Entered 10.7.02
by Velma

Hi guys. Just wanted to let you know we will not have a tally this week. Due to some accounting changes, the RHMC will now be providing new tallies every other week. It has been heading in that direction for a while. So, now it is official. We’ll just have to stay in suspense two weeks at a time now.

Entered 9.30.02
by Velma

Hi all! Check it out. We have a new number in the thousandth’s spot. $4,034. It’s a 4! That’s one jump from a 5. Okay, der, you knew that. The things is . . . gosh, I’m just so proud to know you all. Hmmmm. Actually, I guess, I don’t know any of you, come to think of it. All I know is that despite the waning interest in this project, the money is still trickling in. You all impress me so much. If I wasn’t sucha “badass,” I’d be breaking down into tears. Heck, I just might anyway. *sniff* Damnit. Okay, well, I gotta go. Talk to you all soon. :)

Entered 9.23.02
by Velma

Hi guys! Hope you are all well. We don’t have a tally to report this week. It is not because the tally hasn’t risen, but because RMHC is going through some accounting changes and cannot report a new tally until next week.

Hey, that means we get a whole extra week to get the tally up to $5,000.

Tell your friends. Tell your families. Tell yourself. It’s time to get your check in to RMHC!

Entered 9.18.02
by Velma

Inch by inch. Step by step. Slowly I crept.

Tally moved this week! $3,664!

Entered 9.9.02
by Velma

Okay. The tally didn’t move this week. But, that’s okay. We still have some time here. There is some very cool news to report, however. I’ll let the RMHC tell it.

“Thank you for your continuing enthusiasm. What you have raised to date will help us with our Kresge Challenge. By the way, we are $1,000,000 closer thanks to the generosity of a recent donor...$167,000 left to go!”

Uh, no. Someone didn’t donate $1 million in Apolo’s name. Though that would have just totally kicked all kinds of booty. But this means that what we raise from now on will be all the more meaningful as Nov. 30, approaches.

Please don’t give up. We are still in the game and have time to meet our fan objective, which is getting a room named after Apolo.

Entered 9.3.02
by Velma

The tally is moving again! Yea! $3,484! The folks at Ronald McDonald Charities are very grateful to all of us for keeping up the effort. They think this is just the coolest thing they have ever seen. They are really impressed with all of Apolo’s fans.

If you notice on the front page, the overall total they are trying to reach by Nov. 30, has gone down again to $1.16 million. So, that’s very cool. Of course, our concern as fans is the $10k right now. We have received many emails of encouragement. Thank you to everyone. It is great to hear how people are saving what they can and sending it to RMHC.

We don’t know if you noticed that the ads disappeared from the site last month and that you not longer get the “data transfer error” message anymore. We decided since we are asking people to come to this site for info, it can never be down. So, we have made a personal investment by upgrading the site from a free site to a premium site. So, please enjoy it and keep sending people this way to get the information and inspiration they need.

Entered 8.26.02
by Velma

Hi! Well, this week the tally remained the same again. But, not to worry. I have a feeling that these pauses are just part of an accounting pattern. So, stay encouraged, and please continue to support the effort by telling your friends, families, and cyber pals.

Newsy Notes:

	If you work for an employer that provides for charity fund matching, see if they will match the funds in Apolo’s name. (Thanks to Susan G. for reminding us of this on the Tag Board.)
	Though we have contacted more than 100 Apolo fan sites about helping support the I.A.N., there may be a few we have missed in the past. If your favorite fan site doesn’t seem to know about I.A.N., please send us the URL and the Web master’s email addy. If we haven’t contacted them before, we will let them know about the project.
	If you have a Web site yourself, whether it is big or small, email us and we will send you links to a handful of great banners I.A.N. supporters like Joanna and Navi have built for the cause. Or just let us know you are supporting it in your own way. We want to get your site name under Participating Sites. Don’t look at it as a vehicle to pat you on the back. Look at it as a way to encourage others to hop on board.
	Getting people on the bandwagon is the same idea behind Apolo’s Sweethearts. The list of contributors serves as a way to make others feel the “safety in numbers” aspect of the project. For all the money we have raised so far, we know there are many shy individuals out there who have not come forward. Just know that adding your name to the list may make the difference to someone on the fence about donating their hard-earned dollars to the RMHC.
	BTW, regarding the name “Apolo’s Sweethearts,” we have had some suggestions that the name may be keeping Apolo’s male fans from sending in their names for the list. Well, we thought about that issue long and hard, but never came up with a satisfying answer. Then we realized that we actually do have a few male names on the list already. So, we think perhaps “Apolo’s Homies” (See, just doesn’t work.) don’t have as many hang-ups as we might think. So, “yea” to the guy fans!

Entered 8.19.02
by Velma

New tally! $3, 149! Very close to that half way mark now. Don’t let go yet guys. We would never have even bothered trying to get this organized if we didn’t have faith in the character of people that Apolo attracts. We have all met so many great hearts working with this project. In the end, we will have all made a difference in some form or another. Cheers to everyone!

Entered 8.13.02
by Velma

1:30 p.m. ~ Okay, I have no idea what the deal is with our tag board provider. Sorry. I'll start shopping around for someone new. Until then, please sign the guest book or email us if you have anything you'd like to say or ask. :)

Entered 8.12.02
by Velma

5 p.m. ~ The tally is moving again! Yea! The current total is $2,921. We’re getting there. Thanks everybody!

Plus, it looks like sometime this weekend out tag board provider brought our tag board back. So, tag away!

Entered 8.10.02
by Velma

Ladies and gents, I have no idea what is going on with the tag board. I guess this is our providers’ way of strong arming us into paying for a premium service. Too bad for them I’m not gonna wither under their tactics.

If you like, check out our new guest book we just posted up. If you have anything to say, just say it there.

I have a really cool story from Abigail to post soon. If you have done anything cool to promote In Apolo’s Name, please let us know! We want to celebrate your efforts!

Have a great weekend!

Entered 8.5.02
by Velma

Well, looks like our new tally this week is the same as last week’s - $2,761. It’s a little disheartening, but it’s not the end of the world. In dieting terms we have hit a “plateau.” So, we’ll just keep on keeping on. Thank you again to everyone who continues to get the word out and promote this effort to help build the new Ronald McDonald House in Seattle and get Apolo’s name placed over one of the rooms in the house.

Entered 7.30.02
by Velma

2 p.m. (PST) - Looks like our tag board service provider is down right now. Sorry. Hopefully it’s just a temporary situation. Just check back later, I guess.

Entered 7.29.02
by Velma

Tonight we have two cool announcements to make!

Thanks to all of you getting the word out and to everyone donating their hard earned dollars . . . WE BUSTED THE QUARTER GOAL WITH $2,761!!! What a great way to start the week! There are so many more celebrations ahead, but this is a great milestone.

Everyone do the $2,761 Dance!!!

We now have a fax number! So, if instead of scanning in your receipt or snail mailing it, you can now fax it. Make a note of the number: 1.208.493.5572.

Have a great week everybody!

Entered 7.26.02
by Velma

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Our cool Jill C. made some spiffy little front/back flyers to be handed out at the Torchlight Parade in Seattle Saturday. Our dear Abigail offered to print and hand out these flyers at the event. However, Jill isn’t quite sure Abigail received the flyer document in time. (See, Abby was trekking from Cali to Washington and may have needed to leave before Jill was able to send the file to her.) So, we thought we’d come out here and offer Jill’s work to you.

Click here to see what the flyer looks like. We can also send it to you via MS Word document.

So, if you happen to be one of the lucky people who are going to the parade Saturday and feel like you are up to a little flyer handout action, let us know. ([email protected]) You’d need to do the printing of the flyer and so on. So, really consider if you have the time and resources to see it through.

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping this project alive and out in the open. The more people we reach, the better chances we have of meeting the goal.

Have a great Friday!!!

Entered 7.23.02
by Velma

The new tally for this week is $2,333. It's a bunny hop, but not too shabby! Rock on you fine Apolo fans!

Entered 7.15.02
by Velma

Today’s new tally is $2,113. Dang, we are getting so close to reaching the first quarter of our goal. Just a few hundred away. Maybe this will be our magic week! *fingers crossed*

Thank you to everyone who has made the campaign so successful already! :)

Entered 7.11.02
by Velma

The nice folks at the RMHC are getting all caught up after their holidays from last week and provided us with a new tally today — $1,858.

Last week we reported that there was no tally because of the holiday week. Well, that really wasn’t totally true. There was a total, but it was only $52 more than the previous week. I know, that is still great. I mean, someone gave up that money for the cause and that rocks. I guess at the time we just had higher hopes.

We have decided whatever it is from now on we will report it. So, the tally isn’t making big leaps every week. Hey, remember the story about the tortoise and the hare? Yeah, well, we are the tortoise. Guess what. The tortoise won the race. So, I have faith. We all should. Let’s just keep plugging away and see what happens. Let’s revel in the experience of this experiment.

Just posted up two links under Soft Press on the right sidebar. Undoubtedly, you have seen these links before, but now you know where they have a permanent home and you can find them whenever you want. If you know of anymore video, audio, or Web articles, or of articles that appeared in a newspaper or magazine about the Seattle RMH and/or Apolo, please let us know.

Entered 7.9.02
by Velma

Welcome to the I.A.N. Newsroom!

When we first came up with this project, the idea was just to have a simple anonymous site where people could go for information. Nothing too fancy; just let the fans take over. Well, of course, nothing is ever easy, never as simple as you think it is going to be. We started to realize there was a greater need to pass on relevant information, plus create a sense of community for all the great fans who have been supporting the project whole-heartedly.

So, from now on you can come here to the Newsroom to get the latest information about the project, including links to press and media coverage. If a need or an idea arises, you may see even more types of information here.

To find out what is going on with fellow Apolo Sweethearts and I.A.N. supporters, you can now visit the Agora. This page includes messages of feedback from supporters, as well as a large tag board where you can instantly leave messages about your I.A.N. experience or to inspire and encourage others to participate.

Award!
Amazingly the In Apolo’s Name site was just awarded the Excellent Site Award from Apolo Anton Ohno’s First Fan Site. We send out a big “thank you” from all the fans and I.A.N. supporters to AAO’s FFS for this honor. Check out the award's new home on the I.A.N. main page.