I’ve written and revised this countless times over the past couple of hours, and it’s time to get it posted and over with.
I called the last fundraising initiative “Keeping the Dream Alive” for good reason: we’ve raised about $500 of the $4,500 to $5,000 necessary to get Aunt Annie and me up to Traverse City for the Red Wings’ annual Prospect Games and training camp…
And my hotel reservation needs to be cancelled by 3 PM today.
At this point, I am still wrapping my head around the idea that this fundraiser has failed, but it has done just that.
Unless someone were to drop a couple grand into my PayPal or Venmo accounts today, and repeat that tomorrow, I wouldn’t have access to GoFundMe funds in time to head up to TC.
Long story long, the trip is a fantasy at this point. This particular fundraiser is over. As you might imagine, this has been a heartbreaking conclusion to my hopes of heading up to Traverse City with my aunt in tow, but reality is reality, and while I’m more than a bit depressed about the outcome, it is what it is. It’s a “no-go.”
I don’t quite understand why this “little blog that could” has become the “little blog that couldn’t quite make it,” but this year, it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to cover the Red Wings’ Prospect Games or training camp on an in-person basis.
I did what I could to earn your readership and your support after a long hiatus due to my and then my aunt’s health issues, but perhaps this blog is just too small now to do much other than give me purpose other than caregiving for the aunt.
My coverage is going to be different this year. The Red Wings stream their Prospect Games affairs and the Red vs. White Game, but there is absolutely nothing like being at the rink in-person to take in the prospects’ morning skates or six-plus hours of hockey every day during training camp.
There are observations and evaluations that will be lost, stories and reports untold. We’ll be relying on the “diggers” for quotes and observations instead.
There’s nothing like being at the rink, and I’m not going to be able to bring you the kind of in-depth reports you’re used to. It’s more than a little heartbreaking and depressing for me, but it is what it is.
I want to thank you for your support…
And, for better or worse, I want to warn you that the fundraising posts aren’t going the way of the Dodo.
Until and/or unless we agree as a blog community to add commercial advertising, this is the NPR of the blog world, and while there is no paywall here, but there is a need to raise funds each month to simply afford me the ability to pay my bills.
For example, right now, we’ve got a loan for an air conditioner to pay off, and that’s pushing us into the red in terms of money in vs. money out here at Blog Central.
With all of that being said, I’m going to continue raising funds for a simple reason–survival–and I’m going to ask for your advice in terms of starting a podcast, because even Aunt Annie says it’s time for me to go in that direction.
If you’re willing to lend a hand with our regular expenses, have a GoFundMe fundraiser page; we have a PayPal option at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport; there’s Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2; if you’re into the, “I don’t want to use any of those pages” option, here’s always the Giftly option by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com…
And in the banking options, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check, or “Zelle” me via my email, rtxg@yahoo.com. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”
As always, thank you for your readership and your time.
