TOUR OF BRITAIN Charity Mini Run - ++ CANCELLED ++

[SoggyCornFlakes]

Jas - don't be too hard on the MINI community, this type of event takes a lot of planning and time - and has been said earlier on this thread it's been done before and was a major task to make it sucessful. There's too short a notice period for folks to get truly involved in this, iIf you were planning it for 2009 then you'd find a bigger uptake from people I'm sure

Good luck with it though.

Bob

[ALD0]

Like Bob said,

We did it those few years a go.
A lot of planning was done, I personally am unable to commit at this moment in time. I have a little un now-If I weren't a father would of been able to assist, also the fact that my MINI has too much mileage as it is-Next year though and maybe with the help from a few dealerships?

Si

[jas]

I have decided to cancel this event due to a lack of interest from both my club, the Doncaster Mini Register, but also the so called Mini 'community' too.
Apart from the guys up at New Mini Scotland it has been very quiet.

A copy of the text I posted on my web site can be found below.

________________


It is with a heavy heart that I write this today, but after having lengthy discussions with Darrel, I am informing all of you that the DMR Charity Event is now cancelled.

It has been very disappointing for me, and Darrel, that this event hasn't grabbed peoples attention like we thought it would.
We never expected many people to drive the whole route around. But I did expect more effort to help raise funds which is, after all, the main reason for the event.

As it stands the costs to individuals would be far higher than the money raised, and so it makes it hard to justify the costs against the returns.

We have over 400 users on this site, it is a large forum. I realise that the majority of registered users are casual and hardly make a visit. But I expected 50 people to raise around £ 100 making a total of £ 5000, This plus money collected at fund raising days would have made a decent total.

I am also disappointed that no one has managed to organise one of these fund raising events in their area. I had three planned, Sainsbury's came back to me with the same date as the Lakeside one, and so were trying to get us another. But we could have done one of these somewhere every weekend.

So I am very disappointed with the response from DMR members, but I am far more disappointed with the response from the so called 'Mini community'.

I only asked for individuals / clubs to help us plan the route in their area and join us if they can. The guys from New Mini Scotland have been great. Most of the route up there is done, and their supporting dealer were supporting us by feeding us on Day 2. A big thanks to them.
But for the rest of the UK, nothing.

It is very disappointing. We could plan the route from maps, no problem. But I wanted regional clubs to get involved, and it just didn't happen.

I will be posting on the other forums later to let them know that the event is off, and I will try to put a note in Modern Mini for next month.

All money raised so far will be donated to MacMillan, for their efforts with press releases etc.

This episode has also made me question my commitment to the DMR. I feel that I have taken the club as far as I can go, last year being the highlight in terms of events attended and new members taken on.
Being mentioned in Modern Mini's awards as being one of the best clubs in the UK was the pinnacle.

But I am searching for new things to do, fresh challenges. The charity event being the first of these events. If I can't get this off the ground then I don't know what else to do.
I have had an idea of hosting a BMW indoor Mini show at the Doncaster Exhibition Centre, but feel that this won't happen now either.

I am also tired of the bickering amongst individuals that casts a shadow over the club. I suppose as the club grows tensions can happen as people get closer and then fall out. But it is detremental to the club in general.

So I am now focused on Normanby Hall, our next show in two weeks time. But it might be the last event that I organise. It doesn't mean that I won't be around, I just feel that I have other things in my life which could make better use of my time.

I will confirm my future plans in the near future.

Thank you for reading.
Jas

[andrewcregan]

Jas, I have great respect for you efforts in trying to get this off the ground, but you really had several things going against you.
For such a major event, requiring a great deal of organisation, April was a bit late to announce a July event.
As others have said, planning for 2009 may have been more realistic.
Your hook was to do the whole event, which would be very expensive and time consuming to the average MINI owner. If you look at the Top Gear event as an example, their winning hook was the opportunity to drive around the Top Gear circuit. 250 clearly wanted to do this in 2008, as it is a rare opportunity to access such a place. I would guess the average person drove a round trip of 200 miles to partake in this event.
There are lots of other runs for people to choose from, often including people they already already know, from their own local club.
I am sure a lot of people were not interested in an 800 mile leg in one day. That is hard work, and really no fun. Surely a contributury factor in so few takers.
Even if people joined you for a fraction of the leg, they still have to get to the start point, and home from where they leave you - approx half the distance would not be on the run.
This would be before trying to coordinate times and places to meet the run - a logistical nightmare part way through a leg.
You were very reliant on people planning your routes for you - which they clearly did not do.
I think if you are organising event, you should be able to plan the whole route yourself. Relying on others has let you down and feeling disillusioned.
The whole thing never got off the ground, as there was only 3 confirmed drivers. Which not being mean, would be perceived as yourself and 2 pals.
It would appear to me that the event has been terminated at the point where most people would first announce an event.
Also remember the financial climate we find ourselves in, and the incredible cost of fuel. Money is a lot tighter for a lot of people know - charity always starts at home.
Generating a charity event, with genuine goodwill, is always going to be disappointing when people do not share your enthusiasm, but you cannot assume others will be eager to join you.
Why not still do the charity drive around the UK, the 3 of you? I am sure you would still raise plenty of money.
You have clearly organised excellent events before, and hopefully will again, but I think this was a bridge too far, without enough time and planning.
I am sure with the experience gained from this you will have learned plenty, and may be able to forgive the MINI community whom you perceive have let you down .
Good luck to you Jas, with whatever you choose to do in the future.

Andrew

[Stevemac]

Quote: Originally Posted by andrewcregan (original)

Jas, I have great respect for you efforts in trying to get this off the ground, but you really had several things going against you.
For such a major event, requiring a great deal of organisation, April was a bit late to announce a July event.
As others have said, planning for 2009 may have been more realistic.
Your hook was to do the whole event, which would be very expensive and time consuming to the average MINI owner. If you look at the Top Gear event as an example, their winning hook was the opportunity to drive around the Top Gear circuit. 250 clearly wanted to do this in 2008, as it is a rare opportunity to access such a place. I would guess the average person drove a round trip of 200 miles to partake in this event.
There are lots of other runs for people to choose from, often including people they already already know, from their own local club.
I am sure a lot of people were not interested in an 800 mile leg in one day. That is hard work, and really no fun. Surely a contributury factor in so few takers.
Even if people joined you for a fraction of the leg, they still have to get to the start point, and home from where they leave you - approx half the distance would not be on the run.
This would be before trying to coordinate times and places to meet the run - a logistical nightmare part way through a leg.
You were very reliant on people planning your routes for you - which they clearly did not do.
I think if you are organising event, you should be able to plan the whole route yourself. Relying on others has let you down and feeling disillusioned.
The whole thing never got off the ground, as there was only 3 confirmed drivers. Which not being mean, would be perceived as yourself and 2 pals.
It would appear to me that the event has been terminated at the point where most people would first announce an event.
Also remember the financial climate we find ourselves in, and the incredible cost of fuel. Money is a lot tighter for a lot of people know - charity always starts at home.
Generating a charity event, with genuine goodwill, is always going to be disappointing when people do not share your enthusiasm, but you cannot assume others will be eager to join you.
Why not still do the charity drive around the UK, the 3 of you? I am sure you would still raise plenty of money.
You have clearly organised excellent events before, and hopefully will again, but I think this was a bridge too far, without enough time and planning.
I am sure with the experience gained from this you will have learned plenty, and may be able to forgive the MINI community whom you perceive have let you down .
Good luck to you Jas, with whatever you choose to do in the future.

Andrew

I'd like to echo what Andrew has said, too much too soon, maybe if it had been arranged for 2009,giving the masses more time to arrange thier time. It was a massive ask, and the daily runs where IMO too much mileage for one day. Maybe it could be organised that individuals in all parts of the country could each do a sort of relay from one point to another and when everyone gets to thier own finishing point, rather than just a few making the long journey to complete the lot.

If you do come back with a revised date, we could all make plans for such a worthy cause.

Good Luck

Steve Mac

[SoggyCornFlakes]

Andrew has said it all Jas and I've alredy satated as have others that your timeframes were just unrealistic. Having organised a number of events previously i'm sure you also recognise that you'd be better off making a polite announcement that you're postponing the event to 2009 to llow folks time to organise/save up rather than a toys out of pram post aimed at the community in general