Coaster Marathon for MakeAWish

[yaytezIOA]

I was urged by other members to post this here, sorry if its redundant:

For about a year now I've been doing a lot of volunteer work for Give Kids The World. They're an organization that helps children with life threatening illnesses. They have a whole little village that was built by disney and universal just outside of Orlando. Great place for kids and families to spend some time together and to forget about the problems that they've been dealing with. For about half a year now I've been trying to get a rollercoaster marathon going to help raise money for Make A Wish foundation, which as a lot of people know, helps children with life threatening illnesses fulfill one big wish that they want to do. Again, really noble stuff. Most everything is done with volunteers and donations from businesses. And its with the help of a local theme park that I'm finally able to get this fundraiser off the ground.
Saturday May 20th, 2006 me and a few other theme park enthusiasts present
"Coasting for the Kids" at Cypress Gardens Adventure Park in Winter Haven Florida. Its going to work basically like this: Everyone involved is going to raise money from family, friends, local businesses, etc. When all is said and done, for every thousand dollars we raise we're going to ride one hour on one of the great coasters at Cypress Gardens. If you would like to help, we are currently seeking riders. If you would like to ride, you will also be asked to help raise donations. If you are interested you can shoot me an email at yaytez@cs.com or send me a private message on the system. All money will go 100% to Make A Wish foundation. Thanks.
*Saturday I recieved my fundraising pack from MAW, loads of cool flyers and banners.
~Erik

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for posting this.
We are always happy on this board to hear about things that will help Make a Wish.
Sounds like a fun way to raise money (at least for those who can ride coasters - not me, once is my limit for the tame ones).

Feel free to bump this up if it gets to the bottom of the page and I will try to do the same.

 

[tarkus]

I'll bump it up.

Make a Wish is one of our fave charities and this should move up.

Best Wishes,
Alan

 

[yaytezIOA]

Dont know if I posted this before, but the coaster we will be riding is the Triple Hurricane, a traditional wooden roller coaster. We will be starting at 7a.m. and going until aproximately 12 p.m. We still have plenty of spots available if you want to ride and will be in the area, and of course, are taking donations....every little bit helps.
I have 4 other guys helping me out in this from different parts of the state, and even one in Georgia. In my local area I have collection jars setup at different stores and businesses, and will be issuing a press release sometime in the coming weeks. Here is a sample of the flyers that we came up with:

Thanks to everyone for your support.

 

[yaytezIOA]

We are officially official now: this from http://tc.yourhub.com/Story.aspx?contentid=59528#Scene_1
STUART, Florida/March 6, 2006 ? Roller coaster fans throughout Florida and around the nation who want to ride for a cause can now do just that. According to Coasting For Kids founder Erik Yates, a special coaster fun day is scheduled on May 20, 2006 at Cypress Gardens to benefit Make- A-Wish Foundation. ?This is an opportunity for the young and young at heart to ride the Triple Hurricane for a very worthwhile cause,? said Yates. ?We are planning an exciting day of coaster activities on the Triple Hurricane. It is a classic wooden roller coaster that got its name by surviving Hurricanes Charlie, Frances and Jeanne without any damage. Members of coaster clubs throughout Florida and around the nation are helping to spread the word about the newly created Coasting For Kids. We hope to raise at least $5,000 to benefit Make- A-Wish Foundation while also raising awareness of what that organization is all about,? added Yates.

Yates came up with the idea of creating Coasting For Kids after reading of a similar marathon last year. ?I?ve always been a roller coaster fan and have spent a lot of time on a variety of coasters. I had read an article about how a young man, Bryan Bindman, rode the Dania Beach Hurricane for twelve hours straight. After some research, I decided to volunteer for a similar organization, and was amazed at how sharing a smile and a little bit of time could make such a difference. I knew then, that turning my passion for coasters into a fundraiser was the right thing to do,? said Yates.

If you would like to support Make- A-Wish Foundation through the Coasting For Kids fundraiser and take part in the ride, you may contact Coasting For Kids founder, Erik Yates at 772-216-3778. There are a limited number of spaces available. You also may support Coasting For Kids by making a donation to: ?Coasting For Kids? at the Bank of America St. Lucie West branch. Donations may also be mailed to Coasting For Kids in care of Bank of America at ?Coasting For Kids, Bank of America?, 1601 NW St. Lucie West Blvd., Port St. Lucie, FL 34986.

Yates is hoping Coasting For Kids gains enough support to become a national program that will provide significant assistance to the Make A Wish program. ?Ultimately, I am hopeful that children around the nation may be helped by people like me, and others, being able to do something, such as ride a roller coaster, and bring joy to someone else as I hope I can do.? concluded Yates.

The Make- A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. It is the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 75 chapters in the United States and its territories and 27 international affiliates on five continents. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the Make- A-Wish Foundation has granted more than 110,000 wishes to children around the world since 1980. The Southern Florida chapter granted 490 wishes last year. For more information about the Make- A-Wish Foundation, visit www.stfla.wish.org.

Cypress Gardens Adventure Park celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2006 and enjoys the distinction of being Florida?s original theme park. The park features a blend of exciting new rides, 5 coasters, historic botanical gardens, Nature?s Way animal area, daily shows, Jubilee Junction, Splash Island water park and a quaint shopping and food village, as well as a line-up of more than 50 concerts and special events throughout the year. The park is located in Winter Haven, Florida two miles west of SR 27 on Cypress Gardens Boulevard. For more information, visit www.cypressgardens.com or call (863) 324-2111.

For additional information about Coasting For Kids, contact Erik Yates at 772-216-3778 or email him at yaytez@cs.com.

 

[yaytezIOA]

Hey Everyone...Quick Update. Coasting For Kids was mention on Coasterradio.com which also has a great link to the article with all kinds of info. Those guys have been all kinds of awesome in helping getting the word out. If anyone would like more info, or would like to donate......or if you have a business and you would like to sponsor (you get your business name on a spiffy T-shirt as well as all kinds of advertising at the table we're going to setup at the park and in the bags we're going to provide everyone.) Shoot me an email, go to coasterradio.com call me....smoke signals.....whatever. Its a great organization, and its going to be loads of fun.
P.S. does anyone know about getting in contact with the people in charge of the DIS to get an announcement going?

 

[yaytezIOA]

We now have a place for all donations to be sent, thanks to Bank of America in St. Lucie West you can now send checks and money orders to "Coasting for Kids c/o Bank of America 1601 NW St. Lucie West Blvd., Port St. Lucie, FL 34986." Bank of America helps out a lot with Make-A-Wish and has stepped up admirably for us. Thanks to them.
Erik

 

[yaytezIOA]

We now have a website, kind of, with paypal that goes directly into said bank account. It is at Myspace.com/coastingforkids
You can click on the profile, and hit the button if you wish to make a donation. All proceeds will then go to Make-A-Wish foundation. Hit it twice....three times.....five? Thanks to all.
Erik

 

[yaytezIOA]

Just a quick update:
We are just about three weeks until the BIG day. Thanks for all the well wishes and glances at the website. We will be holding a HUGE yard sale at Fairlawn Baptist Church in Fort Pierce (Florida of course) to help earn money. We still have the website up and running with lots of great pics, a list of our sponsors, and also links to the various little articles here and there that have been garnering attention for our little event. I encourage all of you to check out the site myspace.com/coastingforkids
and tell everyone you can about it. We have gotten very far but havent reached our goal, and time just keeps slipping away. Thanks again for all the support.
Erik

 

[yaytezIOA]

Today is the big day!!! We will be on the Triple Hurricane at Cypress Gardens for just over three hours. Thanks so much to all of you who have supported us, we couldnt have done it without you.
I'd love for anyone in the area to come on out and just say hi. There is also time to check out the website if you havent done so, its www.myspace.com/coastingforkids
Remember, its for Make A Wish, so the kids win.

 

[Kellyscrapbooks]

I am fairly new to the DIS boards, and only just saw this thread for the first time today. What an awesome thing to do. Sending my donation straight away, I hope it's not too late since TODAY IS THE DAY! Have a wonderful time!

 

[yaytezIOA]

Thank you so much! We just made the hour something trip home after a little extra time in the park. We ended up riding for three hours and ten minutes for a total of 85 complete rides. We only one stop, and we also had plenty of room for other riders in the park. It was a great day, thanks to everyone for all your help and support. I am going to go and crash...I will post pictures tomorrow.
Erik

 

[yaytezIOA]

 

[SueM in MN]

thanks for all the pictures. That was an awesome update.

 

[yaytezIOA]

I only wish there was something more to it. I'm really somewhat sad to see it go. Just makes me really plan for a bigger event next year.