Sincerely, The SLEEP OUT! Steering Committee

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1 Participant Toolkit

2 Thank you for signing up to SLEEP OUT! The money you raise over the next few months will make a real difference in the lives of central Ohio youth facing homelessness. Huck House helps young people and families facing some of the most difficult situations you can imagine---extreme poverty, neglect, abuse, and homelessness. The SLEEP OUT! is meant to raise funds and awareness of the issue of youth homelessness. We are so happy you have joined our effort! In this toolkit, we hope to give you a lot of information to make preparing and fundraising easy and fun. We want you to succeed. The more money you raise, the more young people we can help. Sincerely, The SLEEP OUT! Steering Committee Contact: Sonya Thesing, Development Director (614) sthesing@huck-house.org Deadline to sign up: March 1, 2018 SLEEP OUT: April 20, 2018 Fundraising deadline: June 15, 2018

3 Huck House by the Numbers Fiscal Year 2017 July 1, 2016 June 30, 2017 SLEEP OUT TIP Share this information with your potential donors 17,850 nights of shelter provided 10, 504 hours of counseling and support 6,092 contacts made by youth outreach workers YOUTH OUTREACH PROGRAM Serving youth ages hours of street based case management 104 cases opened/managed 160 YOP Shop visits 80% of youth who connected with us through the YOP Shop were referred to support services 78% of YOP street-based clients were linked to support services FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM Youth ages and their families 4 full time, graduate level mental health therapists community-based appointments hours of counseling 100% of transitional living program youth work with a counselor 989 hours of community support 184 families served TRANSITIONAL LIVING PROGRAM For youth ages apartments, 18 months per participant 76 youth served 13,710 hours of shelter provided 546 hours of parenting support/mentoring 264 hours of victim services 2,897 hours of support and mental health intervention CRISIS PROGRAM For year old teens 532 youth stayed in the shelter 4,140 nights of shelter provided 9,775 hot meals served 2,877 hours of crisis intervention 92% of Crisis Program teens returned to safe and appropriate housing 97% of graduates secured permanent housing Numbers are only part of the story. To read about the young people impacted by Huck House programs, check out the annual report: WEB.pdf. You can copy and paste stories from our annual report on your fundraising page and in your s and letters to donors.

4 Setting Up Your Fundraising Page Go to and click on REGSITER. Follow the directions to complete your registration. After you check out, you will see a THANK YOU message. Click on Go To My Fundraising Page. In the FUNDRAISER section, click on the box for SLEEP OUT! Columbus 2018, which will take you to your SLEEP OUT! dashboard. On your dashboard, add photos and a story (See step two). Set your fundraising goal. Under Advanced Settings, check the boxes for: others helping you fundraise (probably yes), entering donations manually (yes in case someone hands you a check or cash), but do NOT check the box that says hide all donation amounts. There will be a scrolling donor roll on your fundraising page, and friends seeing friends donations is a great motivator. Please set the disable donations date to 6/15/2018. FINALLY, navigate from the menu icon in the top right corner to My Profile and add a picture there, too. Without a profile photo, there will not be a photo of you on the Individual Leaderboard. Your photo makes it easier for your friends to find you on the leaderboard and click through to make a donation. If you have any questions, contact Sonya Thesing at sthesing@huck-house.org or (614) SLEEP OUT TIP Your pictures, videos, and personal stories will increase your fundraising.

5 Thinking about your WHY I first learned about Huck House I am committed to ending youth homelessness because I am most impressed that Huck House The thing about Huck House that got my attention is When you ask your network of friends, family, classmates or co-workers for donations, sharing your reason for being involved is critical to your success. It allows your friends to connect to Huck House in a way that makes them more likely to give to the cause. - Why do you care about homeless youth? - Why do you support Huck House? - What is your personal connection to our cause? - Have you volunteered or experienced first-hand the impact our amazing team makes in the lives of young people in crisis? Use emotion if you are talking about seeing a homeless teen, write about how you felt when you encountered that young person. If you are writing about a great volunteer experience you had with a young person, share how it made you feel to get to know that person. Share your Once you have written your story on your Crowdrise fundraising page, share your link everywhere you can: , text, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter Always share the link to your page.

6 Making your ask: , Text, Tweet, Snap, and Post Dear Joe, Would you please visit my SLEEP OUT! page and make a donation? Here s the link: Last year, 532 teenagers found shelter at Huckleberry House s crisis shelter. And 76 young adults (18-22) graduated from the Huck House transitional living program. Huck House plays an important role for the homeless youth of central Ohio. It s a big job all together, they provided almost 18,000 nights of shelter to young people ages 12 to 22 in I care about homeless youth, and I want to help Huckleberry House help as many youth as they can, so I am going to SLEEP OUT! On April 20, 2018, friends of Huck House will SLEEP OUT! at COSI to raise awareness and funds for homeless youth. Before the SLEEP OUT! I hope to raise $X,XXX for Huck House and I am asking you to help. Be sure to follow me on social media the night of the SLEEP OUT! to learn about my night of experiencing a taste of homelessness! Look for all the #LeepOut2018 posts that night. Thank you for supporting me and Huck House! Your friend, Jane

7 Some Social Media Ideas I m sleeping out to support homeless youth. Your donation #SleepOut2018 (Add link to your crowdrise page here) I m sleeping out for the 532 teens who stayed in shelter last year. Help me raise funds here. #SleepOut2018 (Add link) Selfie in a sleeping bag caption: Can t wait for #SleepOut2018. Help me raise money at the link in bio Photo of the skyline from COSI caption: This will be my view when I sleep out for homeless youth #SleepOut2018 help at the link in bio Photo of the Huck House shelter caption: Your support will help the teens who stay at@huck_house. Help me raise money for homeless teens. Link in bio #SleepOut2018 Selfie of yourself holding cash caption: I m raising money for homeless youth. Link in bio #SleepOut2018 HH staff will try to post regularly about the Sleep Out be sure you are following us so you can SHARE our posts. KEY: Don t just click SHARE, be sure to write your own post. Some ideas: I can t wait to Sleep Out to help homeless youth. Support my effort at (your link). #SleepOut2018 #SleepOut2018 XX Days until I sleep out to support homeless youth. Donate to my cause at (your link) I am proud to support Huck House by sleeping out. Please donate at (your link) #SleepOut2018 HASHTAG #SleepOutColumbus Post at least once a week

8 Some Extra Steps Hold a bake sale at work or at school Donation jar on your desk at work. JEANS DAY AT WORK OR SCHOOL Offer to match your friends donations! Birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine s Day, Easter this year instead of asking for gifts, ask friends and family to donate to your Sleep Out fundraising effort. Host a party in your home Huck House can provide brochures and giveaways, and even a script to help you ask for money. Happy Hour(s) Invite your friends to meet you at your favorite Happy Hour spot. When everyone is there, take a few minutes to tell them about the Sleep Out and make your ask! This works best if you can have a separate area of the bar. Suggestion-use a location that will let you bring in your own food that way you can tell your friends you are providing the appetizers! Ask your company to match your fundraising dollars. And just like that, your $750 becomes $1500 or your $1500 becomes $3000! Guest Bartending Many area restaurants and bars will let you guest bartend. The tip jar will be overflowing with donations! When you ask your friends to come out and support you, be sure to tell them you want their tips for your Sleep Out fundraising. Would you rather cook? Ask Sonya about Guest Grilling at BD s Mongolian BBQ! Venmo Requests I m sleeping out to raise money for homeless youth. Please help me by sending me $10. Be sure to give a specific amount, so your friends don t have to wonder if they are giving too much or too little. Then, go to your crowdrise dashboard and enter offline donations (under the advanced tab on the left side). If you have questions about Venmo, contact Sonya.

9 Most importantly, say thank you Huckleberry House will send an official thank you letter within a week of your friends donation. In addition, they will receive a tax receipt in January 2018 if the gift is made in 2017 and in January 2019 if the gift is made in Thank you. SEND A PERSONAL THANK YOU If you have the time about three minutes to hand write a thank you letter, please do! If you can t write a handwritten letter, or you don t have a postage stamp, send an as fast as you can! Dear Melinda, Thank you so much for your gift of $50 to my Sleep Out fundraising! 100% of your donation will go directly to the programs at Huck House. Thanks to you, I am closer to my goal of raising $1500 for Huck House. I will think of your kindness when I am sleeping out in April! Your friend, Michael

10 What to Expect at the SLEEP OUT! Schedule (approximate): 9:30 p.m. Registration 10:00 p.m. Kick-off reception INSIDE at COSI 10:30 p.m. 5:00 a.m. SLEEP OUT! 5:00 a.m. 5:40 a.m. Warm up inside with coffee, juice, and muffins as we wrap up and reflect 5:45 Head home to a comfy bed for a long nap! Parking: Washington Boulevard, the road that runs between COSI and the riverfront, will be closed to other traffic. SLEEP OUT volunteers will let you through the barricades and direct you to parking on Washington Boulevard right in front of the sleep out site. See the attached map. Please place the parking permit on your dashboard when entering Washington Boulevard. Arrival and Registration: At the SLEEP OUT! site you will drop your things under the big tent and proceed down the outdoor steps to the North Meeting Room indoors. Staff and volunteers will direct you. Registration will be indoors. After the welcome with hot chocolate and cookies, participants will head out to the tent and set up their sleeping areas. What to Bring: Winter grade sleeping bag, sleeping pad if you have one, warm clothing (hats and extra socks a good idea), and flashlight. Check the weather and dress appropriately to withstand a cold night in Ohio. Please consider bringing cell phones/tablets to communicate with your social networks about your experience. What to Leave at Home: Valuables, cash, young children, pets, tents and camping stoves. No alcohol allowed. We will provide snacks at the opening reception and muffins after the event. We ask that you leave additional food at home unless a medical condition requires you to have snacks with you. Where You will be Sleeping: The SLEEP OUT will take place on the outdoor (paver) plaza at COSI. There will be one large event tent. Other Experiences throughout the Night: If you can t sleep, there will be some conversation areas in the lower courtyard. We hope that SLEEP OUT! participants will talk to each other about the issue of homelessness and about your SLEEP OUT! experience. There will also be a video reflection booth where participants can record their thoughts and answer some questions like How do you feel about being outside at this point in the night? and How is the weather affecting your ability to sleep? We ask participants to stay within the COSI plaza for security reasons. Restrooms: We will have access to the restrooms inside COSI.

11 Security: COSI and Columbus Police will provide security for the entire event. Emergencies: If you need help during the evening or experience a medical emergency, please report your problem to the Huck House staff on duty. If you must leave before the event is over, please notify staff. Media: A number of media outlets have said they plan to come to cover the event. We have designated spokespeople for this, BUT, should any member of the media want to interview you as long as you're amenable that s great. They might ask what motivated you to participate and/or what your experience in the SLEEP OUT! has taught you. Just speak from the heart. Social Media: Please bring your mobile device to the SLEP OUT! event and plan to FB, tweet, snap, post, blog, upload, and otherwise share your SLEEP OUT! experience throughout the night. Also, be sure to LIKE Huckleberry House, Inc. on Facebook and SHARE our postings (you'll likely be in them). Photographers/Videographers: By signing the SLEEP OUT! liability form, you are consenting to allowing Huck House to photograph you and take video of you. In addition to Huck House photographers, there will be other free-lance photographers and videographers on site throughout the night If you have any questions before the Sleep Out, contact Sonya Thesing at sthesing@huck-house.org or (614) On the day of the Sleep Out, please call or text Sonya at (614)

12 Please join us on Tuesday, February 6, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Grand Event Center 820 Goodale Blvd Columbus, OH for an informational meeting. It will be a great chance to ask questions, share fundraising ideas, get to know other SLEEP OUT! participants, and get excited for a great SLEEP OUT! experience. Put it on your calendar now. Also, Sonya will send reminders closer to January 17.

13 SLEEP OUT Parking Map

14 Parking Permit Washington Boulevard in front of COSI Friday, April 20, 2018 Saturday, April 21, 2018