Meet Troy Horrell, January's GivenGain Fundraiser of the Month!
Troy took part in a Half Ironman in East London, South Africa on 26 January – that’s a 1.8km swim, a 90km cycle ride and a 21km run! For most people, that’s a big enough challenge all by itself, but Troy also set himself an ambitious fundraising target: ZAR 7,000 for cancer screening charity ILoveBoobies ZA.
Our guy was modest about his achievement,saying “it’s next to nothing when compared to those fighting cancer every day,”– but we’re obviously still impressed.
We caught up with Troy to find out what inspired him to take on such a tough task – and get his top tips for other fundraisers too.
Why did you decide to fundraise?
“I was tired of doing things purely for myself. So often we challenge ourselves physically or mentally with new tasks that are out of our comfort zones. These challenges are good for our personal growth, but I thought it would be amazing if my challenge could inspire others to get behind my initiative. Doing the Half Ironman was a very ‘selfish’ task, and I wanted it to benefit others too!”
Any tips for other fundraisers?
“I would say persistence. So often I hear ‘Oh, I still need to donate, when does it close again?’ More often than not, people really do want to get behind an initiative, but they forget. Following up on potential donors and not being afraid to ask friends really benefited me."
Persistence clearly worked for Troy – by the time he was lining up at the starting line, he had raised over R7,700 in donations, beating his fundraising target easily. The money he raised will fund mobile health screening clinics in rural areas of South Africa with few or no facilities. Well done!
Troy’s project is still open for donations, so why not supportILoveBoobies by donating to his project here?
Alternatively, sign up on GivenGain as a fundraiser and create your own fundraising project for a charity close to your heart – you could even be our next GivenGain Fundraiser of the Month!
