New ways to make summer count with Project AWAKE

Project AWAKE is introducing a new fundraiser this year and encouraging residents to get outdoors to help make the summer count.

Due to the global pandemic, the local nonprofit has had a difficult time with its regular fundraising activities to help the organization that manage the arboretum. Because of this, Project AWAKE has come up with a fun idea to raise funds and get people active this summer with the Making Summer Count event.

“The board was trying to think of ideas for a fundraiser because with COVID we lost quite a bit of income on our rentals and our biggest fundraiser was planned for May,” Sveta Miller co-president of Project AWAKE said.

The event itself aims to get people outside starting July 1. How the event works is people keep track of their steps each week and then turn them in. There will be multiple age categories for people to participate in as well as prizes at the end and the cost is $20 donation for a single person and $30 if people want to register with a pet.

“Once a week, we will send them an email as a reminder to submit their steps for the week and then we will keep track of those,” Miller said.

At the end of the week, the top performer in each category will be chosen and be showcased on the Facebook page. The categories consist of different age groups and each week for participation names are entered into a drawing for prizes. An entry also is given for registering.

“The more they participate ... Then they have more chances of winning a prize,” Miller said.

The hope is people of all ages will participate in the challenge that begins July 1 and runs to August 12 and will see people walking all over. The registration fee will go to help the Newton Arboretum complete renovations among many other things.

“We don’t get any public funding so we rely on donations to maintain the grounds and to pay our groundskeeper,” Miller said.

The hopes are that people will enjoy getting outside and keeping track of their steps throughout the summer while also benefiting a good cause.

For more information, you and to register you can visit www.newtonarboretum.com/events.html. Additionally, Project AWAKE will send the Google document to participants each week to record their steps.

“This is kind of our way of making sure that people are still remembering the arboretum and are getting out and doing things,” Miller said.

Contact Dustin Teays at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or dteays@newtondailynews.com