It’s the Marathon We Need Right Now
It’s back! Last year Zekefilm partnered with Twigs, a non-profit with which I volunteer, in promoting this endurance trial/fundraiser. I love movies but I am a hard sell when it comes to onscreen romance, so…well, you can read part of what I wrote last year:
until a few days ago I had never seen a Hallmark Christmas movie (or the knockoffs popping up on Netflix and Lifetime). I deliberately avoided them, yet felt like I knew them just from what I’d heard. Big city career girl is stuck in small town, has meet-cute with rugged local handyman, falls in love, discovers importance of small town values. Also, Santa, trees, snow. Maybe a dog. Many, many people enjoy these movies, and God bless them. I do not judge. It’s probably me. Perhaps my heart is two sizes too small to embrace the formula without rolling my eyes and gagging.
Several days ago I had a crazy idea. What if I binged as many of those Hallmark-ish movies as I could handle as a fundraiser. There’s a wonderful non-profit near me that feeds thousands of hungry children year-round. What if friends pledged per movie, thereby supporting a great cause and having the hilarious experience of watching my brain melt in real time. One of two things may happen: either, I will be destroyed – like Superman eating bowls full of Kryptonite – or I will be transformed. I will emerge from this endeavor softened, chastened, believing that a small town girl living in a lonely world really can have her Christmas miracle. Don’t stop believing.
Well, I didn’t stop believing, I watched 50 holiday rom-coms before Christmas, and with the support of lots of folks we raised over $3,000 for Twigs. I’m back at it again this year, with a crazy goal of raising $5,000 for Twigs. Once again, I’ll post a brief review of every movie I watch, but this year I’m adding a few other inducements. Everyone who registers to donate receives their own holiday rom-com bingo card so that you can play at home while you watch these movies. AND there are prize drawings this year, too! We had our first drawing on Friday, with more to come. But above all, as I said last year, But you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you’re helping feed the hungry, and enabling my self-destructive behavior. Surely that’s a win-win!
(Honestly, as an aside, given the year we’ve had, watching these low-risk movies is good therapy. Try one or two yourself. Whether you laugh or cry, I bet your blood pressure will drop!)
This year I’ve added a simple registration form to track pledges and get everyone entered for prizes and bingo cards. Pledges aren’t due until the end of January and no pledge is too small – or large! Go here to register. Follow this link to learn more about Twigs, the great charity you’ll be supporting. And here’s the link to the Facebook page where you can see more details about what I’m doing and follow along for updates on prize drawings, pledge updates, and other fun stuff. I’ll post batch reviews here at Zeke as I progress toward Christmas. Twigs, Zekefilm, the kids, and this intrepid viewer thank you in advance!