Generation B - Bikeathon Organizer Cites Determination as Critical Element of His Career - NYTimes.com

Generation B - Bikeathon Organizer Cites Determination as Critical Element of His Career - NYTimes.com: "Paulette Maehara, president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, tracks the participatory “thons” to the early ’60s, when President Kennedy urged Americans to get fit, and communities began organizing 50-mile walks. Nonprofit groups adapted the outings as a way to raise money, with the Church World Service (hunger, 1969) and the March of Dimes (birth defects, 1970) among the first to organize charity walkathons. “Until then,” Ms. Maehara said, “people gave money and were hands off. The thons tapped into the boomers’ desire to participate plus stay fit.”"