In past blogs I have mentioned that I was going to accomplish my first official 5K this year in support of Running for Rescues. I don’t plan to run this, mind you, I will be walking. But I will be doing this on Castaway Cay in the Bahamas and doing it for a worthy cause.
Running for Rescues (RfR) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping organizations rescue animals from high-kill shelters. This organization was started by a runner who’s husband was getting tired of her bringing so many rescue dogs. She figured there had to be others like her willing to help out these animals. Maybe not to take them in, but to help save their lives. She set out to find another way.
As a runner, she thought this would be a great way for other runners (and walkers) to do what they love all while helping to save some animals. She has even partnered with Jenny Hadfield, a running coach, who will provide fundraisers with her popular 5K training program for free!
So I set out to help RfR and agreed to do a 5K this year. But which one to chose? That’s when I realized that I would be on Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island while on an Eastern Caribbean sailing on the Disney Fantasy this year. We embark on a 7 night sailing on October 20 and will be at that beautiful island in the Bahamas on Friday, October 26. Why not walk for a good cause there? I could also see if some of my fellow cruisers would either walk with me, run past me or just donate on my behalf for the cause. Participants in the walk who fundraise for Running for Rescues will receive a tech shirt designed especially for this event.
But this wasn’t good enough for me, so we set out to do a little more. For those not familiar with Disney Cruise Line, there are two adult only restaurants on the Disney Fantasy – Palo and Remy. Palo has Northern Italian cuisine while Remy has French cuisine. These are very popular restaurants and many guests look forward to dining there on their cruise, despite the extra charge of $20 per person for Palo and $75 per person for Remy. Each of these restaurants has a private room where a group of 8 to 14 people can dine together, separate from the rest of the restaurant’s guests. Travel On A Dream has decided to book each of the private rooms for one night each during the October 20, 2012 Disney Fantasy sailing. ToaD will be paying the service fees for 8 guests in Remy and 12 guests in Palo to dine with ToaD. Guests onboard this sailing will be able to “bid” to join us in the private dining rooms. Exact dates of the dinners to be announced in the near future. Bids must be at least $20 for Palo and $75 for Remy. Guests will be responsible for any anything additional not included in the service fee and any additional gratuity they wish to leave.
We have set up a donation page at http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/travelonadream/toadisrunningforrescues. We also have a Facebook group to discuss the fundraising and the events.
If you are interested in joining us on this cruise, there will be special gatherings and gifts for all who are booked with Travel On A Dream. If you have already booked on this cruise directly through Disney, contact me to see if we can get you into the group. Contact me today for more information at info@travelonadream.com.
I can’t thank Tracy Whipple & Travel on a Dream for taking this on! Running for Rescues is so excited to be a part of this venture!