We created a web app for collaborative storytelling, to keep the community engaged and spread the word. A new story title goes live before the Holiday Season each year; last year started with The Abominable Snowkitten.
Kids at 826 centers add to the story for free, and volunteers and donors choose to donate or share on social media after they contribute to the tale.
To keep engagement up through springtime, we created a fundraising event called the Half Half Half Half Half Half Marathon, which happens each year just before the Boston Marathon.
26 miles is a long way to run, which is why there are now half marathons. But 13 miles is still borderline crazy. Even 6.5 miles, or 3, or 1.5 is asking a lot.
Our Half Half Half Half Half Marathon is reasonable, roughly .826 miles (a very happy coincidence for our friends at 826 Boston). It raised $26k in its inaugural season, and is getting better every year.