The man in the picture above is Joe Marti from Knoxville, Tennessee. He is an amazing man with a heart for service in so many ways. He supports TEAM 413. He gives his time and money to causes in his community. He loves animals and supports causes for their betterment. Joe Marti is also committed, tough, tenacious, dedicated, motivated, and loves the Lord with all of his heart.
I really appreciate the picture of Joe at the 2010 Knoxville Marathon for many reasons. I love the fact that you can see the characteristics that he possesses in the look on his face. He is moving forward regardless of the elements. He is focused no matter the circumstances that come his way. He is steadfast in achieving his goal. He is determined to go the distance and finish strong! To him, there is no turning back -- there is no quitting. He moves forward under God's grace.
Over the past few months I have been somewhat disheartened by the way people have responded to our TEAM 413 fundraising campaign. I thought that we would be able to go the distance and finish strong. Some have committed and I am so thankful for their gifts. Others promised to help and have not been able to follow through because of very good reasons. Their good intentions just got sidetracked by life circumstances. But, there are some who have said that they believe in our ministry and want to help, we've given them a chance, and we have heard nothing from them. I've asked a dozen major companies across the country for help and they have all told me that they cannot help at this time. It's amazing at the lack of support that a ministry with TEAM 413's reach has received over the first five months of 2010.
Back in January we set a lofty goal to raise $250,000 in 2010. To date, we have raised $11,355 of which $8,450 has been raised by FOUR people. To put this in perspective, in order to reach our goal we needed to raise $20,000 per month for the entire year. That means that by the end of May we should have raised $100,000! We are behind by $88,645. I'm growing weary of asking people to give over and over again because I feel like I'm burdening them. I simply don't know what to do anymore. So, after much prayer, we are going to start from scratch. Effective today, we are lowering our 2010 goal to $75,000. We've got about 7 months to raise the remaining $63,645. That equates to $9,092 per month for the remainder of the year.
Unfortunately, lowering our financial goal means that we will also have to lower our other goals that were tied to our fundraising efforts. We'll have to trim back our schedule for the summer and fall. We'll continue with an all volunteer staff. And, Kiki and I will continue to operate the entire TEAM 413 ministry out of a home office and storage area. We are simply going to decrease the goal to a dollar amount that will, hopefully, keep us out on the roads and get us to as many events as possible. We'll push forward like Joe Marti is in the picture above.....with dedication, motivation, desire, guts, grit, and a can do attitude.
I will continue to send out reminders to those of you who have followed through on your commitment. To those of you who want to help, now is the time! We need your help to reach the lost for Christ. That's why we do what we do. We cannot quit! We will not quit! It is our job to carry on and so we will! If you are with us, help us with either your financial contributions or by praying for this very important, visible, and viable entity in the running community.
Fight the fight with us!
Under HIS Grace...
Chris
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