2008-08-17

Ok yesterday I did this long drawn out posting and somehow when I submitted it - it did not show up.  Hopefully the websmaster or who ever I email for help can get it back.  It was some good stuff!

I have this idea about targeting companies in my area that do matching funds.  I have found 66.  What I need is a letter that I can use to get me an audience with the decision makers.  I want to present Relay for Life in a way that the company will have a Relay Coordinator - I see this person in HR or Marketing that can motivate the employees to become Team Captains - The Relay Coordinator would communicate with  us and attend the meetings etc and then take it back to thier company and communicate to the Team Captains.  We can give them fund raising ideas and they carry them out through out the company and thier world. 

 I think what would happen would be that Teams would be made up of departments and if you have been in a large company with departments they are very competitive against each other.  So we would have these competetive people, striving to be the top department of the company. 

2008-08-16

Well with the Olympics last night and the night before emailing 768 Past Relayers, I needed a rest yesterday.  I did meet with our Relay Mgr - I call her Coach.  Since this is my second relay and first time being a chair, I have lots of questions.  But Coach is patient and full of knowledge. 

Just to change the subject a little, in my emailing the past relayers, I now have a new friend, his name is Bob.  You know you think you do things for you (I started relay in memory of my brother "Boo") I wanted to pay it forward for the help ACS gave us, but I see everyday, this is not just for me to keep my brothers memory alive, its to share, to help and be there when someone needs you.  Bob is a suvivor of cancer of the larynx - its been 9 years, and here he his electro larynx - taking the time to talk to students about smoking.  Wow not only is Bob my new friend, He is my hero! My hat (should I say wig) - that's another story for another day....goes off to Bob.

8/14/08 

Ok since no one has told me any different, blogging will be my way of journaling my thoughts and ideas for Moreno Valley (M.V.) Relay.  I actually started a group for us.  Now all I have to do is get some members to register at RelayforLife.org.  "If you build it they will come"  Lol

So... after recording my first entry last night.  I was on the search for matching companies.  My thought, gather all the info on who matches and then target those companies to pull teams from them.  My thinking, get an audience with HR or who ever is the decision maker.  Appoint a target person as Relay Coordinator for the company and have them recruit teams within thier own company.  If it goes like I think it would, I can even hold the team meetings there at the company and give them support with fundraisers and ideas.  (I will let you know how that pans out). 

How to find matching companies.  I believe Relay on line tab and there is a place to put the name of companies there, however I wanted to see just a list and then see if those companies where in my city.  So I did a google on matching gifts in california (you use your state or area).  I now have 41 companies in our city that do matching gifts.  Guess which companies will be the first to get an email introducing and requesting an audience to present Relay 2009!

8/13/2008

I think blog is sort of like a diary or journal entry.  So I will use it like it is.  This is my first year as an Event Chair - Professionally I am an HR Recruiter, so my Event Chair is Recruitment (go figure).  I love the computer and seem to think that I will be very sucessful with utilizing emails for the majority of the contacts.  I have taken an excel speadsheet and created an access database and have linked the Team Captains with the Participants on thier teams.  I started out using the captains and participants from 2008, I have since been given a spreadsheet going back to 2005.  After transfering all the data into the Access database, We now have 125 past team Captains and 1206 past participants, we also have record of what year or years they have participated.

I have created two letters one for Team Captains and one for Participants.  Below is the Team Captains and the Participant is similiar.

 First_Name» «Last_Name»