Anyone ever tried handing out candy to use for recruitment at a Christmas Parade or to get people to give a gift to Relay instead of buying a gift?
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November 4, 2008 - 7:28am
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Christmas Recruitment and Letters
Both are great ideas! Recruitment at holiday time is a nice idea - often people are charity minded and might get involved as a New Year's Resolution... See below for
1) A Resolution To Find a Cure - Make A Difference in 2010 - a short message on an index card that you could have printed for that.
2) XMas/Holiday Letter Examples - See below also for two XMas Letter/Holiday letter examples... I used this type of letter for several years and raised $1000+ with it, with no effort other than sending it out. In fact, the last couple of years that I sent it, I did it via email for a really low effort fundraiser :) My running joke with my friends was that they had to double their donation each year.
Good luck!
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Print the following on index cards, punch a hole in the corner, and tie a candy cane to it:
A RESOLUTION TO FIND A CURE - MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN 2010
Here's one New Year's resolution that can be easy to keep AND make a difference to someone with cancer. Join the ___________ American Cancer Society Relay For Life to bring us closer to a cure in 2010! The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is an event where teams of people from all walks of life have fun while raising much-needed funds to fight cancer and raise awareness of cancer prevention and treatment. Our event will take place on _______, 2010 at ________________.
Call ________ at XXX-XXX-XXXX to get involved in one of several different ways:
1) Make a donation - The American Cancer Society Relay For Life has raised over $1 Billion dollars towards finding a cure! You can be part of this amazing movement!
2) Join our committee - We are always looking for motivated, talented individuals to join our planning committee to make our event happen! Volunteers plan every aspect of Relay For Life, from finding the teams that participate.
3) Field a team - You can organize a team of 8-15 people who take turns walking in support of those battling cancer or those who have lost that battle. We ask that each team member raise donations towards finding a cure!
Thank You - The _____________ Relay For Life Committee
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HOLIDAY LETTER EXAMPLE #1
Dear friends and family,
The fight against cancer goes on. There is no one I know who can say they DO NOT have a friend or relative who has battled this terrible illness. And this holiday time, I have a way for you to honor and remember those you know who have faced this battle - give this Christmas to help find a cure!
I have found a way I can fight this disease - through the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. I am dedicating my walk this year to all those I know who have cancer right now or have lost the battle.
The American Cancer Society Relay For Life raises hundreds of millions of dollars each year in the fight against cancer. Millions of people will walk or run through the night to raise money to fight cancer. Relay For Life builds awareness of this dreaded disease and makes a difference in the lives of those affected by cancer HERE AND NOW!
My goal is to raise (your goal $$$) to help fight cancer. I am asking for your support this holiday season. Your tax-deductible contribution of $25 or more will help our community step up the fight against cancer. Please send a check, payable to the American Cancer Society, to my address today:
(your address, city, state, zip)
Thanks in advance for your thoughtfulness and generosity!
Sincerely,
(your name here)
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HOLIDAY LETTER EXAMPLE #2
Subject: My Holiday Wish, by Susan
Now that I have your attention, there is one thing I want for Christmas more than anything else... Christmas is coming up in less than two weeks. And yes, my holiday wish is about fighting cancer.
But wait, there's more! My holiday wish is not just for me, but for all of us that have been, or probably will be touched by cancer.
I am a team member on one of the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life teams for the ________ Relay this ___________. Of course, you know that the Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society's signature activity. I think that's because everyone has such a great time and realize it's not just about raising money.
But wait, there's more! Most of my teammates are cancer survivors, and I am honored they asked me to be on their team this year. Our goal for this event is ___________ for the year ______.
Why? Because I can't live with the thought that SO MANY people will be diagnosed with cancer this holiday season... Not the kind of gift I'd like to receive.
But wait, there's more! Can you give a gift back? A $25 copay to find a cure?
So here's the deal: I'm asking all of you to make a tax-deductible donation of $25 to my Relay team towards our team goal of __________.
wait, there's more! If not at least $25 then $2.50 or whatever you choose. Any amount gets us a little closer to putting me out of a job -- not necessarily a bad thing.
How? Mail to:
American Cancer Society, ________________________, ______________, _____ (zip code)
Make checks payable to the American Cancer Society, and put Relay For Life in the comment section
But wait, there's more: please go online to ______________________ if you prefer to use a credit card.
OR, e-mail me at either ________________@________.com
OR, cash works too. I can take that at the day of the event.
But wait, there's Even More: I have a candy jar in my office again this year, especially for the chocolate-dependent. Drop a donation in the jar and help yourself to a piece of candy!
Even More: Check out the Web site at www.relayforlife.org and find a Relay near you to get involved!
This year there will be over 4000 Relays across the country – get involved today!
My thanks, and thanks from your American Cancer Society... 1-800-ACS-2345 for answers to cancer. Happy Holidays!
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Hope this helps! Email me at rflvounteer@gmail.com for these letters in Word.
This is our second year of
Relay Baton
Recruitment at parades....go beyound candy! Our community has a winter carnival parade in early February. We handed out "Relay Batons". The previous year excess t-shirts are rolled up into a baton shape, wrapped around is a "congratulations, you've been one of only 100 to receive a special Relay baton invitation to Relay For Life" written message. Follow up the parade with a press release and photo of the baton handoff in the paper - a casual reminder to those lucky recipients. We've event had tourists at the parade who started teams in their home community...it works!
Stella
Vernon, BC, Canada
candy
If you hand out mini candy canes, you could stick an address label on the back with your Relay date, website, etc. By using an address label you could run them through the printer, and with the sticky you would not have to tie anything.
The donation instead of a gift idea I have in the newsletter but haven't tried community wide. How about a letter to the editor in the local paper? OR Set up a mission table in the mall or other local gathering place and have a decorated poster making the suggestion and forms for them to fill out that specifically allow them to make a donation in the name of someone else. AND Have someone take a picture of the table, poster and someone making a donation and write a news article then submit the article and picture to the local paper.
Christmas Parade
Our event has participated in a local Christmas parade for several years. We usually decorate a flatbed as a "hope float" but this year will be walking the route. We also give away last year's t-shirts and hand out candy. It's amazing how many people come to the event later and tell us that they became interested because we gave them a shirt! We get our candy donated by the local Walgreens - who might be a national sponsor... so check it out! This year, we are planning to rubber band information cards to the shirts to give more information about the event. Good luck!!
Candi Sheppard, Chair Relay for Life - Courthouse EventChesterfield, VA
our float
http://picasaweb.google.com/lsnider59/RelayCommittee?feat=directlink
may have to cut and paste the above link but our "float" was a pickup with the relay signs on the side, purple balloons, banners in front and behind and people running all over the place handing out candy canes with save the date. Oh and our local University book store had purple santa hats because of the play off's being here in Dec. so a bunch of us got them too. I think we had a cd playing on the back too. This year our First annual Bark for Life Photo contest dog will be with us so I am not sure how we will decorate.
Funny we just threw it together that night and won!
We are using for the 1st
We are using for the 1st time, at our christmas parade downtown this idea. we are decorating our HOPE sign ( which a very generous person made and donated to our relay it is built on a trailer. We are going to walk beside it and hand out last years tee shirts with a flyer on it about our relay. We have lots of shirts from previous year everyone likes getting something, and we get the relay work out even more
Birthday presents too!
I think Christmas is a great time to ask for the donation instead of a gift. I know that my son and his friends ask for donations to their favorite charity and make it an ask from the children at the party.
I wonder with all the effort in a Christmas letter if there aren't some Christmas letters that may do this very well... hmmmm let me look - or please hopefully others will post.
Nancy E. Peck
National Director, Corporate Relations, Relay For Life Business Unit
National Corporate Team Program Director
Christmas Letter
This is one that I saw posted on another forum here:
Dear Friends,
As we come to the end of another amazing year, it is that time when we are all thinking of holiday gifts and what to get for that person who has everything. For those people, here are a few gift ideas:
- Instead of buying someone a new scarf, a gift to Relay For Life will allow a woman to learn how to use a scarf to regain her sense of beauty through the American Cancer Society Look Good…Feel Better Program.
- Thinking about that tent for the camper in your life…instead, your donation could help send a child battling cancer to camp for a week at the American Cancer Society’s Camp Sunrise.
- Rather than buying that new fancy cell phone, your donation will allow the American Cancer Society to maintain its 1-800-ACS-2345 call center and www.cancer.org, 24-hour resources, which are available 365 days per year… even during the holidays!
- Instead of giving that gift certificate for a hotel stay, making a donation to Relay For Life allows the American Cancer Society to provide free lodging for cancer patients receiving treatment far from home through their Hope Lodge.
So before you head off to the malls to wait in line to buy gifts for those hard to shop for folks in your life…consider making a year-end gift in their name to the American Cancer Society Relay For Life. It’s a gift that will keep giving long after the wrapping paper and fruitcake are gone!
Happy Holidays!
Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy 2009!
Christmas Parade
This is a wonderful idea. Our city has several Relays in the season so we couldn't just pitch one Relay over another. Perhaps joining forces with all of the city Relays and having them walk together to show what are all about would be our solution to having the Christmas Parade work to our benefit with advertising exposure. I will be bringing that up at our meeting in a week. THANKS!!
Judy Barnhart
Event Chairman,
Blossom Valley - Relay for Life
Oak Grove School District Office Relay Team
Joined: 2007-05-22