Each Friday, the another jennifer blog shares stories of those who incorporate philanthropy into their everyday lives â€" personally and professionally â€" in a creative and unique way. If you have a story you’d like to share, please contact Jennifer.
I’m sharing an old Philanthropy Friday post featuring one of my favorite apps, Charity Miles, today. I had the opportunity to meet founder Gene Gurkoff at last year’s Social Good Summit in New York. He’s a great guy, and I thought it would be a good one to bring back. Admittedly, I could use the reminder to use this app more often!
The following post (slightly edited) was originally published  on FEBRUARY 22, 2013.
We’ve all heard of charity events that involve running, walking or biking. You may have participated in a few. But did you know that you can participate in your own run / walk / bike for charity in your neighborhood?
Charity Miles [1] is a free iPhone/Android social good fitness app that allows you to become a sponsored athlete and earn money for a cause. All you have to do is download the app, choose a charity to support, press “start†and then go on your run, walk or bike ride as usual.
The app tracks your distance and money earned. Bikers earn 10¢ a mile and walkers and runners earn 25¢ a mile. When you are done exercising, you accept your sponsorship, spread the word via social media and Charity Miles sends you a note confirming your “good work.â€
Great excuse / inspiration to get out and get moving, right?
You can donate your distance to a variety of United Nations Foundation campaigns including Girl Up [2] , where your miles will help a teen girl in a developing country safely attend school, Nothing but Nets [3] , where you will help protect a family from malaria, and Shot@Life [4] , where your miles will help to provide life-saving vaccines to children around the world.
Charity Miles makes giving easy and rewards you (and your chosen cause) for getting out and moving. There’s really no reason not to download this app. As far as impact goes (and where the money comes from), I found this quote from Gene Gurkoff, the founder of Charity Miles, on the UN Foundation’ s blog [5] :
“We launched Charity Miles last June with the belief that a few committed people, by working together, can change the world. Since then, more than 55,000 people have covered more than 600,000 miles to earn more than $130,000 for our charity partners, all courtesy of Charity Miles and our corporate sponsors. We are inspired every day by their enthusiasm, commitment and stories.â€
While I am not a runner, I do live in a downtown area and walk a lot. Now that I know my walking can actually earn money for charity, I will be tracking my distances through Charity Miles.
Here’s a quick video [6] that explains how Charity Miles works.
Download for Android:Â https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.charitymilescm.android [7]
Will you download the app? Are you a runner, walker or biker?
I originally wrote this post as part of the Global Team of 200 [8] , a highly specialized group of Mom Bloggers for Social Good [9]  members who focus on maternal health, children, hunger, and women and girls.
Links
- ^ Charity Miles (www.charitymiles.org)
- ^ Girl Up (www.girlup.org)
- ^ Nothing but Nets (www.nothingbutnets.net)
- ^ Shot@Life (shotatlife.org)
- ^ UN Foundat ion’ s blog (www.unfoundation.org)
- ^ a quick video (player.vimeo.com)
- ^ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.charitymilescm.android (play.google.com)
- ^ Global Team of 200 (globalteamof200.tumblr.com)
- ^ Mom Bloggers for Social Good (www.mombloggersforsocialgood.com)
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