A pair of yellow socks with a scalloped design that I knit for Lenore.

So here we are in the middle of May, and while I still have a fair bit of time until the big ride on July 20th and 21st1, I still have a long way to go to reach my $2,500 fundraising goal2. In past years I’ve been truly amazed by how generous and supportive my friends and family have been; just through internet advocacy and a little gentle… let’s call it nudging, I’ve typically managed to get well past the half way mark. Stir in generous employer support and a bit of self-donation to get over the hump, and hitting that $2,500 goal, while difficult, was quite doable.

But, as I’ve mentioned in past posts, without that employer support, this year is going to be tougher than usual3. Fortunately, that also means I have a lot more time to actively raise funds, which brings us to my first event: a hand-knit sock raffle!

So, how will this work?

  1. For every $25 CAD donation, you will get one entry in the raffle.
  2. For every referral you provide that results in a donation, you and the donor will both receive an entry!

I’ll then draw a winner on:

  • Wednesday, May 29th
  • Wednesday, June 19th
  • Wednesday, July 17th

With all tickets from those who haven’t won carried over in each draw.

Winners will receive a hand knit pair of socks by yours truly! All socks will be custom knit to size (I’ll supply instructions for how to measure your foot) and your preferred length, using a choice of sock yarn from my stash.

Additionally, depending on the number of held tickets, there’s a chance for some bonuses!

  • Holders of four or more entries will have their choice of any yarn they’d like (subject to availability in Canada, of course).
  • Holders of six or more entries can also select their choice of pattern!

An example of a little knitted gnome that is the early bird prize in the raffle.

Update:

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of my old friend Liz Fox, I’m happy to announce an additional bonus early bird prize that will be awarded in the May 29th draw: an adorable little hand-made stuffed gnome! I’ve included a photo showing a sample of what you can expect.

In terms of timing, note that each pair of socks will likely take 3-4 weeks to complete, and will be made in draw order, which means the last winner should expect to receive their socks by October or November.

So how do you enter?

Simply visit my tour page to donate and indicate you’d like to enter into the draw, either in your donor message or privately (my contact details are at the bottom of this page).

For referred donations, just let me know who referred you.

So donate today, because the earlier you donate, the more chances you have of winning!

  1. Which is very good since, while I’ve gotten a decent amount of training in, I still need a lot more work to get back into shape… ↩

  2. Though I’ve already received a number of early contributions from my incredibly generous supporters! Thank you Liz, Linda, Marcus, and Massie! ↩

  3. Not that this comes as a surprise. In fact, one of the many factors I considered when deciding whether or not to take this career break was the impact it would have on my tour fundraising efforts. ↩