Category: Health and fitness

Sandra’s Brainstorming List

Long List: 20 Story Ideas

  1. Why race?
  2. Why raise?
  3. How effective are charity races?
  4. What are the intangible benefits?
  5. How to train and raise simultaneously
  6. What events are most effective?
  7. Who are the big players?
  8. How long does it take?
  9. What draws racers in?
  10. Solo or social?
  11. Three stories to tell
  12. Effect on the community
  13. What’s new in charity racing?
  14. What’s cool in charity racing?
  15. The day-to-day: training and raising funds
  16. In their words
  17. Zeroing in: seeing if Athens has a small operation of a national trend
  18. It all started when…: everyone has a reason to race and raise.
  19. Bruce Wayne: charity racers’ day jobs
  20. Snapshot to silver screen: one person’s story as a microcosm of a larger trend

Short List: Six Paragraphs

  1. Profile:
    • Three stories to tell: I’d like to tell the story of three people: one who began raising charitable funds through exercise not having done either before, one who exercised but at some point starting using it as a conduit to raise funds, and the third a regular giver who raised funds by some other means but one day decided to do it using exercise. What event in their life caused them to make the change?
    • Effect on the community: I’d like to know what impact a certain individual’s charitable racing has had on his or her community. How has the community changed due to the event or someone’s story; how is it currently changing?
  2. Trend:
    • What’s new? I’d like to know what trends are emerging in charitable racing. What is their impact? Do they focus more on the exercise portion, the giving portion, or both?
    • What’s cool? This may or may not go along with the previous one. What things are popular among participants of charity races?
  3. Pick-em:
    • The day-to-day: Corresponding with the behind-the-scenes pick-em, I’d like to see a day in the life (not on race day) for the charity racer. How do they train? How do they raise funds? This could also spill over into an ending of the story detailing the day of the event.
    • Bruce Wayne: In real life, Batman, wasn’t Batman during the day; he was a rich tycoon. Corresponding with the off-the-beaten-path pick-em, who are these charity racers when they’re not racing and raising funds?

Brainstorming List

20 story ideas

  1. The story of an American girl who had eating disorders but now recovered.
  2. The story of a Chinese girl who had eating disorders.
  3. A tragic story caused by eating disorders.
  4. How to treat eating disorders.
  5. Comparison between China and America about how eating disorders are viewed and treated.
  6. How does the social perspective affect the treatment of eating disorders.
  7. Interview an eating disorders organization in China.
  8. Interview an eating disorders organization in America.
  9. What is the relationship between culture trend and eat disorders.
  10. New trend in eating disorders therapist.
  11. From the perspective of professional nutritionist, does the “so called” weight loss recipes really work.
  12. A story of a girl who successfully lose weight through healthy way.
  13. New research about eating orders. Do the eating orders related to gene?
  14. Which area has a high rate of eating disorders and why?
  15. Eating disorder statistics.
  16. What eating disorders program can help patients.
  17. Eating disorders and suicide
  18. School stress and eating disorders
  19. Eating disorders and self control
  20. Fashion trend and eating disorders

Profile

  1. The story of an American girl who had eating disorders but now recovered. Why did she have eating disorders. How did she found she had eating disorders. How did eating disorders affect her life. How did she fight with eating disorders? How did she get recovered.

Sources: Eating disorders recovery center in Athens. Professional psychologist and professional nutritionist in America. The subject’s family and friends. Eating disorders organization in America.

  1. The story of a Chinese girl who had eating disorders. Why did she have eating disorders. How did she found she had eating disorders. How did eating disorders affect her life. How did she fight with eating disorders? How did she get recovered. Make a comparison with the American girl’s story.

Sources: Eating disorders recovery center in China. Professional psychologist and professional nutritionist in China. The subject’s family and friends. Eating disorders organization in China.

Trend

  1. What is the relationship between fashion trend and eating disorders. Culture can plays an important role in shaping society’s beauty standard, which can then affect how girls view their body. I want to examine several country’s culture and to see is there any relationship between culture and eating disorders.
  1. New trend in eating disorders therapist. Statistics has long time shown that eating disorders are related to gene, but scientific proof is missed. What are the new trend in eating disorders research and therapist are the question I’m going to explore.

Sources: professional biologist and professional psychologist

Pick-em

  1. Using the statistic to tell the story. Which area has a high rate of eating disorders and why? Examine the relationship between culture and eating disorders.
  2. New research about eating orders. How does the new research forecast the future of eating disorders.

Brainstorming: The Charity Side of Health and Fitness

  1. Why do charity racers race? I’d like to know what motivates individuals to choose health and fitness activities (not necessarily limited to races; they could do Zumbathons, for example) to raise money for charities, as opposed to other activities like bake sales or bingo nights.

  2. Why do racers raise money for charity? The flip side to the above coin, I’d like to know why fitness gurus choose to raise money for charitable causes.

  3. How effective are races for raising charitable funds? Again not limited to racing, I’d like to know — in terms of event cost versus return on investment — how profitable organized fitness activities are at raising charitable funds in comparison with other fund-raising modalities.

  4. Are there any non-financial or intangible benefits to fitness-for-charity events? How do these compare to other fund-raising modalities?

  5. How do racers raise funds while also training for their event? What techniques are better than others for both activities (training and fundraising)?

  6. What are the most effective charity-raising fitness events? Are they the most well known and recurring, or are they obscure ones, like one-time obstacle courses and fun runs? Why?

  7. Who are the big players? Which events and individuals are the best in the business, and what do they do that makes them stand out?

  8. How long does it take? How long does it take participants to train as well as raise funds for a charitable fitness event?

  9. What draws racers to particular events? Are they going for the fun factor with themed races, seeking a race that targets a specific charity, striving to run an iconic or well known race for charitable causes, or is there some other motivating factor?

  10. Solo or social? Do charity racers run races alone or in groups, and why do they choose their favored method?

More Research: The Charity Side of Health and Fitness

Here are five more stories relevant to my beat: the charity side of health and fitness.

  1. “How ACTIVE Employees Are Helping Get Kids in the Game”
    • Author: Scott Brown
    • Date Published: July 21, 2016
    • Summary: This story focuses on a different type of charity: giving children access to extracurricular activities who otherwise would not have the chance to do so. The story tells how ACTIVE partners with nonprofit organization Kids in the Game, lists featured events, and gives a testimonial.

  2. “How Do I Raise Money for Charity While Training for a Race?”
    • Author: Team Women’s Running (non-credited)
    • Date Published: March 20, 2015; Updated March 2, 2016
    • Summary: This post is more of a blog than a story, but it does give very useful info on how to raise money while training for a race, including establishing benchmark goals, being creative with how you engage your audience (and potential donators), and holding a fundraising event or party.

  3. “Top 100 Fundraising Ideas”
    • Author: not listed
    • Date Published: April 4, 2013
    • Summary: This article comes out of the UK, and like the previous one, is more of a blog than a story. The difference with this one is it organizes its top 100 fundraising ideas by Type of Fundraiser. It also includes helpful categories including Easiness Rating, Fundraising Target, and Time Scale.

  4. “In Long Run, Do Charity Races Pay?”
    • Author: Trevor Hughes
    • Date Published: April 8, 2013
    • Summary: This cautionary article from USA Today argues that charity runs may not bring in all the charitable funds they aim or claim to. In fact, many fun runs are “woefully inefficient ways to raise funds,” according to nonprofit rating service Charity Navigator’s Sandra Miniutti, and races and other special events were “the least efficient method of raising money, when you look at dollars raised versus dollars spent,” according to a 2003 study by Indiana University’s School of Philanthropy. Miniutti argues such events are more about brand/charity awareness than fundraising. However, the author does report on better aspects of charity races than simply fundraising, including community goodwill and donor cultivation.

  5. “Charity Running More Competitive Than Ever”
    • Author: Michelle Hamilton
    • Date Published: July 2, 2013
    • Summary: Rather than targeting runners, this article focuses on how charities compete to participate in races, especially big ones like the Chicago Marathon. The story mentions how the Marine Corps Marathon added 30 charities to its roster in 2013, hitting a record high of 131, with 28 more on their waiting list. “In the past, there was one or two” said Marine Corps public relations coordinator Tami Faram. The article goes on to mention the growing field of charity racing, as well as its benefits to charities including developing a revenue stream, increasing public visibility, and strengthening relationships with the communities in which races are hosted.

Organizations: Health and Fitness Charity Events

Here are five organizations useful for and/or relevant to my beat, the charity side of health and fitness.

  1. Great Nonprofits

  2. The Color Run
    • Found at: The Color Run – Charity
    • Why: The Color Run is not a charitable race event itself, but in most of the cities in which it holds runs, it works with local organizations to increase cause awareness for those organizations.

  3. Outside Online
    • Found at: “Yes, Charity Races Are Losing Money. No, They’re Not Going Extinct.”
    • Why: Although this article is a little outdated (written in January 2015 and referencing stats from 2013 because 2014’s numbers weren’t in yet), this article makes the good argument that races are going away from three-day-long epic events by big companies (like the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life or Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Race for the Cure) and toward shorter, themed races like mud runs, obstacle courses, and glow runs, many of which raise money for charities.

  4. Runner’s World
    • Found at: “Run for All”
    • Why: This is an authoritative source on running commenting on the reason many people run: to raise money for charity.

  5. Race Entry
    • Found at: “How to Organize a 5K”
    • Why: While this article encompasses all dimensions of planning a race, it has a specific section dedicated to planning fun runs or charity races.

Social Media: Health and Fitness Charity Events

Here are the profiles of 10 sources (individuals, local experts, national experts, etc.) on social media involved with my beat (the charity side of health and fitness).

  1. Allison Gauss

  2. Terri Harel

  3. Laurie Pani

  4. Danny Brown

  5. Deanna deBara

  6. Benjamin Roodman

  7. Aline Selyukh

  8. Anita Gerhardter

  9. Gary Lineker

  10. Molly Barker

Social Media

1. Karen Larson, Licensed Professional Counselor

2.  Lauren Coheley, Doctoral Student- Department of Foods and Nutrition at the University of Georgia

3. Anllela Sagra

4. Angela Schaffner, Licensed Psychologist at Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders

5. Li Xueni, a Chinese psychiatrist

6. A Chinese eating disorder patient

7. Gu Zhongyi, a Chinese nutritionists

8. Johanna S Kandel, CEO & Founder at Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness

9. Lea Valencia Noring, therapist at Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders

10. Meade Fields, psychotherapist at Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders

Old Stories

Story 1: Race for a Cause: Charity Fitness Events

  • Link: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/charity-races
  • Date Published: June 20, 2012
  • Summary: This “article” was actually a little disappointing: it’s merely a list of charity races (some themed) and how much they cost for participants. (I thought it would tell a story.) Races include the Color Run, the Denver Gorilla Run, and the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series, among others.
  • Interesting/Relevant Today: Marginally. I don’t know that all of these races are still taking place. I know some of them, like the Color Run, are.

 

Story 2: Bannatyne’s Helps Member Train for Charity Iron Man Triathlon

  • Link: http://www.recognitionpr.co.uk/clients/id/8573
  • Date Published: February 8, 2012
  • Summary: This article was better because it actually was a story. This is a story out of Britain describing how a fitness facility, Bannatyne’s Health Club, helped a 55-year-old man, Ian Donaldson, train to race in the Ironman (they misspelled it in their article: it’s one word, not two) to raise funds for Clic Sargent, a charity that helps children with cancer. Donaldson had participated in charitable races before, but never the Ironman triathlon, which is very rigorous and lasts between 12 and 14 hours. The article also included a link at the end whereby readers could donate to Donaldson’s cause.
  • Interesting/Relevant Today: Not necessarily. It’s a nice human-interest story, but nothing more.

 

Story 3: Charity Races Mix Fitness and Fundraising

  • Link: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1181
  • Date Published: September 10, 2008
  • Summary: This article was the best of all. Instead of being just a list of charity races (Article 1) or one racer’s specific story (Article 2), this article talked about charity races in general (many themed) and told readers how to get involved in one. It’s a little sad that the oldest article I chose is actually the most relevant.
  • Interesting/Relevant Today: Definitely. It holds timeless tips that are still applicable today.

Old Stories

The first article I found is “For those struggling with eating disorders, Johanna Kandel gives hope and shares her story”. It is written by Staci Sturrock and published on Palm Beach Post on June 27, 2011. This article is about a girl’s fight with eating disorders. When Kandel was 12 years old, she desperately wanted to earn a part in a production of The Nutcracker. Unfortunately, she was not cast in the show.  Although the adults explained it was because she simply looked too young, she believed it was because she was too fat. Her diet became more rigid and her exercise regimen became stricter. Eventually, her eating disorder robbed her of the dancing career she dreamed of. She struggled for 10 years and finally recovered. She grows the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness. In order to provide assistance to those struggling with eating disorders and to promote positive body images, the group has produced several fashion shows featuring models of all shapes and sizes. I also want to write a story about how people struggle with eating disorders, so this article really helped me a lot.

The second article I found is “Low fat or high protein: which diet really works?”, which is written by Vicki Edgson and published in The Times on April 14, 2012. The article is based on a research conducted by scientists at Harvard Medical School. The scientist believed that the magic formula for weight loss is “lower fat, more exercise” and recommend people to eat good carbohydrates. The article also explained why the lower-fat approach work and suggest people keep eating fat and don’t buy things such as ready meals that have hidden fats in them.

The third article I found is “Slim or curvy – what shape do you prefer?” It is written by Ann Fotheringhamt and published on Evening Times on April 10, 2007. The article used several surveys to reveal a trend that curves are back and those skinny role models are being replaced by their more voluptuous counterparts. Also, the article interviewed several women to say what do they think. This article can help me to know the previous trend so I can make a comparison between before and now in my article.