We thought an FAQ page would be a plesant addition to our website and would nicely address the veritable landslide of questions we have received (okay, I exaggerate, we have received SOME questions, but it seems to be the same ones, over and over and over again). Now, hopefully, people won’t have to scrounge around our website and blog looking for answers. Scrounging is just so time consuming, isn’t it?
Can you please review the basic plan for me – using two sentences or less?
We are traveling to all 50 states in 50 consecutive days, during which we will volunteer with 50 different organizations. We are doing this to raise awareness for community based organizations, as well as motivate people to seek volunteer opportunities in their own communities.
What organizations are you volunteering with? How did you find the organizations?
We are volunteering at 50 distinct, community based organizations. We define a community based organization as an organization that is located in and operates from the community it serves. We tried to get a good variety of organizations, to demonstrate the diversity of volunteer opportunities available. We will be visiting animal rescue centers, adaptive sports programs, food banks, homeless shelters, rape crisis organizations, soup kitchens, family centers, AIDS awareness organizations, and eco-restoration projects. This list is by no means exhaustive, but gives you a taste for what we will experience.
To find these organizations, we scoured chamber of commerce websites, googled “non-profits in area ‘x’”, searched VolunteerMatch and Idealist, and asked the opinion of friends and family in the area.
If you would like to view the calendar of our stops, please jump to our journey page.
How are you spending my donation money?
100% of the money raised will go directly to the organizations we are visiting. Yes, ALL. Every penny. We will not be using any of the donation money to help fund our journey (more on that later!). So, in summary, you donate and the money directly benefits the organizations.
We are collecting donations over the course of our trip. At the end of our journey, we will cut the sum of the donations collected by 50 and send a check to each of the organizations that was kind enough to host us along the way.
Well that is awfully nice of you! Since you are giving 100% of donations to the organizations, how are you funding the rest of the trip? How can I help you with your journey?
Well, shucks, we appreciate it! We are funding the logistics of our journey from our savings. We are able to do this, primarily because some really amazing people across the country have been willing to take us in as we head through their respective areas, thus eliminating the cost of lodging and keeping us from having to sleep in the car. If you would like to sponsor us with cash or in-kind donation, or even just kick us a few bucks for gas, please contact Tim at tim@thecivicprojects.org.
How much are you trying to raise for the organizations?
We think a total of $16,200 is a good (read: doable) initial goal. How did we come to that number, you may ask? We anticipate we will complete approximately 800 hours of community service during our 50 days on the road. The average volunteer hour is valued at $20.25. Simple multiplication will get you to $16,200.
It would be amazing to raise a boatload more, but that is the initial amount we are aiming for, given this is our first real foray into extreme fundraising from a moving vehicle. Dive right in to that fundraising pool, right? And for all those who are wondering, raising $16,200 means that each organization would receive $324. Though this isn’t a huge sum, we are hoping that it will make life a bit easier for these organizations and remind them of the support they have, from people all across the nation.
So the plan is to go to all 50 states? Wait - that includes ALASKA and HAWAII? Are you two bonkers?
I’d say, yes… pretty much. Good intentioned, though! We are indeed traveling to Alaska and Hawaii (and, mister, you’d better believe we have the plane tickets to prove it!). We are hitting all 50 states: 48 by car, 2 by plane. We decided, early on, that driving to Alaska was a bit much, and have elected to fly. Good choice, don’t you agree?
So what happens if you hit a snowstorm and are completely mired in for a few days? What then?
Please, please, please tell me you are rigorously knocking on wood as you pose that question! Snowstorms happen, we recognize this. Traffic delays, road construction, flat tires, and fender benders also happen (if you were here with me, all you would hear is a hollow, yet resounding “BANG, BANG, BANG” as my knuckles make repeated contact with the kitchen table). But we have allotted 50 days for this trip. We are going to visit 50 organizations in 50 states in 50 days, not 50 organizations in 50 states in 61 days, or 74 days, or even 53.5 days. We, for better or for worse, did not build in a buffer. But that is part of the fun, if you call tempting fate “fun”, which, I guess, we do.
We hope that our decision to arrive in each location the night before will give us plenty of time to meander from state to state, perhaps even allowing time for slight detours (pictures in front of quirky national landmarks, anyone?). If we miss a stop due to something beyond our control, we will ask for understanding, and make it up on our drive back.
So, how exactly do you two know each other?
My, aren’t you forward! Just kidding, it is a very valid question to ask of two people who intend to spend 50 days (well 48, at least we can walk around on a plane) cooped up together. We are dating. Well, since deciding to go on this trip, we haven’t actually gone on many dates, but that is beside the point. Maybe we don’t date anymore, maybe we simply organize projects. Okay, we are organizing. Sound good?
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