Eco-friendly fundraising: people-powered RAT race

In one of those wonderful spur-of-the-moment playdates that happen after preschool on sunny days, a couple of moms were talking about how we need to get more in touch with the power we use. Want local food? You grow it in your garden. Power? Not so easy. We flip a switch and it's usually just there. We have no connection to it. Wouldn't it be cool if we could power things ourselves? Lights and TVs and microwave ovens that are powered by stationary bikes or treadmills? I know I've read about similar experiments where video games are powered by exercise equipment to get sedentary kids moving. I think I even read about a fitness center in Portland that is 100% powered by the people working out in the gym. Probably would be fairly impossible to implement, but fun to surmise about... The only thing in our house that comes close is a flashlight we have to power by shaking. I would imagine if the flashlight is any indication, which gives off a pitiful little spotlight after vigorous shaking, we'd have to work pretty dang hard to have any real energy output.

In any case, today our school put on a people-powered fundraiser: the RAT race (Run for Arts & Technology). I don't know about your school, but both our preschool and elementary schools are in a final push to squeeze in as many fundraisers as possible before the end of the year: rummage and bake sales, the aforementioned RAT race, and close on its heels an art fair. I helped out at last year's race, and was amazed how hard those young kids ran and worked to make as many laps as they could in the 30 minutes of the race. My then-six year old ran 8 laps on our local high school track, which is 2 miles. Wow! Who knew a 6 year old could run that far? As you can tell, the stands were packed with adoring fans, cheering on the runners to achieve their personal bests!! Do I hear the song from Chariots of Fire off in the distance?? While this type of fund-raiser needs equally people-powered pledges to generate money, I love that we don't have to sell any things. Our organizers this year also strongly encouraged participants to bring their own durable water bottles so there is minimal waste from disposable water cups.

While today's race may have only generated enough kilowatts to power a toaster oven, it was awe-inspiring to watch the earnest efforts of the kids, and it felt like they could have lit up the whole city if they were hooked up to a generator. I hope the kids are proud of their accomplishments and what their bodies can do. It segues nicely into National Bike Month which comes in May. Yay! People-power and eco-friendly fundraising!!