Thank
you so much for your support Janet, Tonya, Krys, Shelley and all of the
other OWN Ambassadors; Oprah's "Carriers of Light", and everyone else who has help support us.
Because
time and our fundraising goal is running short, I talked to my
publisher and am extending the book giveaway offer until I am done the
Cross Canada bicycle ride.
I
leave Vancouver on April 16 (also my 45th birthday) and will be riding
almost 8000 kms, up to 150km a day (6-8 hours a day) reaching St. John's
NF in the first week of July. I will be stopping in at police precincts
garnering their support and doing talks to 1000's of high school
students across the country about the power of youth leadership and
Dreaming Big!
Hundreds
of others have helped us in this worthwhile cause to promote youth
leadership and end teen suicide. We can't thank people enough for the
support we have received this far. People have donated hours upon hours
of their personal time to help bring The IT Takes 2 Tandem Bicycle Ride
for Youth at Risk to life; It is truly amazing.
Now, we just need cold hard cash to cover the expenses and deliver the program to the youth. There is no simpler way to put it.
The
St. Thomas Health Club has sponsored us over $20,000 worth of space for
the Institute where I now have my treadmill desk set up so I can work
and workout at the same time. Leanne Meek, my wonderful partner, has
been paying all of our bills and expenses as I am working sometimes over
100 hours a week combined on this program, seeing clients, writing
wellness tips, and talking on the phone with police, sponsors, and doing
press interviews. It is a tremendous amount of work but it's working!
Last
week we got our first celebrity endorsement and he will be doing a
video testimonial for us from LA and then sending it on to other
celebrities for their support. I received calls from the RCMP in Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick and they want to ride with me when I hit the
Maritimes. Staples is going to help us with door prizes when we get to
the high schools, and we just sent our sponsorship package into Husky
Energy and hope to start talks with them. But getting the big corporate
sponsors takes hours and hours of background work, phone calls and
emails. So in order to get this years ride off the ground and keep us
going until our corporate supporters hear this message, we need the help
of the public.
All anyone has to do is go to our current website www.IT2Institute.com
(a new one is on the way). At the bottom of the page there is a
donation button. Click that button to make your donation and for any
donation over six dollars (that covers the cost of shipping), I will
personally send an autographed copy of my book with a special note of
thanks.
Here is the link to visit the site: www.it2institute.com
And
if you already purchased a book, and you have already made a donation,
thank you. We are asking you to carry this message on to your contacts
and into your workplace. Copy and paste these words above, send them the
link to the website, or do your own email blitz. If we reach 1 million
people and 1 million people give us $1 each we will be able to deliver
this program.
Www.it2institute.com
Thanks so much for your support and see you on the road!
Derrick Shirley
No comments:
Post a Comment