Raising Money the Fat-Free Way

Eric Gamble was brave enough to pose for this "before" photo!

There are many ways to raise money for charities. Eric Gamble has found a way to do it while giving himself an incentive to become a better, healthier person. He is raising funds by losing weight.

I interviewed Eric about his personal fundraising campaign. He demonstrates that you can find creative and unique ways to support a nonprofit organization.

Please join me in supporting Eric’s efforts by making a $25 donation after reading this interview and checking out the Angels’ Place website.

Can you briefly describe your fundraiser?

I am calling the fundraiser, Eric’s 25 for Angels’ Place. Angels’ Place is a non-profit organization that provides respite & end-of-life services to terminally ill children & their families. My goal is to lose 25 lbs.  Right now I weigh 224.5 lbs. My Personal goal is to get to 199 lbs. The program, I joined at my gym, is a 14 week program that will end on August 20th.

I am asking for a $25 donation or $1 a pound. If by some horrible chance I don’t make the 25 lbs, I will refund you a dollar for every pound I missed (i.e., if I only lose 20 lbs by August 20th, then Angel’s Place will receive your generous $25 donation & I will refund you $5 from my OWN money). This goes for any amount you donate. I will take the amount you were able to donate & divide it by 25 to get the amount you are donating per pound.

I will also post who has donated weekly on my Personal website at EricGamble.com.

What gave you the idea to lose weight for charity?

Often, I see and help others who are taking pledges or donations to walks/runs or do something for Cancer Research, AIDS Research, Education Against Violence, etc. Those are great. But I am not much of a runner. Heck I don’t even like to walk at a fast pace. So I wanted to find a way to do something for a charity that I am passionate about, that will allow me to actually do something! Thus, I am taking donations to lose weight on behalf on Angels’ Place. I need to lose weight and I keep trying. However, I keep failing for millions of bad excuses. But this time, I have included Angels’ place.  I discussed it with them and put myself on the hook to do this for myself and for them.

What is the biggest challenge you think you will face to lose the weight?

I have several challenges. First, I live in New Orleans where we don’t eat to live but Live to Eat.  I love the food here! On top of that, my job often requires me to meet with clients during dinner and it’s so hard to turn down a great meal. 

Secondly, I have a chocolate addiction! Chocolate is my biggest weakness. If you want something from me, all you have to do is bring over a devils food chocolate cake and you get whatever you want.

Third, I travel quite a bit.  I have several work conventions and a couple planned summer vacations.  There is nothing worse than going on vacation or being at a convention and trying to eat healthy and find time to exercise.

My final challenge is that I am 32 and its actually getting harder for me to lose weight. I used to drop weight pretty fast without much work. But in the past couple of years, losing the weight hasn’t come as easy and requires much more organization and devotion. Something, which up until now, I have been missing!

Why did you select Angels’ Place?

One day my father and I were discussing my life and how I am very blessed right now with a great job, a nice house (that didn’t suffer during hurricane Katrina), and I am somewhat financially sound. This was especially notable since my parents were extremely poor when I was born and worked tirelessly to give our family a better life. So, I was complaining about taxes and how I get really screwed paying for a lot of people who were at the same starting point as my parents but do nothing with their life. At that point, my father said, "Then donate the money to the people you think do deserve it! You make the decision where your funds go! As a man, you deserve anything you earn, anything you work for, and that is your right! But as a Good Man you have a responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves. That is your Duty!"

So I thought about different charities of the world, and none of them hit me. I was somewhat skeptical that my money would even get to those who needed it or that it was a necessary charity. Then, I saw a newsletter at my dad’s house for Angels’ Place. All this charity does is make children’s last days on earth easier, happier, and more comfortable. These children didn’t deserve this situation. This was just their life! I kept thinking of how wonderful my childhood was because of my parents, and these kids weren’t going to get that total experience. However, Angels’ Place was going to do as much as they could with whatever means they had to try and make their "angel’s" time on earth wonderful. So I chose them because I wanted to be part of something that is bigger than me. Helping Children enjoy their Life!  Even if I only have my $25, perhaps it can help a kid and his family have a new toy or something to make the last days full of laughter.

I could go on and on about my feelings for these and any children who are sick.

Do you have a goal for how much money you want to raise through this fundraiser?

Well, I have my $25 which is a guarantee. In reality, I don’t have a cap but I would like to get at least 20 people donating $25. Even if I fail and don’t lose any weight, at least Angel’s Place has $500 and the donors will get a full refund from me.

How can others get involved?

Obviously, you can donate via PayPal at EricGamble.com. I will be sending out regular updates. I can also use moral support. I don’t have a blog for this but I do have a forum on my site. When you go to EricGamble.com you can click on recent news and look at the top for the 25 for Angels’ Place link.  Leave me a message there. My sister has already agreed to bash me if she sees or hears about me eating chocolate anything! Also, you can visit Angels’ Place online at AngelsPlace.org or you can call them at (504) 455-2620 and ask for Mrs. Anita Gilford. She’s the boss over there. Tell them that Eric Gamble the son sent you (My father is Eric as well).