Advice by Ariana: It's Easy to FundraiseAriana Bishop is a 15-year old student at Andover High school who has walked in the Hike for Hope for the last eight years as part of Team Popsicle. She writes a monthly column with her thoughts on the Capernaum Place mission to help inspire people to walk and fundraise. 
The money raised each year for the Hike for Hope goes to Capernaum Place, the transitional housing program that helps guests get back on their feet by providing life skills workshops, job training, job search assistance and childcare. In order to ensure that guests living at Capernaum Place receive the programs they need to be successful, it's important for your Team to fundraise when you walk in the Hike for Hope. In the past, I have used various methods to raise money for the Hike for Hope. I have gone door to door in my neighborhood informing my neighbors about the hike and convincing them to donate. Last year, however, I created an online fundraising web page. My site was instantly successful! It was easier and even more effective than asking my neighbors to support my team. If you are interested in making your own personal web page go to www.hikeforhope.org. First you need to register your team and then it outlines how to create your page. I had never made an online fundraising page before, but I found it very simple. On your fundraising page, there is a short paragraph about Lazarus House and what they do, as well as a video of other walkers; people need to know why you are asking for their donation and where the money is going. You can make your page personal with a message about the importance of donating. Write about why the Hike for Hope is important to you. Post pictures of you, your friends and family at the event. People will be more enthusiastic about donating to your Team if they know who you are or if they can relate to you. To make it easy people can donate directly on your web page if they have a credit card, or if they pay by cash or check you can manually add their donation so that it shows all your fundraising activity. When you have finished making your fundraising page, email the link to your website to anyone who might donate. Send it to your friends, family members, neighbors and teachers. If you have a Facebook page, post the link on your wall, so that many people will see the website. Ask your friends to post the link on their Facebook pages. The more people that visit your page, the more people that will donate. Updating your page often with news about the Hike not only informs readers about this great event but also encourages them to raise money themselves and maybe even start their own Team! | 
