down to keep reading or use “Categories” (to your left) or “Tags” (to your right).
- And please, don’t forget to leave a comment!

Walk on,
Lee
Filed under: advanced preparation, introduction | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 30, 2010 by walkathonguide
Posted on January 28, 2010 by walkathonguide

"It’s best to tackle the problem one place at a time. The overall water crisis is hard to fix (one billion people!), but when you break it down country by country, region by region, and community by community, it’s not nearly as difficult." - Chris Guillebeau
I know it sounds backwards, but now and then I hear of a group who wants to do a walkathon, and needs to choose a cause that they can rally around. If you fit into that category, here is one great idea, called Clean Water for Ethiopia.
Chris Guillebeau, author of The Art of Nonconformity, has chosen this as his cause and is spreading the word, in partnership with Charity: Water. His goal is to raise a minimum of $500,000 for water wells in Ethiopia over the next 18 months. You could really help here.
If this helps, you might also like this previous post, Four Criteria for Choosing Your Cause.
Filed under: goals, walkstars | Tagged: planning a walkathon, walkstars | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 26, 2010 by walkathonguide

One kid, one bike, big success. Walkathons (or bikeathons) bring charisma to your cause. AP Photo/ Tim Ireland/PA Wire
Check this out from today’s ABC News:
“A young British schoolboy has raised more than 100,000 pounds ($160,000) Monday for Haiti’s relief effort by cycling round his local park.”
Two thoughts for even the smallest walkathons (or bikeathons):
- Yes, you can do this!
- He took donations via a web page. Go online to maximize your fundraising and also so your walkathon can catch on “virally”, where friends tell friends who tell friends.
Read more… UK 7-Year-Old Raises Tens of Thousands for Haiti – ABC News.
Filed under: maximizing funds, publicity, technology, walkathon planning in general, walkstars | Tagged: advanced preparation, fundraising, fundraising software, online donations, planning a walkathon, publicity, walkstars | 1 Comment »
Posted on December 31, 2009 by walkathonguide
Here’s a quick tip on how to get volunteers for your biggest walkathon planner and organizer jobs.
Create a list of the walkathon jobs you need to fill. Then for each job, create a list of at least three candidates. Then just get on the phone (or email or Facebook) and start asking. The minute you get a “no”, move on to the next person in line. Tick through your lists until you get a “yes” for each job.
The key here is not to pause when someone says no but rather to immediately move on to your next candidate.
If you don’t know what you need for volunteers, use my walkathon volunteer list as a starting point.
Filed under: volunteers, walkathon planning in general, walkstars | Tagged: volunteers, walkathon chairs | Leave a Comment »