Would you kayak 2,500 miles? Perform 108 sun salutations? Bungee jump naked? Pogo stick 26 miles? They would.

Last Friday, Deborah Walters began paddling her kayak on a solo journey of 2,500 miles from Maine to Guatemala. The trip will take approximately one year, during which the 63-year-old grandmother will likely encounter sharks, storms, immense pain and crushing loneliness.

Extreme? You betcha. But like countless brave souls who run in ultramarathons, jump out of airplanes, bounce incredible distances on pogo sticks, dress up as zombies, bike across the country or wrestle alligators, Walters has the ultimate motivation: She wants to help.

Walters, of Troy, is making this incredible kayak journey to raise awareness and funds for school children living in a garbage dump community in Guatemala City. Others have taken on similar pain and suffering to benefit military veterans, the elderly poor, various diseases and afflictions that effect young and old alike.

There is virtually no end to the number of causes in the world, and when the human spirit wants to help, there is no end to the ways in which it will go about it.

“You can turn anything into a fundraiser,” says Lewiston’s Jim Witherell. “Anything. There are so many things that people are willing to do.”

For Witherell, it’s all about the bicycle. If he can contribute to a cause by biking incredible distances, Jim is there. He once rode the American Lung Association’s 180-mile Trek Across Maine backward – the route was backward, that is. Not the bike and bicyclist.

“I drove a truck to each day’s destination — UMF, Colby, etc.– and then biked back to the leg’s starting point to pick up my car,” explains Witherell.

When there are people in need, you can either write out a check or you can think outside the box. Each year, millions of people choose the latter, getting so creative in their efforts that it sometimes borders on outlandish. That’s when you see people unicycling for world vision or naked bungee jumping for schizophrenia to name just a scant few. (See related list.)

“A unique event or experience creates excitement and a greater value for your attendees,” says comic Mark Turcotte. “Couple that with a good group of volunteers and sponsors to defray the bulk of the cost and everyone goes home happy.”

Turcotte hosts comedy shows to raise money for animal welfare groups, children services and other causes. The trick, he says, is to organize an event so engaging that it transcends the traditional passing of the hat.

“My goal,” he says, “is to make them forget it’s a fundraiser until the end, when we present the big novelty check.”

At the start of the year, a group in Rumford whooped it up in a Redneck Camo Party, an old-fashioned hoedown to raise money so the Greater Rumford Community Center could pay its heating bill.

Behind that effort was Scot Grassette, owner of the 49 Franklin Reception Hall in Rumford. He’s one of those idea people, the kind who dream up events that, incredibly, have never been done before. He’s currently involved in a fundraiser for a new arts organization in Rumford called the Teaberry Arts Council. As part of that effort, 12 artists have been painting trash cans — what they call Totally Artsy Containers. The cans will be auctioned off at Rumford’s Pumpkin Fest Oct 11th.

“Ideas come from everywhere,” Grassette says, “not just one source. Ideas come from discussions and meetings, sometimes an idea comes when you’re just falling asleep or just waking up. Many times it’s just a single thought, and the details are sorted out with a brainstorming session. Getting ideas is easy. Working out the details and following them through is the challenge.”

You might decide you want to paddle to Central America to help kids, in other words. But pulling it altogether – getting organized – is not so simple.

Walters, for instance, is working with a group called SafePassage, a Yarmouth-based organization that helps families in the Guatemala City garbage dump. She used to be president of the group; now she’s just a humble civilian with all her supplies strapped to a kayak. By working with a team of professional fundraisers, Walters has managed to collect sponsors, get media attention and set up host families in cities along her route.

Going it alone may be a noble idea, but the people who have successfully organized fundraisers over the year say multiple minds are better than one. Much, much better.

“The best solution to coming up with ideas is to have a creative team to work with,” Grassette says. “It doesn’t have to be a panel of experts, it can be your family and friends hanging around the house.”

In May, Livermore Falls was home to an event called A Drive 4 UR Community. Anyone with a valid driver’s license was invited to go to a local Ford dealership and test-drive a vehicle. A cynic might suggest that the event was aimed at selling cars, but no. The cause behind the community test-drive was the Elaine Smith Children’s Reading Program at Treat Memorial Library. For every car test-driven, Brenda Brochu, owner of Bailey Brothers Ford, donated $20 to the reading program.

It was Ford’s idea.

“I would love to take credit for this great program,” said Brochu, “’cause I think it is wonderful!”

In Jay last year, a group of high school students decked themselves out as zombies and washed cars to raise money for a robotics program. In Durham, residents put together a Durham Warriors Survival Challenge, with 18 contestants from 12 states climbing, running, swimming and toughing it out in nature to raise money for veterans.

Everywhere you turn, there are people doing strange and difficult things to raise money for their favorite cause — everything from bakes sales to sky dives. It begs the question: Is there such a thing as too many fundraisers?

“Everybody is going for a smaller piece of the pie,” says Witherell, “because there are so many of these things competing for your attention and your money.”

If you can only participate in one event a year, which one do you choose? Which cause is more worthy than the next? How do you decide?

For most people, it’s a matter of doing what is most familiar.

In August, Lewiston’s Chill Yoga is hosting an event called 108 Sun Salutations. As far as yoga is concerned, this is extreme – we’re talking the equivalent of 108 down dogs, push-ups and arm lifts. But yoga is huge right now, and all proceeds go to support the YWCA of Lewiston.

“We will have four different teachers leading this crazy fun for 3.5 hours,” says Heidi Audet, co-owner of Chill Yoga. “Ask anyone who has done this and they will tell you it is crazy – some self-flagellation experts will admit to true enjoyment of these yoga shenanigans.”

Maybe you’d prefer to simply drop some coins in the canister set on the counter at your favorite diner?

But that’s just the thing. By and large, people seem to prefer doing it the hard way. When these people give, it’s not just money. They give their sweat, tears and hours, too. Why are so many of us willing to give it our all for strangers we will likely never meet?

“I’m sure,” says Witherell, “there are as many reasons as there are people.”

For Walters, who began the long paddle to Guatemala on Friday, it seems to be simple human empathy. When she heard about so many children who might never get a shot at proper education, “It broke my heart,” Walters said.

So, she’s paying all expenses for the trip out of her own pocket. She’s giving up a year of her life and she’s no doubt ready to take on the kind of hardships most people only read about. Hurricanes? Dehydration? Sea monsters? When you’re facing that much ocean, pretty much anything is possible.

“A little bit of fear is a good thing,” Walters told The Forecaster recently. “It keeps you realistic and on your toes.”

Less brave souls can follow her progress through her blog on SafePassage. You can do this from the comfort of your favorite chair in the safety of your living room. If you find yourself feeling guilty about this, the answer is simple: Get up and do something. Find a way to help.

When it comes to extreme fundraising, half the battle is getting others motivated.

“I think inherently, people want to help,” says Audet. “I am always amazed at the extent that some folks will go to help others, often quite selflessly. Oh, there are some motivated by personal gain and some that perhaps need to feel as though they have made a difference and therefore have worth amongst their peers. But by and large, the good that lives in each of our hearts finds a way to come forth, and fundraisers are a product of that goodness.”

Hair-raising fundraisers

* In the summer of 2010, entertainer and magician Alex Kazam of St. Catherine’s, Ontario, embarked on a one-wheeled journey, leaving Niagara Falls, Ontario, bound for New York City on his unicycle to raise money for World Vision, a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.

* Each year, dozens of naked people make a 165-foot plunge into a Vancouver Island canyon – all for a good cause. The annual Nanaimo naked bungee jump is a fundraiser for mental health initiatives.

* In 2011, a Pennsylvania woman, Karyn Puller, set out on a 26-mile pogo stick jaunt to help Love146,  a nonprofit organization that globally fights against the injustice of forced prostitution and the slavery of children.

* Several skydiving fundraisers can be found in various locations around the world, including one in the United Kingdom, where divers make a 10,000-foot leap for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

* Paul Ridley in 2009 became the youngest American to row solo across the Atlantic by completing a 2,950-mile course from the Canary Islands to Antigua in 87 days. He was raising money for research at Yale on skin cancer, the disease that claimed his mother, Kathie, in 2001.

* Kirsten Kincade, a 44-year-old New Jersey mother of four, raised $2.5 million competing in a 141-mile race (a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run) in Hawaii in 2007 and in three triathlons in 2008. Kincade’s beneficiary was IronMatt, a pediatric brain tumor charity founded in honor of her godson, Matthew Larson, who died from the disease at 7, before the first race.

* In Hollywood, Fla., a 23-year-old nearly lost an arm to an alligator while wrestling the beast to teach kids about wildlife. Now there’s a fundraiser afloat to help the young gator wrestler with his medical bills.

Deb Walter’s expedition summary:

* Kayaking over 2,500 miles from Maine to Guatemala

* Launching July, 11, 2014; paddling for a year

* Carrying food and gear for camping

* For safety, boarding a sailboat from Florida to Belize

Along the way:

* Telling the story of the children living in the Guatemala City garbage dump community

* Sharing how inspiring the mothers are, laboring hard for a better life for their children

* Talking about the success of the Safe Passage model school for the children, and

* Raising funds for adding additional grades to the school

Learn more about Walter’s kayak journey: http://www.safepassage.org/get-involved/kayak-safe-passage-expedition/media