The watch word of America's Walking Club (ava.org) this year is "Walk Long, Stay Strong." This provided the motivation for our members to reach out to friends, family, and acquaintances to encourage them to join the walking community, and to support the community in it's mission to help members live longer, healthier lives. 
A funny thing happened in the middle of the fund raising campaign: COVID-19. It resulted in a nation wide effort to avoid gathering in groups, as walkers typically do, to "flatten the curve" and starve the virus of unwitting victims. This put a bit of a damper on our group walking efforts.
Nevertheless, Panda, my Giant Schnauzer, and I managed to pull off our 8 day, 200km "give-a-woof" walk-a-thon to raise awareness and raise money to support the AVA.
Below are the results, a day by day synopsis of how things went, with pictures, companions, and hiccups, all leading to a successful campaign.
It's not too late to pledge and donate. You can access the webpage to make donations by clicking here: http://www.tinyurl.com/vshakqa

Last year, I walked 100 km over a weekend with Panda, my Giant Schnauzer, and we raised over $800.
 
This year, I am again walking to raise money to support the AVA vision: “To increasingly engage Americans in lifelong walking and other noncompetitive physical fitness activities.” 
 
AVA is asking for all donations to be made on March 26th. 
 
I will walk 200 km in the week leading up to the “Big Give” date and I am asking friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and associates to make a pledge to support my walk. A generous pledge of $1 per km translates into $200 for AVA. 10 cents per km nets AVA $20.

Download the brochure and the pledge sheet below.

Some of the routes I plan to walk during the walk-a-thon week... 
The longer routes are in a "figure-8" configuration. If the total distance is too much and you would like to join Panda on just one of the loops, she would welcome the company!

Won't you join me and Panda, either on part of the trail, or with a generous pledge!?
Call 360-369-8296 or email bobhallfamily@aol.com to let us know your plans.

Over 98 km walked over 3 days, over 20 hours of walking. Thanks to the generous donations of about 20 people, we raised $800 to support the AVA.

Hello friends!
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I'm looking for sponsors for walking all the “All Weather Walkers” (www.allweatherwalkers.org) walks in one weekend!

All Weather Walkers has 100 km of scenic trails across a 100 km swath of Southwest Washington from Hazel Dell in the West along the Burnt Bridge Trail Greenway, to Stevenson in the East. Other trails go through Felida, Washington State University campus, Tech Center Park, Camas, Washougal, and North Bonneville.

I'm raising funds for the AVA’s annual fund-raiser this year by walking all the “All Weather Walker” walks in one weekend. I estimate each 10 km will take about 2 hours to complete. Feel free to pledge any amount. Ten cents per km equates to a total of $10, $1 per km equates to $100.

I took up walking a year ago after recovering from colon cancer, joined several walking clubs, and have been tremendously blessed. As a side benefit, it has virtually eliminated a chronic backache I developed from crouching over a computer for twenty years. After I retired last year, I vowed to take my dog Panda on long walks every day.

If you decide to encourage me on my quest and want to make a pledge, please drop me a note and I can share a couple of ways you can make a contribution! Check out the attached Checkpoint for one way to do it on the Big Give Day!

Or go here: https://www.thebiggivesa.org/organizations/american-volkssport-association-inc
If you want to join me on one or more of the walks, I’d welcome the company. Give me a call or drop me an email.

Here’s my planned schedule:

Friday – Mar 29
5am: Hazel Dell – 10k
8am: Felida – 10k
11am: WSU – 10k
2pm: Tech Center Park – 10k
5pm: Camas – 21k
 
Saturday – Mar 30
6am: Washougal – 15k
10am: Stevenson – 10k
1am: Bonneville – 10k