Jeff Montegut's blog

Imagine a Relay Where Anything is Possible

Jeff Montegut — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:11:15 -0400

Do you still not know what Second Life is? If you do know, did you know that there is a huge Relay For Life event in this virtual world? Did you know that the Relay For Life of Second Life has already raised over $110,000 U.S. dollars this year (and the event is still 1 month away). We've already surpassed last year's total.

Here is an amazingly written blog about the Relay For Life of Second Life. I urge you to take 4 minutes of your day to read this through...and dare to wrap your brain around the concept of Second Life.

Mid-South Helps to Foster the Worldwide Movement to End Cancer

Jeff Montegut — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:58:52 -0400

I remember when I was working for the Mid-South Division (way back in 2007) that our CEO and other representatives visited South Africa to help start a Relay For Life movement down there. I remember thinking, "man, that is pretty awesome. I wonder if they'll need me to come down and help with Online Fundraising." Well, they didn't. But that's OK. I was pleasantly surprised to see this update on their progress since then.

The Mid-South Division has partnered with International Relay For Life (IRFL) to really help the huge need to address the cancer burden in South Africa by bringing their strong knowledge of Relay in their division and mentoring the Relay program in South Africa with our partner on the ground CANSA, (Cancer Association Of South Africa)

In 2005 CANSA held one event, it was totally staff driven and took huge resources to put on and they didn't make very much money. The organization felt perhaps Relay was not for them.

Get Healthy - Fight Back

Jeff Montegut — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:47:02 -0400

Yeah yeah yeah, by now we've all heard that healthy diet and regular physical activity can reduce your risk for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. I'm not here to regurgitate another lecture on the importance of a healthy lifestyle (even though it is important).

I am here to tell you about some cool ways you can help yourself stay on track with your new healthy lifestyle (besides watching reruns of The Biggest Loser).

Fight Cancer with Fun video podcast series –Life coach Mark Stibich and exercise physiologist Colleen Saringer are featured on free downloadable video podcasts. Mark talks about strategies for enjoying life and staying inspired while reducing the risk of cancer, and Colleen provides tips on how to stay active wherever you are, even outside of a gym or in the workplace.
Enjoy Being Healthy desktop helper – People can download this free new widget on their desktop to receive inspiring daily tips about how to have fun while fighting cancer.
Picture of Health – When people have a strong support system they are more likely to stick with good habits. Through Picture of Health, people can upload their photo, briefly share their reason for reducing cancer risk, and encourage friends and family to join them. As users visit the Web site, they will see the faces of participants as part of the tapestry, each face and story rising to prominence as their cursor rolls over its photo.

read more

Vote for your favorite 2009 Relay For Life T-Shirt Design

Jeff Montegut — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:45:03 -0400

For the first time in Relay For Life's 25-year history, the participants themselves will select the nationwide Relay For Life shirt design. Three artists have created one-of-a-kind Relay designs based on next year's theme, "Celebrating 25 Years of HOPE." Let us know which YOU think best represents your Relay For Life experience.

Voting will be open from 8:00 a.m. ET on May 19, 2008 until 5:00 p.m. ET on June 1, 2008.
The winning design will be posted on the home page of RelayForLife.org on June 2, 2008.
The winning design will appear on 2009 Relay For Life t-shirts and promotional materials.

Cool Flickr Pic

Jeff Montegut — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:39:57 -0400

Here's a cool pic I just found on Flickr - I like these kinds of pictures. I'd like to encourage all Flickr users to upload their photos to www.SharingHope.tv - the American Cancer Society's newest video, audio, and photo sharing community. You can also share photos in the Photo Gallery right here on RelayForLife.org.

http://flickr.com/photos/rfinn/119187085/

Safe Music for your Relay For Life Video

Jeff Montegut — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:33:57 -0400

So you're doing some video for your event this year? And you might even upload it to SharingHope.TV? Well before you do that why don't you add some music?

Worried about using copyright music? Well you are in luck! Some very special musicians have teamed up with your American Cancer Society to help make SharingHope.TV a success. Please check them out here: http://www.sharinghope.tv/music.php. They are letting all of our people use their music in any video. So check them out today.

And before you upload that next Relay For Life video give it an extra kick by adding some music from our page.

Are you Having Login Issues?

Jeff Montegut — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:39:34 -0400

There seems to be plenty of emails coming in from people who are having trouble logging in. Please make sure that you are using the correct login information on the correct website. RelayForLife.org is a different website than your local event's fundraising site. For a detailed explanation, click here.

Video Blogging w/ SharingHope.tv

Jeff Montegut — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:00:45 -0400

Here's a creative way to use SharingHope.tv - you can create your own video blog and post it to SharingHope.tv. Then, you can embed it (from SharingHope.tv) into your own blog.

If you have a blog account with sites like blogger or typepad, you can set yours up just like karenskidsrelayforlife.org. All you need is a webcam and a blog account. You can even use your RelayForLife.org account on this site.

Video blogging allows you to create your own blog...without typing. The people who visit your blog don't have to read...they can just click play and watch you talk and talk and talk.

ABC's of Fundraising

Jeff Montegut — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:07:53 -0400

We just uploaded a new document that will help teams come up with ideas for their pre-event fund-raisers. The ABC's of Fundraising document is in the Fundraising Development folder of the Relay Library...or, you can find it in the Team Captain Toolkit.

If you do all of your fundraising prior to Relay For Life, you can eliminate the hassle of collecting pledges after the event. Each team member is encouraged to set a minimum goal of raising $100 plus registration fee. There are a ton of great fundraising ideas in the Team Captain Toolkit for both the team and the individual to help you meet your goals. Be creative, have fun, and ask everyone you know or meet to help support your effort.

Don't Forget the Kids

Jeff Montegut — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:53:23 -0500

When planning your event, don't forget that there will probably be some children that attend as cancer survivors. Make sure that you don't overlook these incredibly special people. Imagine what it must have taken for these children to have to face a disease that so many adults have a difficult time with.

These children are heroes who have been forced to fight a battle so early in their lives. They deserve just as much recognition and consideration as every other cancer survivor at your event.

Some ways you can honor these special children at your event are:

1. Make sure you order enough child sized survivor shirts.
2. Have purple Relay balloons to give to the children.
3. Let the children lead the Survivors' Lap.
4. Make sure that some teams have child-friendly activities at their tents.
5. Let the child-survivors play for free.
6. Have a special cake/cupcakes/treat in the Survivors' tent for the children.