Team Captain Instruction Booklet Together we ll find the missing pieces. Inside is all the information you need to form and build your team. 2009 Autism Speaks Inc. Autism Speaks and Autism Speaks It s Time To Listen & Design are trademarks owned by Autism Speaks Inc. All rights reserved.
REGISTER ONLINE Register online for the walk! It s Easy! www.walknowforautism.org 5. Fill in your information and start fundraising Welcome to your Event Headquarters! To start off, first go to the My Webpage section to edit your Personal Next, start your email campaign to solicit friends and family for donations Visit your Reports area often and see how you are doing! Utilize the 2.
RAISING AWARENESS Welcome Thank you for your commitment to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders by supporting our Walk program. Included in this booklet are all the tools you will need to become a successful team captain. How Can You Help Publicize the Walk in Your Community? We re glad you asked! There are many ways participants and Team Captains can help publicize the walk in the local community. Here are six ways you can help us spread the word in your community: Become a neighborhood leader. Ask your staff person for a supply of brochures and posters to put out in businesses in your area. Business owners are much more receptive to hanging up a poster for a local person, especially someone who is a customer. Take a team photo and write a short article for you local paper. Local community papers love stories about local people. Many of our participants across the country have been on the front page of their local papers just by submitting a story. If you need ideas or sample stories, please contact your local staff person. Ask your community to support you! Local civic organizations are looking for projects to support. Ask for time at your local Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, Lions Club or other service organization to talk about why you are participating in Walk Now for Autism Speaks and how they can get involved. Share the walk information on local community calendars. Does your community have a website with a calendar of upcoming events? Do you have a public access television station that publicizes local activities? By sending a quick e-mail with the time, date and place of the walk and the walk website address, you can help others learn about the walk and get involved. Get your local schools involved. Just like civic and service organizations, many schools have student clubs, sports teams and individual students looking for community service projects. Ask for an appointment with you local Superintendent of Schools or Principal to start the process. Ask your company or employer to sponsor the event, your team, or form their own team. Ask to send out an e-mail to all the employees to enlist other participants. If your company would like to hold a "Lunch & Learn" about autism and Autism Speaks, please contact your local staff person. 3.
SOCIAL NETWORKING The Benefits of Spreading the Word The Walk is a community event so find ways to engage your community. Volunteers and participants are the heart and soul of the walk. Sharing information about the walk helps others get involved. Potential donors learn about the event and may be more likely to give when asked by a friend or co-worker. Potential sponsors thinking about partnering with Autism Speaks are more likely to get involved when they see the support from their community. Publicity promotes general awareness of Autism Speaks in the community. Let your friends and family know about your walk efforts. E-mail, postal mail and phone calls are all great ways to reach out to your loved ones. Use the Internet to spread awareness -- share a link to your Walk page on your Facebook or Twitter page. You may also add a special awareness widget from the Ad Council (http://www.adcouncil.org/icare/) to your social networking sites! Let us know of any family, school, organization or business that might be interested in supporting or participating in the Walk. We need to expand autism awareness and recruit new teams in the surrounding communities. We will be sure to follow up and provide information about the Walk and how they can become involved! Contact your local Autism Speaks office. Are you curious what Autism Speaks is doing now? Wondering what the latest breaking news is at Autism Speaks? Follow Autism Speaks on Twitter to receive updates. Twitter is a social networking application which allows you stay connected to friends, family members and now, Autism Speaks. Get friends to join too so they can find out first hand how their donations are helping families today! If you're a registered Twitter user, you can add the Autism Speaks Twitter widget to your Facebook, MySpace, blog or website. Facebook is a social network that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, post photos, share links and exchange other information. Let friends and family know you are participating in a Walk Now for Autism event by becoming a fan of your local Walk, Chapter or community a listing of local pages can be found here: http://www.autismspeaks.org/walk_events/ facebook_community_pages.php. Be sure to RSVP to your Walk event on Facebook and invite your friends and family to join you. 4.
KEY TEAMBUILDING TIPS understand about it. Check regularly for new information on the Walk website Register as a Team Captain online at www.walknowforautism.org Thank everyone who has made a donation to your team. Attend the Walk Now for Autism Speaks event! 5.
WRAP AROUNDS AND GRAND CLUB 2009 Autism Speaks Inc. Autism Speaks and Autism Speaks It s Time To Listen & Design are trademarks owned by Autism Speaks Inc. All rights reserved. What is a Wrap-Around Event? A wrap-around event is any fundraiser that your team organizes to raise funds for the Walk. Wrap-Arounds provide additional and fun ways to increase awarness and fundraising. All expenses for wrap-arounds are incurred by the sponser team. Please visit our website for an extensive listing of wrap-around possibilities. Puzzle Piece - An Overview The Puzzle Piece campaign is a point of purchase program and a great fundraiser for your team. This highly visible fundraising campaign can be implemented into your local community. Suggested locations include: Banks Grocery Stores Fast Food Convenience Stores Video Stores Warehouse Stores Large Retail Outlets Any location in your community that attracts large numbers of people or has many distribution points (chains, branches or franchises) can participate in this campaign. How do Puzzle Pieces work? Sites sell and display Puzzle Pieces Employees/ staff at each location get involved by wearing Puzzle Piece stickers Employees/ staff sell Puzzle Pieces to customers Customers purchasing a Puzzle Piece write their name, the name of a loved one they wish to honor or a brief message on the Puzzle Piece The Puzzle Pieces are then displayed in a prominent location in the store Grand Club! What s so grand about the 2009 Walk Now for Autism Speaks? It s our new Grand Club program, and it s your way to get VIP treatment on Walk Day. How do you do this? Every individual walker who raises $1,000 one week prior to each of our Walk events becomes a member. And (as that credit card commercial says) membership has its privileges! You ll receive a commemorative pin and recognition on Walk Day along with other great benefits. Become a member and start fundraising today! Interested in doing more? Visit us at www.autismspeaks.org Your Name Together we ll find the missing pieces. 6.
WALK NOW FOR AUTISM SPEAKS These guidelines are designed to help you properly use Walk Now for Autism Speaks logos. Walk Now for Autism Speaks We are pleased to announce that Walk Now for Autism will be changing its name. You will begin to see the new Walk name used as we transition our printed materials over the rest of 2009. This change strengthens the Walk program by more directly branding the Walks with our name, effectively eliminating any confusion with other autism Walks around the world. Autism Speaks is proud of our signature fundraising event which brings together hundreds of thousands of participants annually across the United States and Canada with a common goal of supporting Autism Speaks. Rally your Team! There are many creative ways to show your team spirit on Walk day. Teams have created team t-shirts, banners, hats, pins, etc.., to help build enthusiasm for the Walk during the weeks leading up to the event, and unite a team on the day of the Walk. The most popular way to unite a team has been team t-shirts. Here are some tips on how to make a great team t-shirt. 1. Be creative! The more unique your shirt, the more your team will wear it year-round. 2. Stand out! The best shirts are bright and colorful. 3. Tell your story! Include the name or photo of the person/child for whom your team is walking in your design. Each team is responsible for the cost of the team t-shirts. This ensures that every dollar raised by the walker goes to Autism Speaks. However, all participants who raise a minimum of $150 will receive a 2009 commemorative Walk Now for Autism Speaks t-shirt. T-Shirts will be available on the day of the Walk only. Volunteers will distribute t-shirts to those Walk participants who have turned in a minimum of $150 through Walk day (both pre-event and day of event donations will be counted). To reduce costs, ensuring that more dollars are directed to the mission of Autism Speaks, t-shirts will be available on Walk day only and not mailed to participants who are unable to attend the event. Autism Speaks will do its best to ensure that those participants who are receiving shirts will receive a shirt in the size of their choice. However, when this is not possible, another size may be substituted. 7.
WHY WE WALK - OUR MISSION 8.