Surely you’ve heard of a 5K fundraiser. Now, one Wilton organization has come up with an ingenious way to raise money with a zero-K, where the only physical exertion supporters have to put out is by writing a check or pulling their wallets out to give.

Stay at Home in Wilton supports senior citizens who remain residents, helping them enjoy their homes and community activities as they grow older. To continue being able to offer that support, Stay at Home in Wilton relies on the generosity of Wilton citizens to provide a substantial part of its annual budget, just as most other charities do.

Around this time of year, many of those charities have races, walks, bike rides, etc. that they promote as healthy exercise, but are also important exercises for their supporters’ checkbooks. So Stay at Home in Wilton created a fundraiser that does the opposite.

“We have decided that we should offer our contributors a new way to participate in this type of event in support of Stay at Home in Wilton. We recognize that some supporters will have concerns with all this physical exercise, so this year we are having no walking, no running and no pedaling event called “Don’t Walk” where the donors will get credit for as many miles as they want by just sending in their support. Their only exercise is writing a check for as many dollars as they choose,” explains Anne Richards, donation chairman (pictured above, left, with Phil Richards, board chairman, Barbara Quincy, president, and Ann Newton, vice president).

Donor contributions will allow Stay at Home in Wilton to continue providing a low cost way for Wilton seniors to enjoy their homes and community activities as they grow older, through the following efforts:

  • providing rides and simple fix-ups in members’ homes
  • offering monthly social and informational programs that encourage seniors to get together to meet new friends
  • maintaining a friendly executive coordinator, who answers the members’ phone calls with solutions to any problems they face.

Organizers say that to do all the above without donor support would make it so expensive that many of the seniors would find it out of reach. They are encouraging all Wiltonians to join their “Don’t Walk” project with as many dollars as they can. To support the effort, send a check dollars to Stay at Home in Wilton, via P.O. Box 46, Wilton, CT 06897 or donate via the Stay at Home in Wilton website “Don’t Walk” donation page.

Contributions are fully tax deductible. (Be sure to include an address so for tax deduction acknowledgement.) Then sit back and enjoy the “non-exercise miles,” knowing that seniors have been helped to live comfortably in Wilton.