PAWS Chicago – 2018 Chicago

Chicago has a different charity system compared to London and Berlin. They have set fundraising fees if you apply pre lottery or post lottery. Because I knew that I’m totally unlucky with any kind of lottery I’ve decided to bite the bullet and apply for a Charity spot pre-lottery. It meant that I only had to raise $1000 not the post-lottery target of $1500.

Also the other difference between this charity and my other 2 was that I had to reach my target before the race. Whist London and Berlin let me fundraise for a few months post race as well.

Whilst I was searching for the perfect charity I came across Team Paws. Everybody who knows me they know that I love  animals, especially dogs. If I see any video on Facebook about homeless or injured dogs I’m starting to tear up. So after reading up about Team Paws I knew that they are the perfect charity for me.

TEAM PAWS Chicago is a charity racing and fundraising team benefiting PAWS CHICAGO, the Midwest’s largest No Kill humane animal shelter. With TEAM PAWS Chicago’s support, since PAWS’ founding in 1997, the number of homeless dogs and cats killed annually in Chicago has dropped by more than 80 percent.

I’ve applied to be a charity runners for Team Paws on the 28th of November 2017. Their sign up fee was $100 which includes loads of great stuff.

As I said earlier I had to pay a $100 registration fee, but for that I received the below perks:

• Guaranteed Charity Entry into the 2018 BOA Chicago Marathon  After you register with TEAM PAWS Chicago, you will receive a link to claim your entry with the BOA Chicago Marathon.  Your spot in the marathon is not complete until you complete this step and you will have one week after receiving the link to complete.  Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of your spot. 
• Official TEAM PAWS Chicago Singlet  All TEAM PAWS Chicago members receive a TEAM PAWS Navy singlet.
• Official TEAM PAWS Chicago Fan Club Shirt  Use these shirts to easily find your biggest fans along the race route!  The quantity of shirts you will receive is dependent on your entry type as follows
  • Self-Secured Entrants = 1 shirt
  • Pre-Lottery Entrants = 3 shirts
  • Post-Lottery Entrants = 3 shirts
• TEAM PAWS Chicago Marathon Gift
• TEAM PAWS Chicago Finishers Medal
• 2 Tickets to the TEAM PAWS Chicago PAW-sta Party Held on Thursday, October 4, 2018 (BOA Chicago Marathon Weekend)
• PAWS Professional Board Membership Fee Waived for One Year  TEAM PAWS Chicago members will receive waived fees for one year if they join the PAWS Chicago Professional Board (value $250).  To see a listing of requirements and more information, please visit our website HERE. 
• FREE Entry into the PAWS Chicago 5K Walk/Run  All TEAM PAWS Chicago members will receive one complimentary registration into Chicago’s largest dog-friendly walk.  We will also have a group photo and members get to start at the front of the runners’ corral.  
• Social Events  Meet fellow team members on fun runs, happy hours, dog-friendly events, and group fundraising opportunities. 
• Guided Mentorship  Receive personal guidance from our seasoned pros, our Shepherds, who are not only past TEAM PAWS Chicago participants but also top fundraisers.  
• Training Enjoy training and nutrition resources from our coaches and discounted training from our partners.
• Fundraising Tools  Fundraising is easy with a personal fundraising web page, coaching, and resources to help you reach your fundraising requirements.

As you can see there are loads of stuff for that $100 and it’s totally worth it. It’s great that they are paying for my race entry fee ( $220 ) and their Paw-sta party was totally awesome, I highly recommend it . Hubby also got many cheering materials  including the supporter Tshirt and cheer me on all the way round.

Go Team Paws 🙂

As I said this charity came with many many perks, but not just material kind of perks. I’ve met so many like-minded people, I had no idea it’s possible. They do live across the Pond, but I’m happy to call them my friends. Without them I’m not even sure where we would have stayed when our Hotel got cancelled, Shelly offered us her spare room to stay there. Got great running , restaurant, and sightseeing tips from many of them and also we got picked up ( by Joe ) and dropped of ( by CJ ) many times.

Without Team Paws we would have had a normal holiday in Chicago, would have visited the normal sightseeing places and popular food chains. But with Team Paws I / we managed to get a second family. I never in my life thought that strangers can be this friendly and helpful. So thank you so much Team Paws 🙂

Just quickly back to my fundraising, I believe I’ve reached my fundraising target around June/July time. So after that I was able to concentrate for the rest of my training.

My fundraising certificate

My Team Paws Chicago Medal 🙂

If anyone has any questions about Team Paws please do not hesitate to contact with me:)

Love,