TEAM CAPTAIN & PARTICIPANT HANDBOOK Presented by
DEAR CURE PARTICIPANT, Thank you for joining CURE s 5K and Fun Walk! Your commitment to raise awareness and funds to support the mission of CURE is greatly appreciated! Did you know an average of 50 children in the Rochester area are diagnosed with cancer annually? And in both 2017 & 2018, we had 65+ children in the Rochester area diagnosed with cancer or chronic blood disorder? CURE Childhood Cancer Association has been a vital part of the Rochester community for over 40 years. When a child is diagnosed with cancer or a blood disorder, families often find themselves overwhelmed. CURE helps these children and their families by providing financial assistance, educational support staff and emotional support programs. Working closely with Golisano Children s Hospital at Strong, CURE helps local families throughout each stage of the child s disease. CURE and their support programs have become a model for other childhood cancer groups around the nation. CURE has evolved in its mission over the last 40 years, but one thing that has not changed is their commitment to families and children who are facing the devastating effects of childhood cancer or blood disorders.
How Can My Fundraising Make a Difference? $50 Provide a child with a Voyage Beads Necklace Provide birthday cards for one year to CURE kids Provide postage for one year to send bereaved families a remembrance card Lighting of votive candles for the Annual Remembrance Service $100 Provide food vouchers to one family for half a month Provide 10 teenagers with a $10 itunes gift card to help them pass the time during outpatient visits $250 Provide 20 bereaved families with the book Tear Soup as part of their condolence package Provide one family with holiday gifts, who otherwise may not be able to do so $500 Provide 5 newly diagnosed families with a $100 gas gift card to help alleviate transportation burdens that follow a diagnosis Provides a snow cone machine and popcorn maker for CURE s Annual Survivors' Day Celebration $1,000 Provides 40 $25 food gift cards or 40 $25 gas gift cards to families in need Provides resource material for our sickle cell children and children with cancer for two years $1,500 Provides one month of free parking passes to our families Provides a Patient/Parent Organizer to 75 newly diagnosed families enough for one year Provides the food and refreshments for CURE s Annual Holiday Party $2,500 Provides up to five families with funeral assistance Provides 30 children and their parents with educational consultation services $5,000 Provides care to one CURE family through CURE s Palliative Care Program. This program is unique to Rochester, offering assistance to the families of seriously ill children by concentrating on alleviating pain and suffering, and keeping families who elect to undergo this treatment at home, the ability to do so. Provides one year of free meal vouchers this program gives CURE the ability to provide parents with economic hardship, a suitable meal while visiting and/or staying with their child during inpatient treatments (we deliver approximately 1,400 vouchers annually) Provide one year of emergency financial assistance to CURE families such as purchases of appliances, car repair, medical equipment not covered by insurance
MAKE THE MOST OF CURE S 5K AND FUN WALK 1.RECRUIT YOUR TEAM Ask family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to be a part of your team by directing them to your team fundraising page or to CURE s website (www.curekidscancer.com). You will have more fun, and you will raise more awareness for the mission. 2.SET GOALS How much would you like to raise personally? How many team members do you want to recruit? How much would you like the team to raise? Just think: If you could recruit 10 people to each raise $100 your team would be at $1,000 in no time! 3.BEGIN YOUR FUNDRAISING NOW Start by making a donation toward your own personal goal. 4. RAISE FUNDS ONLINE Use email and social media to contact everyone you know about CURE, and ask for their support! 5. RAISE FUNDS OFFLINE Use a letter-writing campaign or host a social event and encourage donations from those who attend. 6. GET YOUR COMPANY INVOLVED Ask your company to be a part of the walk, either by forming a team, being a sponsor or both. The more the merrier! Contact our Community Coordinator, Bridget Sadler at bridget.sadler@curekidscancer.com for more information regarding our various sponsorship opportunities. 7. HAVE FUN! We want this to be great experience for you and your teammates.
TIPS FOR RECRUITING A TEAM 1. SPREAD THE WORD Email the link to your team page to your contacts. You can use the existing email templates we have provided or write your own message! Use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to tell everyone about CURE s 5K and Fun Walk. Don t forget to use our hashtags #cureroc and #CURE5K2019 in your posts. Make sure to tag us (@curekidscancer_) in your post. 2. BUILD TEAM SPIRIT Ask your company to support your team. Hold a rally or kick-off. If you are coordinating a company team, work with CURE Staff to plan an in-house kick-off. If you are coordinating a friends and family team, consider a weekend get-together or picnic. Create a team T-shirt and sign/banner, or encourage all team members to wear something similar to show team spirit! Don t forget we will be having team t-shirt contest!
Contests & Challenges Individual Top Fundraiser TBA Fundraise $100 Hooded CURE Sweatshirt and CURE Sunglasses Fundraise $50 Long Sleeve CURE Shirt and CURE Sunglasses Fundraise $25 CURE Bracelet and CURE Sunglasses Team Top Fundraising Team TBA Best Team T-Shirt Design TBA High School or School District that has Most Participants (minimum 100 participants) wins a banner to hang in school Top Fundraising HS Athletic Team or HS Group wins a pizza party
TIPS FOR FUNDRAISING SUCCESS THE KEY IS TO ASK The main reason people donate to a cause is because they have been asked. Tell everyone you know that you are participating in CURE s 5K and Fun Walk. STEPS FOR YOUR EMAIL CAMPAIGN Email and letter-writing campaigns are the most effective and easiest ways to raise money for your run or walk efforts. You can reach hundreds of potential donors in a matter of minutes! 1. Develop your mailing list to include your email contacts, holiday card list, church and club directories, former classmates, neighbors, co-workers and others you know. 2. Compose your personal email/letter. Your personal story and experience will have the greatest impact on the recipient. You should also include your fundraising goal, a deadline for donations, the link to your personal donation page, and a strong call to action (e.g., Please Join My Team and/or Support My Efforts by Making a Donation ). 3. Send your emails at least 8-10 weeks before the walk. Encourage your contacts to donate online. On average, donors who contribute online tend to give 50% more than donors who do not contributeonline. 4. Send thank-you notes to your supporters.
Below are several fundraising activities that have been successful for many individuals and teams: Garage Sales Bake Sales Used Book Sales Car Washes Pancake Breakfasts Coin Drive Coin Canisters Donut Days Pasta Dinner MORE TIPS FOR FUNDRAISING SUCCESS There are lots of creative and fun things that both teams and individuals can do in addition to an email/letter writing campaign. We want you to use your creativity and do activities that work best for you and your team! Donate YourServices Guest Bartending Craft Shows Game Nights Potluck Dinners Chance Drawings live/silent Auctions Benefit Nights Wine Tastings Flower Sales Ice Cream Socials Pizza Parties lunch with theboss Dress Down Days Candy Sales Softball Tournaments Soccer Tournaments Bowling Tournaments MATCHING GIFTS: Be sure that you and your donors take advantage of employers Matching Gifts programs. It s an easy way to double donations. To find out if a company has a matching gift program, check with the HR Department. SOCIAL MEDIA: Spread the word about your event and participation in CURE s 5K and Fun Walk through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and your other favorite social media sites.
HOW TO RAISE $500 IN 10 DAYS Day 1 Sponsor yourself for $25. Day 2 Ask 5 family members to donate $20 each. Day 3 Ask 5 friends to contribute $20 each. Day 4 Ask 5 co-workers to contribute $10 each. Day 5 Ask 5 neighbors to contribute $10 each. Day 6 Ask 5 people from the place of your worship to contribute $10 each. Day 7 Ask your boss for a contribution of $50. Day 8 Ask 2 businesses or companies that you correspond with through work to sponsor you for $25 each. Day 9 Ask businesses you frequent, such as hair salons, dry cleaners, favorite restaurants, etc., to contribute $15. They can also donate gift certificates that you can use to raise funds through chance drawings. Day 10 Hold a team fundraiser (bake sale, raffle, car wash, etc.).
THANK YOU!! You are making a difference to children and their families during a difficult time!