My first real Bleg (with PayPal)The deluge of new tasks and responsibilities I've been faced with, regarding things that I need to get done, for myself, and to help other people, has not stopped. It has been slower at some points, but then new things keep arising - especially with the Illinois primary being earlier than ever before (it's TODAY!!), and with the 35th Annual "
Conservative Political Action Conference" (
CPAC 2008) no longer just coming up, but now right around the corner.
www.CPAC.orgRemember
CPAC 2006? I did get to do some live-blogging from there (the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.) - despite all else that I had to deal with -
in fact, I got to be on Blogger's Row!! [
along with Sean Hackbarth, Little Miss Attilla, Rocco from David Horowitz's Front Page Magazine, Mary Katherine Ham (from Hugh Hewitt's site, and I think TownHall.com as well), Jen (from 'Girl on the Right'), Ryan Sager, and perhaps Ace of Spaces HQ (though too fast and secretive to know), and of course, La Shawn Barber (though I missed Bryan Preston
and John Tabin)]
My
College Republicans organization (at the
University of Illinois at Springfield - the UIS CRs) brought 11 people to CPAC that year, more than any other organization in Illinois.
We have 11 students signed up to attend
CPAC again this year, again at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. [I retired as Chairman of our capital-city College Republicans organization at the end of last Spring semester, but have still been very involved in it's leadership (often a lot more than I would prefer to be), since my last term ended.]
Not only is the Illinois primary earlier than ever before, but CPAC is unually early as well. Ryan Bilodeau told me that last year (CPAC 2007 - which we decided to skip, though that seems to be the one that the presidential candidates were more focused on, which Matt Mau and Dan Miller had predicted would happen), it was held in March. The CPAC we attended was, in fact, in February, but I think a few days later than it is this time.
Even those extra few days would have helped. I am pulling an all-nighter (no, those haven't entirely stopped, even though I am no longer Chairman of the UIS College Republicans), due to the Illinois primary, but also:
This year, I have the responsibility to
raise almost all of the funds, to sponsor the
11 students to CPAC 2008.
Costs are significant. I did find a round-trip airfare rate lower than $200.00 per person, from
Southwest Airlines - though it is from Chicago Midway Airport (about four hours away). The hotel costs (three rooms, for four nights) are major though, even though we tried to find a low rate via Hotels.com.
- - - - - - - - - - 
Right now,
we are over $800.00 short of what is needed, just to cover the hotel and airfare costs, for the UIS students who wish to attend CPAC 2008.
Credit cards have been used to make these purchases, so even if the funds do not arrive until after CPAC is over, that will be okay.
This is technically not my first "bleg" (and not even my first CPAC-related "bleg") - but it is the first one, since the UIS College Republicans signed up for PayPal, so we can now accept contributions online.
www.HelpCollegeRepublicans.orgI have so far resisted the trend - which it seems that bloggers have been doing, ever since the Blogosphere began - of putting a "beggar's bowl" contribution link on their sites, so their readers can send them money. While I've used other methods before (such as Amazon.com referral links), I have never put a donation link, for people to send me financial assistance.
Nor am I doing that now. These funds will go into the treasury of one of the most active College Republicans organizations in the United States.
www.HelpCollegeRepublicans.orgWe have
over $800.00 to go... If we do end up raising it all (which I doubt will happen anytime soon - Plus, additional surprise expenses could arrive in Washington, D.C., like they did last time), I will publish a follow-up note, indicating that we no longer need any CPAC sponsorship funds.
But
we do need the sponsorship funds
right now, so
PLEASE send us something, if you can.
Thank you, and please let us know what we can assist you with, in the future.
[
P.S. - I did not get this idea from Little Miss Attila. ;-) ]
posted by Aakash at 11:58 PM
