You’ve probably heard of “Walk-a-Thons”, right?

You know where you sponsor someone for every mile they walk, right? Well…you know me and I can’t just do a typical fund raiser…it’s got to be a bit more Maverick over here.

So we’ve come up with a “Fall-a-Thon”!

Next Sunday, July 20th, my buddy and fellow Maverick Business Adventures member, Mike Filsaime, and I are jumping out of a perfectly good plane at 30,000 feet. (Oh yeah – that’s the cruising altitude of a commercial jetliner and double the normal skydiving altitude).

Why?

Aside from it being another item to check off on my “Big Life List” – it’s also to support the Branson School of Entrepreneurship in South Africa. Their mission is to:

• Identify and nurture individuals with entrepreneurial potential
• Develop potential entrepreneurs in a practical, relevant and holistic way
• Provide students with real-world business skills and mentorship
• Promote entrepreneurship as a desirable career option and
• Support start-ups and micro-enterprises with skills, mentors, services, networks and finance arrangements

Every single penny of your pledge goes to support the education and programs here because 100% of the Virgin Unite (Virgin’s charity arm) overhead is borne by Sir Richard Branson. In fact, this school is the first time he has lent his personal name to any project. I have come to truly appreciate you guys as some of the most generous people on the planet. But as a little ‘incentive’ Mike and I wanted to show our thanks by putting together $524.89+ in special gifts just for supporting the two of us. In fact, a fraction of a penny pledged will qualify you for these resources (many of which are unavailable for sale anywhere else).

Our goal is to raising $1 (or more) for every foot we fall and are committed to matching funds up to $15,000.00 from our own pockets! So if you donate $100 we pony up the same c-note.

After personally spending time with Branson and the team from Virgin Unite in Necker Island – I’ve been even more inspired with what they are doing. We firmly believe entrepreneurial innovations and initiatives are going to help alleviate the biggest social issues. At Virgin Unite they call it – “Driving Business As a Force for Good”. With your donation – you can feel fulfilled knowing you’ve really made a difference to young, up-and-coming entrepreneurs in a part of the world that badly needs it.

Mike and I do not make a single dime from this so please support this anyway you can and tell a friend. Thanks!

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In other news, I’m excited to announce 2-time Super Bowl champ, Carl Banks, is coming to Aspen for the upcoming Maverick Business Adventures™ “Rocky Mountain High” Experience Aug. 13-17, 2008.

Carl was a member of the Giants teams that won Super Bowls XXI and XXV.

But that’s just one part of Carl’s life. Staring during his playing days, Banks started designing clothes for his teammates. The clothing became so popular that he began to distribute them to major retailers and soon joined G-III Apparel to distribute the GIII/Carl Banks line of clothing which was a partnership that became highly successful. So successful that sales for this apparel manufacturer, licensee and distributor for 2007 added up to $518,870,000.00.

He won’t simply be there for a quick hour or 2. Carl will actually be with the Mavericks whitewater rafting and taking part in the adventure together.

What’s more, following white water rafting there’s another big surprise for members…

Carl is going to be firing up the grill and hosting a down home BBQ at our lodge! That’s right, we’ll get to chow down on his new “Famous 58″ line of barbecue products, already successfully sold on HSN.

There’s just one spot left for the adventure.

Don’t forget our celebrity icons are just the ‘cherry on top’ because the actual Maverick members coming are really some of the world’s most successful (and sharing) entrepreneurs. They are recognized as the top of their respective professions ranging from online pioneers, INC 500 companies, multi-national manufacturers, heads of financial institutions, renowned experts to International real estate developers and restaurateurs.

Fact is, a connection with any of these guys, to the right person, is worth a small fortune. And it’s exactly these kind of unique experiences that can provide the deeper, more meaningful connections than just meeting someone in a seminar or at the bar.

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Final thing – I also just read a really interesting report from Chris Guillebeau – he piqued my interest with the way he lives his life and runs his business from remote location – while truly giving back! I’m working on interviewing him for a Secret Society interview soon.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Adventure, Philanthropy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.