Putting the Fun in Fundraising

I got an email from a friend about a month ago, asking if I would be interested in participating in a bar crawl for a good cause. At first, I was intrigued by the idea and then after doing some research I happily committed.

Within a few hours of the first email, a group of us formed a team of 10 that would be necessary to "crawl." Since we were part of the later registration date, our fee per person was $40. The money earned the team 10 CFC t-shirts and lots of free beer. 

What is neat about the Crawl for Cancer organization is that it is not a charity, but a for-profit company that donates 100 percent of the proceeds raised. Cancer research is the main focus of the group. Nearly two dozen cities around the U.S. "crawl" each year.

Instead of a national charity benefitting from the event, the money stayed local and ended up at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.

The organization started in Kansas City when a crew of friends thought it would be a cool idea to raise money for a cause while having a good time. Now, it is said that the only other day of the year that beats out the Crawl for Cancer as far as partying goes, is St. Patrick's Day. Thousands of people participate each year.

This year, in St. Pete, roughly 175-200 people pledged their time to Crawl for Cancer. CFC different colored tees painted the downtown area, breeding a lot of interest from the local public. I, personally, informed a handful of people about what we were actually doing.

The way it works is that each team has a captain. The captain must sign in at individual participating bars. Each bar would then give the team four tickets; each ticket earned the group a pitcher of beer. Ultimately, it was 20 pitchers in 4 hours. Teams could spend however long they wished at each location, but had to report to all five by 5 pm.

Our team of ten, dubbed the "Buccanbeers," was assigned to first. We spent the first hour slowly sipping the beer and filling our tummies with Irish goodness.

With no real game plan, we headed out to bar number two: . Whenever we would pass another team on the street, a loud ensemble of "hey" rang out. High fives and smiles were exchanged regularly.

At Durty's, we got a little creative and set up a game called Flip Cup. For those who don't know, the rules are simple: two teams are formed and each player puts an ounce or so of beer in their cup; one person at a time must drink the beer then set up their cup on the edge of the table and use only a finger or two to flip it so that it lands upside down.

My team lost in an ugly shutout of 5-0. From Durty Nelly's we moved onto . We took our game of Flip Cup outside and eventually a purple CFC team joined in on the fun.

After Alma, we walked on over to where everyone mingled and sat down for a rest. It was already 4 pm so once the pitchers were gone, we rushed over to our last stop at .

We stayed at The Garden for a half hour or so before deciding to take part in the official after party at .

Most of the people we had seen on foot during the crawl were at Push. A large CFC banner was on display, showcasing a list of names that were given by each team. An "In Honor" of section paid tribute to those who have been lost to cancer while a "Survivors" side was dedicated to those who have fought or are currently fighting the illness.

At around 7 pm, we called it quits and indulged in some pizza at .

Crawl for Cancer proved to be an awesome idea that inflicts awareness and compassion while staying true to a good time.