NEWSLETTER TR2014 #1

Hey ho you crazy people

that are hitchhiking with us to Macedonia in two weeks! Here is our first Newsletter!

We are sorry for all the technical problems we have had, and the many delays. However, once we are in Würzburg the 15th this will be all-irrelevant

To keep you informed until then, here is the important info about…
1. Donations- we will collect money this year again for drinking projects through Viva con Agua

2. Joint Start- When, where and how?

3. Money and Hitchpackages

4. Press

5. Hitchmate – Exchange

And off we go!

1. Donations

This year again, these two weeks in August will not be only about hitchhiking. We will also try to draw attention to a problem that unfortunately affects too many in the world: access to drinking to water and sanitation. For the fifth consecutive time we will collect donations for Viva con Agua, so they can support together with the Welthungerhilfe a WASH-project (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) in India.

We will collect donations through Betterplace this year. They are trustworthy, the system is very user-friendly and all the collected money will flow without charges directly to Viva con Agua.

Just click on the Betterplace-donation-link and support your favorite team with your desired amount. Unfortunately, donations will not appear on the team profiles yet. But we are working on it, so donators should just type in the name of your team in the Message-Box on betterplace.org and we will put it in the team profile as soon as possible! Teams can be bought from €100 onwards, and “Team Owners” are linked to the teams with a picture on the team’s profile.

Let’s rock the donation counter!

Here’s the link: https://www.betterplace.org/de/fundraising-events/tramprennen

Who should I ask for a donation?

First things first: we don’t expect huge amounts of money (not that they are not welcome!), but we are happy about every donated Euro. In the past, donators have always been close friends, relatives or acquaintances of the team’s members. So take some time and ask them, call them or write them an Email! People are usually keen on hearing crazy hitchhiking stories! You can also bet with friends or think of a new innovating idea to get some people amazed by the concept of Tramprennen! Our motto remains: No Borders!

But don’t put yourselves under pressure! We will not oblige you to get donations or be mad if you do not find any sponsors! Everyone should just try his or her best!

Another tip that will increase your chances of getting sponsors: pimp up your team’s profile! Fill in the blanks, upload a nice picture, and be creative! Everyone loves a nice profile in times of Facebook J

And don’t forget to mention! Usually also a nice extra for Tramprennen supporters: the whole race can be followed live through our Liveticker on Tramprennen.org!

Further information about donations can be found on the homepage (FAQ Donations) and if you still have questions just e-mail us to gro.nennerpmartnull@ofni!

2. Joint Start

About this year’s big innovation: the joint start in Würzburg! We are all hoping it will be a very nice event, a meeting point for old friends as well as an opportunity to get to know new hitchhiking faces J On top of that, the different routes will be assigned to the teams, so suspense is guaranteed for!

We booked a camping site for everyone to spend the night there on Friday, so it will be easy to get all participants together and meet at night and the following morning. This is the website of the place, in case you want to check it out or look up for directions on how to get there:

https://www.kalte-quelle.de/

The owners of the place are really nice and the owner’s son will turn 18 on Friday night, so we won’t have to worry about being late and loud with our schedule J

The organizing team will arrive there on Thursday to finish some planning. Since Friday is a holiday in some parts of Bavaria, they will go shopping on Thursday, probably something to eat or snack and some drinks.

We would like all of you to arrive on Friday afternoon. Program will officially start at eight!

About the costs: We were able to save some money with the costs of the hitchpackages this year, so we decided to pay for the camping site in Würzburg from the money that was left. We hope you welcome our decision J

(if someone is from or is living in Würzburg or the surroundings, let us know! We could still use some help on the starting day)

And one last little detail: Würzburg is located in northern Bavaria, a place which is known to have very active policemen, especially in petrol stations J Therefore, take the necessary measures to keep your spirits high even if you are asked for your ID or even get searched by the police…

3. Hitchpackages and money..

All participants will get their hitchpackage in Würzburg. It contains a SIM-card with credit for the Liveticker, Eddings, the Participant Info Folder with all relevant phone numbers and meeting points, the TR-Shirt, Flyers and a little surprise!

For those who haven’t transferred the money yet, please do that until next Sunday. We will print the T-shirts on Sunday and we need to have an overview of the number of participants. Registrations are also open until Sunday!!

4. Press

We are all passionate hitchhikers and I think I speak for everyone when I say: there is no better way to travel! As Malte said in the NDR-documentary, “the world would be probably a better place if more people would hitchhike”. Unfortunately, reports about hitchhiking in the press are not always positive.

We think Tramprennen is a great opportunity to prove the opposite! That is why we ask you: if you have time and energy to do that, contact the local media in your surroundings! You can tell them about Tramprennen and ask them if they would like to report about it. Local newspapers are always keen on doing it, the same goes for many radio stations!

If you have questions about how to proceed, you can write to gro.nennerpmartnull@ocram

Information for the press itself can be found on https://tramprennen.org/de/5667-2/

5. Hitchmate X Change

Hitchhiking in groups of three also works?

There are still very nice people looking for a partner/team to take part of this year’s Tramprennen! At the same time, we have many registered teams of two. Our long time experience has shown that teams of three get as many lifts as teams of two! The three-hitchhikers-curse is indeed an urban legend!

So if you want to help others who couldn’t find a mate and/or your motto is “the more the merrier”, take a look at the Hitchmate-Xchange Board!

https://tramprennen.org/mate-x-change/

This is it from our side for now. The next Newsletter will arrive in your inbox next week! If you still have questions, do not hesitate to ask!

We are very excited to hit the road with all of you in two weeks! Let us rock the donation counter until then, and enable people access to drinking water, something that taken for granted for us, but is unfortunately still a problem in many parts of the world!
We wish you all loads of fun and sun!

your Tramprennen 2014-Crew