The sun wasn’t the only thing shining last Sunday.  On September 13, 2009, 30 young, philanthropically minded Chicagoans donned electric yellow Run 4 a Reason tees and hit the pavement with nearly 20,000 runners at the Chicago Half Marathon and 5K.

Each had their own reason to run.  Some ran to green Chicago’s streets, others ran to support Chicago volunteers heading to Katrina affected cities, while others ran to support equal rights for all.  But the true champions of the day were the 16 runners from Chicago Children’s Charities who raised more than $12,000 for ten local charities. read more…

Here at GiveForward we’re all about making philanthropy fun. So on September 10, we’re giving the community another reason to party. Get a sneak peak of Old Town Social before its grand opening at GiveForward’s “Party for a Reason.” As an awesome pre-race shindig, we will be celebrating the runners and charities involved in “Run for a Reason.” (our fundraising competition and effort to connect with local charities by bringing together runners to participate in the upcoming Chicago Half Marathon & 5k.)

See what Party for a Reason has to offer with two hours of open bar including specialty cocktails, vodka drinks, beer, and appetizers while mingling with young professionals who know how to have a good time.  Doors open at 7pm, and Party for a Reason tickets keep you enjoying the club sans cover for the rest of the night, with a raffle and prizes you won’t want to miss. (Yes, we are offering more than free shirts! Although our shirts ARE pretty cool.) And the best part: ticket proceeds go to various charity partners of GiveForward, including organizations like Chicago Children’s Charities, Chicago Inner City Outings, and Midwest Young Artists. Now who would want to give up the chance to drink and feel guilt free? Party for a Reason promises to be a hangover you can be proud of.

Details of the event:

Where: Old Town Social 455 W. North Ave (on the El: just West of the Sedgwick Brown Line stop)

When: September 10, 2009, 7PM-10PM

Price: $25 for 2 hours of open bar (remember, it’s for charity!)

Purchase your tickets online at Party4aReason.com!

Run 4 a Reason is an ongoing effort to help runners raise money for ANY reason they care about. You can help your favorite charity, a friend battling an illness or any cause that is important to you by setting up a fundraising page as part of your training.  There is no minimum amount you need to raise. You set your goal amount as high or as low as you want. It’s totally up to you!

Upcoming Run for a Reason Events:

The Chicago Half Marathon & 5K
Sunday, September 13th at 8am

The Chicago Marathon
Sunday October 11th

The Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff 5K (NYC)

Sunday October 25 at 8am

To get started, all you need to do is create a free fundraising page by clicking either link above.  Then, click “Join this Group” to customize your personal fundraising page.  Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to start fundraising.  Email your page to your family, friends and your network of people you know will support your efforts and keep them updated over the course of your training.

On September 13th, 2009, GiveForward.org and 200 young professionals will run in the Chicago Half Marathon and 5k as part of GiveForward.org’s Run for a Reason, a fundraising competition and celebration of Chicago’s amazing smaller non-profit community.

Our goal is to help raise as much money for Chicago charities as possible while showing the Chicago community how important young philanthropists are to these organizations.  This year, 200 young professionals, volunteers, junior board members, and non-profit staff will compete for a grand prize that will go to the winning team’s organization. read more…

Make those 6 a.m. runs count for something this season. With GiveForward you can raise money for any cause that you care about by participating in Run for a Reason. We’re so excited to be a part of the Chicago Half Marathon and 5K on September 13th, and have set our goal for this Run for a Reason to have 200 runners participate.

Why not get involved? Runners get to choose a cause they care about, and use the site to fundraise towards their goals. You get the satisfaction of raising money, finishing a 5K or half marathon, AND a kick-ass GiveForward t-shirt. (Who could resist that?) Also runners are invited to attend the official GiveForward Run for a Reason party to celebrate with raffles, food, and lots of alcohol.

If you know anyone training for a race this season who might want to participate and make their run more meaningful, be sure to tell them about GiveForward’s Run for a Reason! To get started join our group page at giveforward.org/runforareason or if you know of any Chicago nonprofits that want to start their own fundraising team tell them to email us or visit giveforward.org/groups.html

We just wanted to thank everyone who participated in last weekend’s Run for a Reason in NYC. We had about 25 runners join us in the 5 mile run through Central Park. Through your AWESOME efforts you all helped raise $13000 for 13 different charities and causes. Overall, it was a great weekend and we look forward to next year’s run!

Here are a few pictures from the event.  You can check out the rest of the album on Facebook

GiveForward wants to give a shout out to Aron “the fundraising dominator” Grossman for being the first GFer in GiveForward history to reach 100% of his fundraising goal.

This fundraising stud is raising money for the Fresh Air Fund, an organization that provides free summer vacations to inner-city kids from NYC. You can check out his page here.

Aron is one of over forty people running in GiveForward’s Run for a Reason five-mile fun run next weekend in New York City. Although Aron has admittedly never run five consecutive miles in his life, Aron decided to be like Gheorghe Muresan, and “score one for the kids.” Way to go, Aron!!

For all the ladies out there, you can catch a glympse of this big-hearted, fundraising stud at 8:30 AM on October 26th as he completes his history making, first ever, five mile run through Central Park.

Anyway, if you’re reading this Aron, we just wanted to say “Congratulations” on this monumental accomplishment. GiveForward will be sending you a congratulatory bottle of Gheorghe Mursesan cologne for your efforts.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9uaDiRlLBQ[/youtube]