Fisher House, my first Ironman race and some great prizes for you

Before I begin the schpeel for my fundraising effort, I have to mention that many of you on this site are my inspiration for doing this. I am amazed at the number of you that have selflessly given your time (or even your hair!) so that others might have a shot at a better life or to survive an illness or to find a cure for a disease ..... and so many other great causes too numerous to mention.

I am attempting my first Ironman race this year on August 26th at the new Ironman event in Louisville, KY. I am using my race to raise money and awareness for the Fisher House Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps the families of injured American military men and women. Fisher House builds homes on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. The use of these homes is available to the families of injured service members. It allows them to be close to their loved ones during hospitalization for a combat injury or other unexpected illness. More information on Fisher House can be found on their website at www.fisherhouse.org.

The average length of stay at a Fisher House for a family of a service member being treated for combat casualties is 45-60 days. This program has served more than 100,000 families and saved them more than $80 million since it began in 1990. Fisher House also works with airlines to provide round trip tickets to these families to get them to the medical centers.

There are 37 Fisher Houses across the country. You might not be aware of it, but there is probably one or more in your state. Or one that is needed and trying to raise the funds to be built. I decided to campaign for the Fisher House Foundation because I believe that the presence of family members is essential for the rehabilitation of a wounded service member and is the least that we can do for these men and women.

All of the money that I raise goes directly to the Fisher House Foundation. I am paying for all of my race expenses (entry fee, travel, equipment, etc.) out of my own pocket. I am doing my fundraising through the Janus Charity Challenge for the Ironman Louisville race. This is a free program that Janus sponsors that gives Ironman participants free tools for fundraising and allows them to compete for additional money for their charities. Janus makes additional contributions to the beneficiaries of the top fundraisers at this race. If I am the top fundraiser at this race, Fisher House will receive an additional $10,000 from Janus! I want this to happen! I am not going to win the race, but would like to be the largest fundraiser.

I have done some work to encourage you, my BT friends, to donate to my cause. Some very generous individuals and companies agreed to help me offer some incentive to you to donate. They have donated some great stuff that I am using as prizes in a raffle. All of these items were donated at no cost to me, so all of the money from this raffle goes directly to Fisher House.

Here's how it will work. Each raffle ticket costs $10. You can purchase as many of these as you want. Just visit my fundraising page at januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/ky07/billrollins and make a donation. Then reply to this thread or send me a PM to let me know. For every $10 you donate, I will throw a raffle ticket with your name on it into a hat. The Janus fundraising site collects these donations and sends them directly to Fisher House in one large payment. This money never touches my hands.

And now on to the fun stuff, the raffle prizes! There is some great stuff that you can win! The prizes are (2) Super Fun Inspirational BT Hydration/Nutrition Kits; (3) Amphipod Full-Tilt Hydration Packs; (1) Jessi Stensland Autographed Poster; (2) Amphipod Hydraform Handheld Hydration Bottles; and (1) Official Beginner Triathlete Water Bottle. Details about each prize are below.

• Super Fun Inspirational BT Hydration/Nutrition Kit (yes, I made up the name myself). There are two of these prizes available. Each kit is valued at $100 and includes the following awesome items:
• (1) Amphipod RunLite 3 Hydration Belt. It includes three 8 oz. SnapFlask bottles, an expandable front storage pocket and a rapid access pouch all on an adjustable bounce-free stretch belt. I have been using one of these belts for my long runs for the past year and absolutely love it. The bottles can be attached an any position on the belt, do not bounce and are easy to access while running. More info and pictures can be seen here: http://amphipod.com/8400/8400.html
• (1) Amphipod SnapGel 4 oz. Gel module. This flask is used for holding your gel and has everything that you need to attach it to the RunLite 3 Hydration Belt. More info and pictures can be seen here: http://amphipod.com/8400/8400.html
• (1) Official Beginner Triathlete T-Shirt. Pictures and more info here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/shop/shop/item.asp?itemid=2. One kit has a size Large and the other a size X-Large.
• (1) package of 5 official Beginner Triathlete temporary tattoos. Use them to find other BT'ers easily at your races! See it here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/shop/shop/item.asp?itemid=20
• (1) Autographed poster of Jessi Stensland. This is the 18"x24" Fortitudine Vinicimus (By Endurance We Conquer) poster that she sells on her web site here: http://www.gojessi.com/exec/jessi/Shop_Go_Jessi.cfm?publicationID=58. This is a really nice print on high-quality paper. It is autographed by Jessi and includes an inspirational message from her.
• (1) Chipotle gift certificate good for one free burrito, burrito bol, salad or order of tacos at any Chipotle. Come on, you need to fuel up at some point!
• Amphipod Full-Tilt Hydration Pack. There are three of these prizes available and each is valued at $36. This belt has a 20 oz. bottle and two pockets for holding keys, cards, money, gels, etc. More info and pictures here: http://amphipod.com/335/335.html
• An autographed poster of Jessi Stensland. This is the 18"x24" Fortitudine Vinicimus (By Endurance We Conquer) poster that she sells on her web site here: http://www.gojessi.com/exec/jessi/Shop_Go_Jessi.cfm?publicationID=58. This is a really nice print on high-quality paper. It is autographed by Jessi and includes an inspirational message from her.
• Amphipod Hydraform Handheld Hydration. This is a handheld ergonomically shaped 20 oz. bottle that includes an adjustable strap that makes it very easy to carry this bottle while running. There are two of these prizes available. More info and pictures here: http://amphipod.com/380/380.html
• An official Beginner Triathlete water bottle. You can never have enough water bottles and this one is from BT! See it here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/shop/shop/item.asp?itemid=15.

I will draw the tickets in the order of the prizes listed above. Again, each ticket costs only $10 and it all goes to a great cause. Increase your odds and donate more to receive more raffle tickets! If you would like to donate and not be entered into the raffle, that is not a problem! I will keep this raffle open for the next few weeks and then have the drawing. I will have someone with no interest in this raffle draw the tickets, perhaps one of my kids.

I am very grateful to our Ron here at BT, the great folks at Amphipod, Jessi Stensland and Chipotle for helping me with this. I cannot thank them enough.

Again, if you would like to enter the raffle or just donate to Fisher House, please visit my fundraising page at januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/ky07/billrollins.

I am on a mission to raise an enormous amount of money and awareness for Fisher House and would appreciate your support. You can visit my website at www.billrollins.com for more information about me, the Ironman race and Fisher House.

Thank you,

Bill Rollins