Cerebral palsy occurs in every two to four births out of 1,000, the Mayo Clinic says. It's a disease that affects the muscles, rendering them floppy and useless, or stiff and painful. If someone you care about has cerebral palsy, it can be hard to watch them suffer through each day. Raising money for the Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation can help you feel you're making a contribution to one day curing the disease that has affected your life so profoundly.
Step 1
Switch your usual search engine to GoodSearch.com, and choose CPI Research as your beneficiary. Each time you search for something on the Internet, GoodSearch will donate money to cerebral palsy. As of 2009, each search generated an average of 1.3 cents, a number which can add up over time. In fact, just two searches per day from 10,000 supporters could add up to about $73,000 per year, so encourage your friends and family members to use the site as well.
Step 2
Sell "Hope" bracelets to help generate donations for CPI Research. Hope bracelets are leather and metal bracelets with hearts or peace signs, and are made by renowned jewelry artist Catherine M. Zadeh. All of the $200 price is donated for cerebral palsy research and support. You can order them directly from the CPI website, but you can contact the foundation directly for bulk orders.
Step 3
Organize a road race or marathon in your community, with all proceeds and registration fees going to cerebral palsy research. You can charge a nominal fee for registration, T-shirts and other merchandise, and then ask runners to raise more funds through donations before the big race. Many cerebral palsy races and marathons already exist, like the Life Without Limits half-marathon in Alabama, the Philadelphia Corporate 5K Run/Walk and the Cerebral Palsy of Virginia 17th Annual 5K Run and Mile Walk-A-Thon. Some communities have even thrown a dance-a-thon, like the United Cerebral Palsy Land of Lincoln's annual Life Without Limits Celebration in Decatur, Illinois, with a similar donation structure.
Step 4
Talk to local grocers and retailers and ask if they would be open to having donation canisters at their registers. Create canisters made of tin cans with holes large enough for coins and bills to slide through. Paste the personal story of someone who has been personally touched by cerebral palsy on each canister to entice shoppers to give a little of their change to a good cause.
