Planning a Successful School Walk for Diabetes Program

Volunteer Coordinator s Guide Planning a Successful School Walk for Diabetes Program diabetes.org/schoolwalk 1-888-DIABETES

Welcome Dear School Walk for Diabetes Coordinator: Thank you for registering for School Walk for Diabetes! By leading this program, you are helping the American Diabetes Association to achieve its mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to help all people affected by diabetes. Diabetes is a silent killer. Nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes, including more than 186,000 children. According to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if lifestyles do not change, one in three Americans born today will develop diabetes in their lifetime. The risk is even higher for African Americans and Latinos/Hispanics nearly half of whom are likely to develop diabetes. We can change these trends by helping children and families learn how to lead healthier lifestyles through good nutrition and daily physical activity. By participating in the American Diabetes Association s School Walk for Diabetes program, you can link your school to important information about type 1 diabetes, while promoting the ways to prevent type 2 diabetes. When coordinating School Walk for Diabetes, you can empower students to play an active role in the health of their school community. Encourage older students to help plan the event, motivate others to fund-raise, and build awareness about diabetes and healthy living. Through teamwork, students will gain real-world, marketable skills and community service hours that can count toward school requirements or graduation. In the pages that follow, you ll find a step-by-step guide on how to plan and promote a fun event while also raising money for the American Diabetes Association. With your help, we can make a big difference in the every day lives of all people affected by diabetes. Thank you! We couldn t do it without volunteers like you! Call your local American Diabetes Association at 888-DIABETES (342-2383). Let us know your plans! We want to help you any way we can! 2

Step 1 Determine the Basics! The best place to start is by asking a few critical questions. This will help you to set a framework so that your program is both exciting and well-organized. When will your event take place? Consider the academic calendar (testing, in-service days, etc.) and athletic schedule. Suggestion If your event is scheduled near the end of the school year, host your fund-raising campaign at least six weeks prior to the day of your walk. Send money and thank you gift forms to the local ADA office. Then you can distribute gifts to students during your School Walk for Diabetes celebration. Who should participate? All students Specific grades/classes Parents Local officials Celebrities Local media Where will you walk? Gymnasium School yard, field or track School cafeteria, hallways and/or classrooms School neighborhood Nearby park Align your program with another diabetes awareness initiative, such as American Diabetes Month in November or American Diabetes Alert Day on the fourth Tuesday in March. Determine if the Walk should be on one day or a full week of activities. How long will your fund-raising campaign be? That depends on your goal. The higher your goal, the longer the campaign should be. Most schools choose at least two weeks. 3

Step 2 Recruit Your Team! A team of students, faculty and parents can help to plan your event and raise money. Students This program provides a unique leadership opportunity for students. If you find the right students, you ll see their enthusiasm take this event to the next level. Suggestion Tap into existing clubs for support, such as walking or fitness clubs, Key Club, Builder s Club, Beta Club, National Honor Society, student council, etc. Here s how to maximize student involvement: Promote an organizational meeting of the School Walk for Diabetes Planning Team on morning announcements for one week. Recruit one student you know who has the leadership ability to serve as the chair of your planning team. This student can help to spread the word about the first meeting. Host the first meeting and ask students to fill out a Role You Can Play survey. This will help to identify students specific talents and skills that can be tapped when planning and promoting the event. Leader Guide with your team. Determine a timeline for fund-raising, event planning and promotion. Give each person a responsibility and follow-up to be sure he/she does their jobs. Say thank you! Other Faculty Members Other faculty members could be helpful in leading and promoting this campaign. Ask for help from those who you know have a connection to diabetes or who have a stake in promoting healthy living to students, such as the school nurse, physical education teachers or athletic coaches. Also, share the lessons and activities in your School Walk for Diabetes Coordinator s Kit with the appropriate teachers. Parents Some schools have active parent organizations that support all fund-raising efforts. You and your student leader(s) can encourage their support or involvement at an upcoming PTA or PTO meeting. Parents can help with fund-raising by leveraging their connections in the community to secure sponsors, matching gifts or media coverage for your campaign. You may also want to invite the parents of a child with diabetes to help. This program can help their child by increasing diabetes awareness among the school community. Share the corresponding Student 4

Step 3 Raise Money to Help People with Diabetes! You ve set a goal and built your team. Now it s time to put your energy into fund-raising and promoting your program. Kick-off fund-raising activities by distributing collection envelopes, thank you gift fliers and to parents describing the program. Be sure students know about the thank you gifts and the school s fund-raising goal. To keep fund-raising momentum going throughout your campaign you can use some of the following tactics: diabetes.org/schoolwalk. Students can log on and build their own personal Web pages, send e-mail messages to friends and family asking for support, and track their own fund-raising progress. Emphasize that all checks must be made out to the American Diabetes Association. Send letters to local companies to secure donations or sponsorship. In exchange for visibility at your event, companies in your community may consider making a financial donation. Collect money and update progress toward your school s fund-raising goal every day. Some schools provide daily incentives, like a healthy morning treat (apple, granola bar, etc.) to students when they bring in money. Build and promote your school s online fund-raising page at diabetes. org/schoolwalk. Every school who provides an e-mail address upon registration will receive a school Web page. If you did not provide an e-mail address, please e-mail your local ADA representative or schoolwalk@diabetes.org to request a Web page. Include your name and your school s name and address. You will receive an e-mail with a personal username/password. You are now the school s team captain! Let students know the school s fundraising goal and remind them about the online fund-raising tools available at Host internal fund-raisers. For example, have a Wall of Honor. Each student can buy space on the wall for $1 and put a pin-up or create a message for someone they love with diabetes. The Student Leader s Guide is full of great ideas like this! Say thanks along the way! Possible Student Roles Send solicitation letters to secure donations from local companies Create your online fund-raising page at diabetes.org/schoolwalk Count money and update progress toward your goal Plan internal fund-raisers Send thank you notes 5

Step 4 Promote! Promote! Promote! The American Diabetes Association provides you with many tools to promote your School Walk for Diabetes campaign within your school and community. Here are some ideas for communicating with both internal and external audiences: Possible Student Roles Read morning announcements Write a school newspaper article Design promotional fliers In Your School Host a school assembly or ask students on the planning team to give short presentations in homeroom classes to recruit their peers and kick-off the fund-raising campaign. Submit an article to your school newspaper or newsletter. Read a daily message on morning announcements. Recruit friends to raise money Draw posters with healthy living messages Hang School Walk for Diabetes posters or fliers in visible locations. Wear your School Walk for Diabetes T-shirt. Encourage teachers to incorporate the educational lessons and activities in your School Walk for Diabetes Coordinator s Kit that promote diabetes prevention and health awareness. In Your Community Send an invitation letter to local celebrities or public officials. Work with school officials to customize media releases to secure coverage of the program. Ask a local radio station to be your media partner by promoting the fundraising campaign through PSAs, as well as airing live from the school on the morning of the event. 6

Step 5 Finalize Your Day-of Event Plan! Ask other faculty members and parents to help you keep things running smoothly on the day of the event. They can help by checking the safety of your walking route, coordinating street crossings, relaying the rules to students, and distributing water and healthy snacks to keep students hydrated and energized. Walks can also be worked into your regularly scheduled PE and Specials (art, music, etc.) time and held as part of the regularly scheduled school day in the gym or on the track and field. Develop a folder that contains all of the information a volunteer or faculty member would need to know. The following describes some possible contents of the folder: Day-of Event Timeline Event activities and walk schedule Specific volunteer responsibilities Important phone numbers Plan for an after-school money counting party Rules of the Road Safety rules (walk on sidewalks, cross streets only when signaled by an adult volunteer, don t run, etc.) Discipline plan (if a child misbehaves, where do they go?) In Case of Emergency Directions from the school nurse on the best way to get a student medical care, if needed Map of School and Walking Route Walking route marked with cones, chalk, rope, etc. Designated drop-off table for collection envelopes and participant release forms (all students must have a parent or guardian sign a release form to participate) Rest stops (e.g., bathrooms and/or beverage/food tables) First aid area (e.g., nurse s office) 7

Step 6 Recognize a Job Well Done! For Students Seeking Community Service Requirements Members of your School Walk for Diabetes Planning Team should submit their Community Service Tracking Logs to you with the time they spent working on this project. At the end of the program, download and complete the Community Service Completion Certificate that students can submit to their guidance counselor for credit or keep for their own records. For All Participating Students Students who raise $5 or more earn thank you gifts. Here are some other important points: All gifts are cumulative. Remember to include t-shirt size for students raising over $50. To help you promote these gifts, your local coordinator can provide: A sample of the thank you gift flier that students receive with their collection envelopes. Thank you gift posters that you can hang in high-traffic areas (cafeteria, gym, school entrance, etc.) To help you organize the thank you gift distribution, each student receives a collection envelope with a place for students or parents to indicate Total Raised and T-shirt Size. Make sure all students turn in their envelope completely filled out. Follow these simple steps for processing thank you gifts: Provide a Master Record Form to each homeroom teacher. This form is available in Microsoft Excel for easiest completion. On the last day of envelope collections, collect all of the master record forms from homeroom teachers. Compile the orders for each gift and put the total number on the Thank You Gift Order Form. This form is available in Microsoft Excel for easiest completion. Send a package to your local ADA representative with the thank you gift order form, copies of the master record forms, and the counted money. Expect your student thank you gifts to arrive within six weeks after the ADA receives the order form and money. 8 Let your local ADA representative know if your school does not want thank you gifts or the school incentive. This will increase your school s donation to the American Diabetes Association.

For Your School Each participating school that raises $1,000 or more receives a gift certificate for physical education supplies or curriculum from a national sports equipment vendor. The gift certificate amount is based on the total money raised by the school. Go to diabetes.org/schoolwalk to see what you could earn. Below is a breakdown of the incentives: Schools raising $1,000-$7,499 Schools raising $7,500+ 10% back 15% back Example: If your school raises $4,000, you earn $400. If your school raises $10,000, you earn a $1,500 certificate for your school. For the School Coordinator (YOU!) Volunteer school coordinators like you can earn a gift certificate for a wide selection of gifts including designer watches, name brand sporting gear and electronics for raising $2,000 or more. Check out the Coordinator Incentive Flier at diabetes.org/schoolwalk. 9

Planning Checklist 8-4 weeks out Call your local American Diabetes Association at 888-DIABETES (342-2383) and let us know your plans or if we can help! Host an initial meeting to recruit student leaders, set a date and determine the event format. Present your plan for the program and event day to school administrators and faculty. Promote the program to students. Build the school s fund-raising Web page. Begin sending out solicitation letters to local businesses and school vendors who could support your school. Send letters of invitation to local radio station DJs or celebrities. 3-1 weeks out Kick off your School Walk for Diabetes fund-raising campaign and encourage students to raise money. Distribute collection envelopes, thank you gift fliers and parent letter to students. Arrange a daily collection envelope drop-off process. Include messages about the campaign and healthy living in the school s newspaper, newsletter or broadcasts. Track fund-raising progress in a visible location so that all students can see it. Finalize event logistics (walking route, water and healthy snack table, entertainment, volunteer roles, etc.). Day-of Event Ask homeroom teachers to collect the envelopes or set up a check-in table at the school s entrance for easy drop off. Be sure all volunteers know their roles. Lead a warm-up activity to gain student attention and stretch muscles. Count money and announce total dollars raised to date. Within Five Days After Event Collect final donations and determine total dollars raised online and offline. Complete Master Record Form and Thank You Gift Order Form. Send donations in check/money order form (no cash) to your local American Diabetes Association. Include copies of the completed Thank You Gift Order Form. Wrapping Up Your Campaign Expect thank you gifts to arrive approximately six weeks after your money and thank you gift order forms are received by your local American Diabetes Association. Host an awards assembly or afterschool event to present thank you gifts to students and volunteers. Show event photos or a video with music. Submit community service hour log sheets and certificates to the school s guidance counselor or principal to acknowledge the hours students dedicated to helping people with diabetes. Invite the media to attend.

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What is diabetes? Diabetes is a disease where the body either does not produce enough insulin or the insulin it produces is not used properly. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented. In type 2 diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin and the body doesn t use insulin well. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented in some instances and managed by making healthier choices about food and exercise. There is no cure for diabetes. Facts About Diabetes Nearly 24 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes. Diabetes contributed to nearly 234,000 deaths in 2005. This was more than AIDS, breast cancer, and many other chronic diseases. Diabetes is the seventh deadliest disease in the United States. Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people without diabetes of a similar age. There is no cure for diabetes. Complications of Diabetes Heart disease Stroke Blindness Kidney failure Amputations Symptoms of Diabetes Extreme thirst Frequent urination Blurry vision Fatigue Tips for Preventing Type 2 Diabetes Limit time for television or video games Drink more water and less sugared sodas, sports drinks or juices Avoid fast foods Eat smaller portion sizes Exercise 60 minutes a day American Diabetes Association 1701 North Beauregard Street Alexandria, VA 22311 diabetes.org/schoolwalk 1-888-DIABETES