Moneymoneymoney...

... MONEY! (high-pitched as you like)
I've now started full swing fund raising, oh yes, and no-one extorts biology students quite like I do.

Wonderful Steve's wonderful guide to money en masse.

Step one. Now pay attention, because this one is especially important:
Grow a spine. In a few short months you will be heading out into the great blue yonder with nothing but a rucksack and the solemn hope that your mother doesn't call to check up on you too often. That shows you have mettle, but so far, you're just talking the talk. Can you stand up in front of a hundred people and sell yourself without having a nervous breakdown?

Step two:
Put together a short Powerpoint presentation consisting of a map to show people where they can find Africa, as well as several images plagiarised directly from the Hitch Facebook group. That is unless the head office guys comment after this post in a condemning fashion, of course :)

Step three:
Set the tone. I usually tend to go for mild humour because I'm not a fan of guilt-tripping people, but some might want their audience to be moved by the plight of the people in need of the charity. Find something effective that fits you.

Step four:
Rehearse some kind of script that involves a summary of what LCD does, followed by *BAM* crazy hitch-hiking endeavour. I like to try and surprise people with it and then show pictures of other people doing it so that they realise it's not impossible.

Step five:
The receptacle. At the end of your presentation, I suppose you could stand with your hands out, shovelling the cash directly into your pockets, but this shouldn't be a mickey mouse operation. You want class. You want a cheap plastic bucket with LCD and Hitch logos taped to the side of it. Also it can be worth asking the Hitch reps to lend you some leaflets to give out to anyone else who might be interested in doing it.

Step six:
The venue. I've been trying to fundraise in lectures for the last two weeks, but today was the first I've been able to do. Just ask your professors to let you stick on a five minute presentation at the end of their lecture before everyone is allowed to leave.

Step seven:
Do it! As I mentioned in step one, many people are terrified of speaking in public, if this is you, then try to commit yourself without thinking about it and then make sure you have a good way to psych yourself up before you get up there. Keep the presentation short to minimise possible boredom, appear confident, for moral support you can do it with your partner if you have one yet, and don't forget to stand with your bucket, blocking the only route of escape as people are leaving.


One presentation out of the way, there must have been about a hundred people there and I raised a breathtaking £48.97 and one Moroccan Dirham (worth about 8 pence), which I thought was a funny find at the bottom of the bucket afterwards. This, together with the £10 someone has donated via Virgin Money Giving and the extra £13.91 I can't account for that my link profile claims I've raised online, I've so far raised a total of £72.88. I only wish I had pictures of myself giving the presentation. My biology professors are now supporting me by allowing me to put on my presentation in their 1st year lectures, too.

A very special thanks to everyone in BL2203 at Central Lancashire that donated today and the mystery people that have donated online. If anyone else would like to donate or subscribe to this blog, please use the links in the side bar. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>