Thanks to Lori Riffe for guest writing this story. Good Luck Noah!
There aren’t a lot of 12 year olds interested in raising money for charity. There are, though, a lot of them who like to have fun doing somewhat ridiculous things.
Noah Riffe, a 12-year-old 6th grader at Snoqualmie Middle School, likes to do both. He not only has a favorite charity, but also has a favorite pastime – breaking world records.
Noah is an active member of the online community Record Setter. Noah has broken records such as ‘Longest Time Dancing With Green Cups’, and ‘Fastest Time Taking a Shower.’ Record Setter is not your average ‘Guiness Book’ organization, but rather, a more whimsical approach to records. People come up with their own records, or challenge current ones, then video themselves and post on the site.
Noah was asked personally by Record Setter to host an event for ‘World Record Day.’ Record Setter describes it as, “believing everyone can be world’s best at something. Over 25,000 people from more than 60 countries have uploaded world records to our site, and we’re just getting started. On April 28th, our community will unite around the globe to celebrate human achievement through a day of world records.” Noah responded, “They asked me if I could host an event, even if it was just a couple of people at my house. I wanted it to be awesome because it’s such an awesome community of people who work there and who are on the website. I also wanted it to be something I could be proud of.”
That’s when Noah decided to use this event as a means to raise money for Charity Water. Charity Water is a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects. “It’s about having fun and raising money for charity. I picked Charity Water because it’s something that’s important to me. It’s something fun for us and people get clean water,” Noah added.
This is not the first time Noah has worked to raise money for Charity Water. In 2011, he gave up gifts in lieu of donations for his 11th birthday. His birthday campaign raised over $1800 for Charity Water.
During the event, Noah will officiate attempts at world records that have been chosen ahead of time. “We are going to be breaking up to 12 official world records. Including, ‘Most People Dancing in the Elevator.’ We will be filming them, then they will be online for the world to see,” describes Noah.
Noah has a fundraising goal of $5000 and is off to a good start. If you are interested in donating, please visit his donation page.
The event to open to middle and high school students as well as their families to attend. It will be held tomorrow, Saturday, April 28th from 6-8PM in the Student Center at Church on the Ridge, 35131 SE Douglas ST, Snoqualmie. The event will also be broadcast live online at http://bit.ly/RecordsForWaterLIVE. You can also see a demonstration at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDFdmUfXQ4k&feature=youtube_gdata_player.
Contact Noah at brandr@gmail.com with any questions. If you are a business and would like some free advertising, Noah would love your donation!
