Wi-fi has been hard to come by
Hola CTS friends. Wi-fi has been hard to come by the last couple days hence the lack of blog posts. We were able to use the friendly folks at S.A.R.A.’s in Texas signal for a bit to post. The team volunteered with Habitat for Humanity yesterday doing home repair for Ms. Georgia. We are volunteering today with SARA, which stands for Society for Animal Rescue and Adoption. It’s a great organization. Check them out by clicking here. Be sure to check out the new Questions of the Day on the home page. Next stop is New Orleans. Enjoy the pics and video.
Nashville…In the Books.
We had a great time in Nashville and worked with great crew. Here is a short video highlighting our time.
A few pictures from the Road
Check out some new pictures here courtesy of our photographer, Ben Pechtel. To see our whole album, click here.
Lunch with the beta bunch in Nashville
Bon Voyage 2011 Team
Our 2011 Summer Team hit the road this morning. They will be getting there “volunteer” on across the country for 19 days. From disaster relief efforts to helping the elderly, the CTS team will travel to and volunteer in five different states along the way. You can follow the progress via daily blog posts, videos, and photos right here on our blog. Also, be sure to “like” us on facebook. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible. If you’re feeling inclined to donate along the way, you can do so by clicking the donate tab at the top of the page.
2011 Pittsburgh Marathon
As an affiliate charity with the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon for the second consecutive year, The Call to Serve was able to fundraise over $8200. This would not have been possible without the hard work and persistence of our team of 30 runners. We are extremely grateful to each and everyone of you for your outstanding efforts. It has been a long road of training through a cold winter. You all did a great job and should be extremely proud.
A special thanks goes out to Amy and Jim Banachoski who donated over 30 power balance bands to our runners. We’d also like to thank the Kunes family for donating the spaghetti dinner and allowing us to use their yard for the party. Thank you all of our volunteers who worked the EXPO on Friday. We hope to see all of you in the 2012 Pittsburgh Marathon.
Call to Serve takes Message to the Pavement
A local non-profit group hopes runners from the Norwin region will “Run for a Reason” at the Pittsburgh Marathon on May 19.
For the second year, the Call to Serve, a nonprofit, service-based organization, is being recognized as one of the Pittsburgh Marathon’s charity teams, along with several larger charities, such as the Mario Lemieux Foundation and the American Cancer Society, as part of the “Run for a Reason” program.
“We’re being represented with some really reputable nonprofits, nationwide, and it’s a great honor,” Adam Kunes, Call to Serve co-founder and president, said. “To go from two guys with an idea to being partnered up and recognized on this level is a big deal for us, and we’re really excited for the opportunity.
“We’ve come a long way.”
Kunes, along Andrew Blythe, who are both North Huntingdon residents, founded The Call to Serve in 2009. The organization takes college-aged students on trips in a recreational vehicle around the country to help those in need.
During last year’s marathon, The Call to Serve raised $5,000 in donations and sponsorships with a team of 30 runners.
So far, about 25 runners have taken up The Call to Serve’s cause, helping the organization raise about $2,000, Kunes said. The organization’s goal is to raise $15,000 through the marathon.
The Pittsburgh Marathon, which is also a non-profit organization, offers charities the “Run for a Reason” program, said spokeswoman Karen Fredette. About 40 charities participate in the program.
Last year, “Run for a Reason” generated $750,000 for its charities, which was a 300 percent increase from the $250,000 raised during the 2009 race.
During the 2011 marathon, organizers hope to raise $1 million for its charities, Fredette said.
“This is our way of giving back to the community,” she said. “We want to encourage people to run to help these organizations out.”
The 26.2-mile marathon starts on Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh and ends on the North Shore. It also offers a 13.1-mile half-marathon course.
Marathon organizers expect about 18,000 runners this year.
Last year’s marathon also marked the first time Kunes ran a long-distance race.
“I’d never run more than four or five miles in my life before last year’s marathon,” he said. “I finished it, and I’m going to try to run it again this year, but this time I actually trained for it.”
Kunes said he hopes The Call to Serve’s team will gain a lot of runners from the Norwin region, turning it into a community fundraiser for the organization.
Before the marathon, The Call to Serve is sending out a fleet of a dozen volunteers in a recreational vehicle to Myrtle Beach, S.C., from March 20 to 26, for a week of service projects.
The volunteers have projects planned with Habitat for Humanity and Kennel Comforters, which provides animal shelters with homemade animal beds.
The Call to Serve made presentations at three schools — West Virginia University, Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa., and Allegheny College in Meadville.
After screening a documentary about their organization, Kunes said several students approached him about joining The Call to Serve.
“It’s been an overwhelming response, because students just want to do something to help people for a week, and have a good time while doing it,” Kunes said. “That’s what we wanted to do and are doing, helping people while having fun.”
how to help
Pittsburgh Marathon runners can run to help The Call to Serve, a nonprofit, service-based organization founded by Adam Kunes and Andrew Blythe of North Huntingdon.
To join the Call to Serve’s charity team, register for the Pittsburgh Marathon online at www.pittsburghmarathon.com.
After registering for the event, visit www.active.com/donate/thecalltoserve, and click on “Individuals: Click Here to build your personal fundraising page,” located on the right side of the website.
Donations can be made to the Call to Serve’s marathon team by visiting www.active.com/donate/thecalltoserve.
Courtesy of Rewind Memories
Thank you Allegheny College
February 10, 2011 by Adam
Filed under Blog, Daily Posts
Thank you to Alpha Phi Omega for hosting The Call to Serve documentary screening last night. 60 students came out to see what we are all about. Great questions, great crowd. We are fans of Allegheny College. Hope to see some of you this summer.
Intern Chelsea Introduced
We are excited to have another intern on board with the CTS team. Here is the scoop on Chelsea.
Chelsea Oliver is currently in her final semester at Seton Hill University, where she is double majoring in Communication and New Media Journalism. After graduation, she plans to move to Pittsburgh for grad school to continue her education in Public Relations and Marketing. Chelsea became interested in the Call to Serve through two friends that went on the trip last summer and because of her interest in non-profit organizations and volunteering. From a young age, Chelsea has gone on at least one mission trip per year. And because of her love for traveling and helping/meeting new people, it has been a personal goal of hers to continue volunteering in any way she can, where ever she can.
Age: 21
Likes: Music, Dancing, Shopping, Sports, Painting and spending time with her family and friends and MJ.
Quote: “Love all. Trust a few. Do wrong to none.” -Shakespeare
Power Animal: If a snow leopard and a black panther mated….their baby would be a snow panther, also known as Chelsea Oliver
Winter Update
So it’s been awhile since we have done a blog post, but it’s not because we haven’t been busy. It’s more so the opposite. After a jam packed fall including a college campus tour with AE, The Call to Serve is launching it’s new alternative spring break program,”Amazing Break.” Fundraisers, marathons, etc. are keeping the team extremely busy. To lighten the load a bit, we are excited to bring on a new intern, Chelsea. Her bio will be posted soon. Stay posted on ways you can get involved. Stay Classy!
