A Virginia priest has come up with a novel way to raise money for kids to attend World Youth Day in Madrid:

New Year’s Day has come early for Father Steve Schultz, parochial vicar of St. Timothy Parish in Chantilly. The priest has pledged, between now and March 6, to lose between 40 to 50 pounds in the name of youths, pilgrimages and general well-being.

To help the 30 youths and chaperones from St. Timothy attend next summer’s World Youth Day in Madrid, Father Schultz asked last weekend for parishioners to pledge a certain amount of money per pound that he loses in the next five months.

“I want to help our kids go and I want to make a sacrifice for them,” he said. “I think it has the potential to raise a lot of money.”

As soon as his fundraiser became public knowledge, 220 parishioners pledged anywhere from $1 to $10 per pound, and so far the pledges total $521 per pound. This means if Father Schultz loses his minimum goal and those who pledged make good, the fundraiser has the potential to raise more than $20,000.

“The people of God are extremely generous and supportive,” Father Schultz said, adding that his announcement was met with laughter, encouragement and plenty of personal weight loss advice.

Father Schultz said he hopes to lose the weight by sticking to a special diet and working out at the gym with a personal trainer friend. Besides being a money-maker, Father Schultz’s creative fundraiser has the added bonus of helping the priest get into shape for the physical aspect of the World Youth Day pilgrimage.

According to Kevin Flores, assistant director of the Office of Youth Ministry and diocesan World Youth Day coordinator, pilgrims will travel an estimated 10 to12 miles per day in Spain, much of it on foot. Even after the March deadline, Father Schultz’s plan is to keep losing weight to prepare for this “grueling” event.

Read more about how the diocese is raising money for the trip.