I don’t ask for much… but now’s the time, for the good of Ypsi’s kids, to dig deep and make the Wurst Challenge a success

I rarely ask you, my loyal readers, to actually do anything. I may, every once in a while, ask you to consider sharing an article, if it’s about something that I feel as though people should really know about, but I rarely ask for more than that. But, today, I’ve got a favor to ask of you. I’d like for you to consider getting involved in some way, shape or form in this year’s Wurst Challenge, our big annual fundraiser for Ypsilanti’s FLY Children’s Art Center.

Why does FLY matter to the community?

With in-class visits, summer camps, and special interdisciplinary programs in the community, FLY, for the past seven years, has empowered kids to create, solve problems, and experience both new materials and confront new ideas that they might not otherwise have an opportunity to. And, for the next two weeks, in the run-up to the the third annual Wurst Challenge, we’ve got an opportunity to ensure that the volunteers of FLY can continue their vitally important work through the coming year. This is their biggest annual fundraiser, and we need to raise as much as possible so that they can continue to inspire the next generation to become the creative problem solvers we so desperately need if we’re ever going to turn this world of ours around.

In a world where school budgets are being drastically slashed, especially when it comes to the arts, it’s imperative that we as a community invest in programs like those being designed by FLY that help kids to cultivate a sense of curiosity, increase their resiliency, experience the joy of innovation, and just come to appreciate that learning can be both incredibly fun and relevant to their lives.

We need this next generation to dream, invent, and imagine. And that, in my opinion, is why it’s so damned important that FLY exists to provide safe spaces for kids to take creative risks, learn from their mistakes, and experience the thrill of making things happen.

Here’s how you can help. All you have to do is choose one… or maybe two.

1. You can donate in support of one of the competitors in the “20 Feet of Meat” challenge. As of today, there are four, and you can see their photos below.

2. You can either enter the challenge yourself as an eater, or you can form a team and recruit a designated eater to rally around.

3. You can help spread the word about the event, reaching out to your friends, colleagues and lovers to let them know that, on May 22, a bunch of men and women are going to be eating 20 foot long sausages for the good of local kids.

4. You can come out to Ypsilanti’s Wurst Bar on Sunday, May 22, and make a contribution in person while watching our champions face off against their smoked and coiled adversaries.

5. And, if you cant do any of that, you can send the kids in your life to one of FLY’s awesome summer camps, like “Who Are The People In My Neighborhood?” or “Draw, Write, Act: African Tales”.

Here are the first four contestants to join. They are each brave in their own way, and worthy of your support.

[The above “donate” buttons don’t work, as this is just an image taken from the FLY site. If you’d like to donate, though, you can do so here. And, yes, that’s that’s local musician Jim Cherewick at the far right, next to famed roboticist Cre Fuller, who was thrown out of last year’s competition for cheating.]