Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it’s bobsled time…Cool Runnings…2?
After a 12-year hiatus, the Jamaican bobsled team announced Saturday that it has qualified to compete in the Olympic games. Unfortunately, the team, which was famously portrayed in the 1993 Disney classic Cool Runnings, has run into a bit of a money problem again. This time they need to raise $80,000 in the next week in order to get to Sochi. As sled driver Winston Watt told the Associated Press on Saturday, “Right now, we’re at zero.”
Related: Crowdfunding Promoted to Help Small Businesses
Not to worry, guys. the Internet is on it.
So far, in less than three days, Crowdfunding, Reddit and virtual currency have combined to raise approximately $56,300, according to Mashable. Indiegogo and Crowdtilt, two major crowdfunding platforms, have raised a combined $26,458. The rest of the donations have primarily been drummed up on Reddit.
As an example, one post on the dogecoin subreddit titled, “Let’s send the Jamaican bobsled team to the Winter Olympics!” encouraged viewers to donate using dogecoins, a virtual currency similar to Bitcoin.
The bobsled team’s twitter account has also been helping drive traffic to the crowdfunding websites in order to meet their goal. This isn’t the first time the team struggled for funding, when they competed in the 1988 games in Calgary, as depicted in the movie, the team had to scrounge for funding from U.S. businessmen and the president of the Jamaica Olympic Association.
Technology has transformed fundraising in the past few years. Now crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have become major resources for everything from startups to science research and more. Some individuals have even used the fundraising sites as tools to bankroll their own personal expenses like college tuition.
If the team meets its goal, this will be the first time an Olympic team (and a potential movie sequel) has been funded through Internet donations.
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