RUN ACROSS MAY RUNNER PROFILES: Billy Hefflinger
Billy Hefflinger
Billy Hefflinger ran 200 miles last May for his Run Across May campaign and surpassed his initial fundraising goal to raise over $615. Though this was his first year participating in RAM, Billy is excited for his future involvement with WORK and to be a part of this community. Based in Snyder, TX, Billy first got to know WORK through a mutual friend of the organization, Regina Anderson. Between his love for running and experience in fundraising, Billy found himself joining RAM and loving every minute of it.
In our interview, Billy discussed how much fun he had during his RAM campaign because he was able to spend time with his daughters. He would often run his 200 miles with his daughters, Haidyn and Chandler, and they would ride alongside him on their bikes and cheer him on. He particularly enjoyed this aspect of RAM because not only did it allow him to bond with his daughters, he was also able to show them how to give back by making the miles purposeful.
“I try to incorporate being physically active with them [my daughters]… so they kind of participated in Run Across May with me… now that I’m not coaching anymore, I really miss the opportunities to give back and being able to show my kids and living by the example, so through WORK, it was a great way to show my kids to go above yourself and to give back to others. ”
Billy also told us that he used to fundraise often with various sports teams he used to coach. He loved the community aspect of participating together. When I asked him what he wanted people to know about WORK, Billy emphasized how easy it was for anybody to get involved, something that a lot of our RAM participants have mentioned. Billy especially appreciated the idea of organizations helping each other by partnering, hoping to involve more people next year through his position as a professor at Western Texas College.
After conducting many of these interviews, I’ve learned to ask the type of questions that get people talking about the aspects of WORK they’re passionate about. For Billy, it is WORK’s mission of providing opportunities to people who are committed to making the most of themselves as well as providing the motivation and support needed for them to succeed. Billy is no stranger to opportunity, support, and motivation. He recalled being given opportunities to work to put himself through college as a young adult.
“That’s what I see you guys doing, on a grander scale, is helping people that are just wanting help and then they get that help and then they make the most of their opportunities so that’s kind of what drew me into it.”
Like Billy, so many of our supporters feel connected to the organization through its different facets. If not directly the mission, the Run Across May is another aspect of the organization that really resonates with people and remains the reason they choose to get involved and stay involved.