SUCCESS!

I have great news. I'm just going to blurt it out because I'm so excited. We (me and my uber fabulous girlfriends) raised $1,229 on Saturday night! Cha-ching!! You might remember me talking about my plans for our girls night out fundraiser in my last post and I have to say -- all the planning paid off.

So what made it so successful? All of the smiling faces above (minus the random dude who jumped in our photo). All of these ladies selflessly stepped up to support me and to help make a difference in raising awareness and funds to find a cure. Their caring, fun and outgoing personalities were a big reason for our success. It takes some guts to wear this kind of attire and to walk up to complete strangers to strike up a conversation. But, we did it and it worked!

We started our night around 7 p.m. at Ryleighs in Federal Hill, Baltimore (yes, I live in Philly, but I have a special spot in my heart for Baltimore where a few of my besties live). While we were having dinner, a few people took notice of our signs and approached us with donations. I even received $1 from a lady in the restroom! Ryleighs partnered with me and ran a shooter special (below) that brought in $300.

  

We then traveled around to six or seven more bars around Cross Street from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. to promote our cause and ask for donations. We met many generous people who pulled out $10 or $20 bills and shared heart-wrenching stories that proved how prevalent breast cancer is today. I knew we would run into a few negative nelly's, but thankfully those were few and far between.

This event has obviously been my biggest fundraising success to date and I think the key takeaway is to use your assets (no pun intended) wisely. What I mean is that a girls night out pub crawl fundraising event made perfect sense for me... given my age, my familiarity of the bar scene in Baltimore, and that I had a group of girls who were interested in helping me make a difference, etc. My mom, who works in a dentist's office, has done well in raising money by asking sales reps, other dentists and even some patients for their support. Others who have kids find success with lemonade stands or penny wars at the school, for example.

Together, Mom and I have to raise $4,600 to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-day for the Cure. And, with a little more than three months to go... we're only about $500 away from reaching this goal. YAY! I owe a big, huge, gigantic THANK YOU to all of my donors and especially to the eight ladies who helped rake in more than $1,000 in one night...you girls are truly angels, thank you! XOXOXO 

Putting the FUN in Fundraising

I can't wait for this weekend! Saturday night is going to be a blast. Let me explain.

In early May, I sent all my girlfriends an e-vite to join me in my effort to raise $2,300 for the Susan G. Komen 3-day by going on a little pub crawl. How do I plan to raise money via pub crawl you ask? Similar to the Girl's Night Out fundraiser by Leanne...the walker. Me and eight of my super amazing girlfriends are going to hit the town sporting black t-shirts with hot pink bras overtop (thanks to inspiration from a pic on the Betties for Boobies blog). I think our "outfits" will help us stand out and show we're serious, not to mention that it will hopefully separate us from looking like just another bachelorette party.

I've been in touch with several bars in the area who are going to be running fun specials to support the cause. For example, one bar is going to donate $3 for every Shooter for Hooters we sell.  So our job is to have fun promoting the various specials while raising awareness and asking for additional monetary support. Sounds like a good time, right?!

I've been crafting this week in preparation. I made a few signs to hold up (like the one above that also has a statistic about breast cancer on the other side). I also decorated some shoe boxes and cut a hole in the top to serve as our collection "jar" for donations.

I'm so thankful for the support from the bars and my lady friends. For some reason, planning this fundraiser and looking forward to a fun girl's night out has made me appreciate even more how lucky I am to have the good health that enables me to live life on MY terms and not having to be at the mercy of doctors, nurses and chemotherapy appointments. I don't take a single day of health and happiness for granted.

Any last minute tips for a successful girl's night out fundraiser? Be sure to check back next week for results on how we do and some pics of course!

Fundraising Fever

With just a little more than four months to go until the Philadelphia 3-day, I’m happy to report that I’ve raised one-third of my $2,300 fundraising goal. Can I get a woo-hoo?!

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride, but I’m all strapped in for the long haul. My very first donation came (thanks to the facebook widget) from my Aunt Donna in Woodbridge, VA. She gave a generous $100, which really got me going. Instead of sending out letters to other friends and family right away, I started knocking on doors of local business. While explaining the 3-day to the lady at the front desk of my gym, a total stranger overheard me and put $10 cash in my hand right away. It was a pretty humbling experience. I think it’s hard to describe the feelings you get from pure kindness, but needless to say, I was on a high after leaving the gym that day.

Then I hit a little bit of a low. The melanoma surgery got me down. Fundraising ideas were spinning around in my head. I was reading all sorts of 3-day blogs about what my other walker "friends" were doing and I was stuck on the couch with the foot propped up. But I kept my chin up and made some plans. As I suspected, things slowly started to turn around again as more friends and family showed their support with donations.

Mom does have a PINK t-shirt on under that jacket.. it was just a chilly morning. ;-)

Mom and I raised about $400 with our garage and bake sales last weekend. Maybe not as much as I would have hoped, but every little bit helps, right? We had donuts and coffee donated to sell and we baked brownies, rice krispies treats (which were a big hit) and cookies. We also sold raffle tickets for a basket of goodies and donated gift cards. It was fun to spend time together. We learned a few things about what to do and not to do next time and we even brainstormed a few more ideas.

$1,560 to go! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Show Me the Money

Hello, my name is hobbles. Well, that's been my nickname for this last week anyway. A week ago, I went back to my dermatologist for a 90-minute "surgery" to remove some early-detected melanoma. 12 stitches later and after lots of limping around, I'm ready to have my old self back. These beautiful blue-sky days would be perfect for some long training walks, but doctors orders are to rest until the stitches come out (in 6 more days!).

Last weekend after my procedure, we took a car tour around D.C to see the Cherry Blossoms.

Do you know how much you take for granted the ability to walk?!

Because training is on the back burner, I've been trying to focus on fundraising. I have a handful of ideas flying around in my head, and have made *some* progress. Really though, I need to kick it up a notch. I'm a first-timer, so any tips or suggestions from you experienced 3-day'ers would be warmly welcomed! Here's what I've been thinkin......

Personal Donation Page - I've updated my fundraising page and added the Facebook widget. Now it's time to send personalized e-mails to friends and family.  

May 22 Garage Sale - I'm going to put up lots of pink balloons to help get attention and make a poster or banner that advertises all proceeds will go to the Susan G. Koman 3-day for the Cure. I'll put flyers around my community, too.

Local Businesses - I've gone to a few businesses already to ask for donations, and although I haven't had much luck getting money, Total Body Fitness in Lansdale has donated a 3-month membership and others are offering the same kind of "donations." What do you think about raffling these off at the garage sale?

Memorial Day Weekend - One idea I got at the Getting Started Meeting was to sit outside of a Wine & Spirits shop or beer distributor on this popular holiday weekend to ask for donations. I've been calling around, but haven't had much luck in securing a spot. Lansdale Meats & Deli agreed to the idea though, and that place does get a lot of traffic! So, we'll see...

Tastefully Simple - I don't know about you, but I love these products (especially their beer bread). I got the idea from the 3-day message boards to ask a consultant to host an online party and then donate the proceeds. Sounds yummy to me!

Girls Night Out - Thanks to Leanne...the walker, I'm excited to plan a girls night out to help raise funds. I'm thinking Baltimore or New Hope. Lovely lady friends of mine, if you're out there reading... get ready!

Phew! That's it for now. Thoughts? Suggestions? I have a long ways to go... $2,190 to be exact. But with a little help and lots of determination, I know I can get there. I'll keep ya posted on my success and if you want to help, please consider donating and be sure to spread the word. xoxo