Two Families; One Fight

Transcription

1 Winnipeg s 13 th Annual Relay for Life will be here before you know it! Winnipeg Relay For Life May 23, 2014 at Investors Group Field, sponsored by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Click here for the Winnipeg Relay website For more information, contact (204) or winnipegrelayforlife@mb.cancer.ca Don t Miss It! In this issue: The Power of One Recognizing Fundraising Ohana means Family Motivating your team to meet fundraising goal Bank Nights and Team Fundraising Volunteers Wanted Alex leads Team Alex Back Support our Sponsors By each doing a little, we can have a huge impact against cancer How much impact enough to buy a new microscope or fund a lab technician. With a week to go, we can all help Manitobans fighting cancer. Find out what you can do to raise $750 in about a week. Page 2 Two Families; One Fight With just a couple of weeks before the Winnipeg Relay For Life, two families share their story about why they are participating and fundraising to beat cancer. Team Alex is back! Many who attended last year's Relay will remember a group of wonderful young ladies in bright yellow t-shirts. The girls participated in honour of their classmate and friend Alex Blake, raising more than $17,000. Alex was not able to participate as she was recovering from a cord blood transplant. Her new immune system was still too low to be out in crowds. Well, Team Alex is back and this time they are being led by the strong, determined 14 year old who has beaten cancer twice. The girls are looking to surpass last year's fundraising total. Read her story on page 10 Anais Casselman-Green (left) and Alex Blake of Team Alex get ready for a bake sale last weekend. The Spiritual Strength of Team Ohana - If you hear Hawaiian music on Relay night, there is a good chance it will be coming from Team Ohana as they honour, remember and make Lee Ann Winkler of Carman, Manitoba proud. Every step they take raises money to help the Canadian Cancer Society save lives and every step they take is in memory of a loving wife, mama bear, sister, aunt and friend who moved on to heaven on December 4, Read their story on page 4

2 The Power of One: Your Relay For Life Committee wants to tell you two ways that we can all make a bigger difference with just a little effort. Last year, the average Relay For Life team in Winnipeg had 9 members. Each person fundraised on average $345. If this year each team were to add just one more team member then each team would fundraise an additional $345. If you multiply that by the 83 teams we expect to participate in the Relay and our total impact would be an additional $28,635 this year to fight Need to boost your fundraising? Tips on raising $750 in 7 days We ve noticed that some teams have not yet raised any money online and with just a few weeks before Relay, we wanted to share some tips on how to become a fundraising superstar! Most people don t realize it but by using online fundraising tools you can: Upload your contacts and send personal s to people you see every day. You can extend your reach to friends and family members in other cities and provinces. You make it easy for everyone to pledge you by using their credit card. It s quick, safe and they get a tax receipt by within a few minutes of pledging. Our experience is that not only do people who use online tools raise more, their average gift is more. Here are some steps that will help you raise $750 in 7 days. Day 1 Log in to your Relay centre and pledge yourself $50 to show your commitment. Day 2 Log in to your Relay centre and send 10 s to family members and ask them to match you. Remind them of the tax benefit. Day 3 Log in to your Relay centre and send 20 s to friends asking them each for a $20 pledge. Day 4 - Ask your supervisor at work, your doctor, dentist, optometrist or veterinarian for a $20 pledge. cancer. That is enough money to fund a new high-tech microscope for a research lab! Just because we each got one more team member. What if we didn t get another team member but spent our time reaching out to just one more person and get them to pledge you online. Last year, the average online pledge was $ By getting just one more online pledge, it would mean the average participant would raise not $345 but $ and the average team Individually we can do something, collectively we have impact to help so many Manitobans Sometimes it is hard to believe that we can all make a difference. How can one person, one action make a world of difference against something like cancer the leading cause of death in Manitoba. would fundraise an additional $ Multiply that by the 83 teams we expect to join Relay this year and we would raise an additional $45, to fight cancer. That s enough to fund a research lab technician for an entire year! Just because we each got one more online pledge. So whether you want to get one more person or one more pledge, you can see how together, we can have a huge impact. Day 5 - Put up a fundraising thermometer at your desk. Ask 10 co-workers for $10. (Remind them that you ve bought all their kids silly chocolate bars.) Day 6 Log on to your Relay centre and send 10 follow-up s to people who have not yet responded Day 7 - Ask five neighbours for $20. If they can t donate, ask them to join your team. You can double your efforts if your company matches your fundraising efforts!!

3 NEW venue for 2014! Relay has a new home! The Winnipeg Relay For Life will, for the first time take place at Investors Group Field with the wonderful support of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers! Team Fundraising: You only hit the target that you aim for Last year, the average Relay participant raised over $300 and many raised far more. The secret to their success: They started early They set individual and team goals They used online tools to extend their reach We want all Relay participants to feel appreciated and recognized for their fundraising efforts and we want to encourage teams to achieve their fundraising goal and strive for the next level. The Fundraising Club was developed to recognize teams at Relay and in the community for their fundraising efforts. If you re a returning team, ask us and we ll let you know how much you raised last year so you can aim higher this year. If you re new, aim for a Silver designation and get everyone on the team involved. We also want to recognize individuals. Each registered Relay For Life participant who raises a minimum of $100 is awarded a commemorative event T-shirt. The program also recognizes participant averages on teams. For example, if a team of 10 raises $1,600, the participant average is $160 so all team members will be provided a T- shirt even if some members raise Make sure your team is in the club this year! The Team Fundraising Club is one of our ways of recognizing your team s fundraising accomplishments! Fundraising Club Levels Bronze Level: $2,500 - $3,499 Silver Level: $3,500 - $4,999 Gold Level: $5,000 - $7,499 Platinum Level: $7,500 - $9,999 Ruby Level: $10,000 - $14, RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE Relay teams lead the pack We ve been overwhelmed by the stories and the fundraising efforts that teams have displayed leading up to the May 23rd Relay. In addition to the Team Fundraising Club this year, there will be recognition for: Best Team Costume Best Decorated Site Best Team Name Top Three Fundraising Corporate Teams Top Five Fundraising Teams (no corporate sponsorship) Top Five Individual Fundraisers Top Individual Fundraisers (17 and younger)

4 Ohana means family: Family means no one is forgotten Carman, Manitoba family honours mother lost too soon and fights back W e are Team Ohana. We call our selves that because it means Family in Hawaiian. Hawaii is a place my mom loved. She and my dad had to cancel a special vacation to Hawaii in November when my mom was suddenly diagnosis with cancer. The rapid deterioration of her health meant mom had to forgo Hawaii so she could undergo treatment that she needed. Our family has been effected by cancer before as family and friends battled the disease. But nothing is more devastating than when it is your mom. My mother, Lee Ann Winkler, found out she had breast cancer in Thanks to aggressive treatment, radiation, chemotherapy and surgeries, she came out victorious. She beat cancer! This experience made her proud to be a survivor and she became the contact person for our area around Carman, Manitoba. She attended many weekend conferences to learn more about cancer so she could motivate, help and teach others about cancer. We were in the clear until October 2013 when she was told something was on her pancreas. One month later we found out that we were going to have to go head-to-head with pancreatic cancer. She was admitted into the hospital for control on pain and fluid buildup. When mom was scheduled for her appointment with cancer specialists, my dad, brother, sister, myself and our spouses all planned to attend. We all wanted to be part of a plan that looked to the future with my mom. We all wanted to be part of the plan to beat cancer. Just before the meeting in early December we got a call from my dad explaining that mom was in excruciating pain and had to be sedated. He explained that she didn't look well and she wouldn't be able to attend the meeting with us. We all went to the hospital hoping this meeting would help us understand the situation more, that it might give us some answers and ultimately some hope. You see, without treatment, the experts were now giving mom six months and we wanted more. Not much was said at the meeting. She had taken a turn for the worse. We stayed by her side, prayed with her, talked to her, held her hands and hugged her so she knew we were with her. On December 4th at 5:30 cancer took the body I called mom. What cancer E very step we take raises money to help the Canadian Cancer Society save lives. Every step we take is in memory of our loving wife, mama bear, sister, aunt and friend who moved on to heaven December 4th did not take and will not ever take is this wonderful loving, kind and gentle spirit that we call mom. She is in our hearts, in our memories and cancer can never take the love we shared and the lessons that she passed on. Cancer is terrible but it did not shake her spirit, her hope and her faith in God. We Relay this year to remember, honor and make my mom proud. We want to raise awareness and we want to support those fighting cancer right now. We want to do what we can in hopes that other families do not go through what we have. I started out to Relay just wanting to do something in memory of my mom. With some hesitation I asked my family if they wanted to join the 12 hour Relay and to my surprise they jumped on board and have been going strong ever since. With just ing, word of mouth and social media, we have reached our goal, increased it and achieved it again. I have already found more meaning in this Relay. It has helped a bit with the very difficult healing process and I have no doubt that our experiencing this event together, with our mother, wife, sister and grandma cheering us on, will help even more. Together we are Ohana. Cancer will never beat that!

5 Tell your story to fundraise Whether you re fundraising online or offline (collecting cash and cheques), you should always share your story with your donors and let them know why you Relay. Keep in mind the following questions when preparing to share your reason to Relay: What motivated you to sign up for Relay? Are you participating in honour or I m a Team Captain, NOW WHAT? in memory of someone special? What is your fundraising goal? Who will be on your team at Relay? What creative ways is your team raising money? How are you fighting back against cancer? How can donors support your fundraising efforts? (i.e. give an online donation, participate in a team fundraiser, spread the word to potential donors) How does the Canadian Cancer Society use donor dollars in the fight against cancer? Whether you are talking to someone in person at a team fundraising event, sending an e mail or happen to run into a potential donor at the grocery store, be ready to share your story with them. Motivate and coach team members to help them reach their goals. Motivation that hits close to home is always the most effective. Consider dedicating your team s fundraising in honour or in memory of someone close to each team member. Better yet, recruit a survivor to be on your team and dedicate your efforts to him/her! To add to your team s personal motivation, communicate the mission of the Canadian Cancer Society as further incentive (check out for information). Letting your team know that all their hard work fundraising will fund the best cancer research in Manitoba and across the country, and provide much needed services for cancer patients and their families in your community, will make them feel even better about what they are doing and will motivate them to raise even more money! Explore different types of fundraising and plan fundraising activities. There are three main types of fundraising: collecting pledges offline (cash and cheques), collecting pledges online and team fundraising. Participants can raise funds both online and in person. Whether you are sending e mails to online donors, or writing letters to offline donors, don t forget to share your story and your team s story whenever you can. Set individual and team fundraising goals. Now that you are familiar with all types of fundraising, it s time to set a goal. Make sure to set a goal both for yourself and for your team. Each person who becomes a Relay For Life participant makes a commitment to raise at least $100. In Winnipeg, the average raised by each participant $335. By using online, offline and team fundraising tools, you can ensure that you will meet and exceed your fundraising goals! Once your team members have set individual goals and together you ve set a team fundraising goal, work together to discuss how you will blend online, offline and team fundraising to succeed. When you are setting your team goals, keep in mind that top teams become a part of the l Fundraising Club. This is a great way to motivate and encourage your team.

6 RELAY FOR LIFE BANK NIGHTS Thursday, May 15th 6:00-9:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 20th 6:00-9:00 p.m. Bank Nights are scheduled appointments for each team to come in to the Canadian Cancer Society (193 Sherbrook St) to submit fundraising money collected so far. This includes any personal fundraising done by participants as well as team fundraising efforts. Remember Bank Night is where you will hand in all your pledge monies and luminary monies collected to date as well as pick up your Team T-shirts, event schedules and choose your tent site on a first come, first serve basis. It is the Team Captain's (or designate) responsibility to ensure he/she collects all money from the team and brings it to the scheduled bank night appointment. Each participant is responsible for putting all of their pledge money in the pledge envelope and the luminary money in the luminary envelope and that both envelopes are fully filled out so that you and your team will get credit for the money you have raised. Each Team Captain has received an to sign up for your Bank Night appointment. If you have not done so, please Wpgrelayforlifeteams@gmail.com soon so we can book your appointment. If your team does not have any money to submit prior to Relay night (all your pledges were done online), we ask that the Team Captain come down at any time on May 15 or 20 between 6:00-9:00 to pick up your team package (with Relay shirts, parking passes, etc...) and choose your tent site. For the purposes of calculating Team Fundraising and Individual Fundraising Totals, only money submitted by midnight on Tuesday May 20 will be counted. You will certainly have other opportunities to submit fundraising money after May 20 but in order for us to organize the totals we will only count money submitted by May 20 at midnight. PayPal is here! We re pleased to say Paypal is now available online. Use it to pay your commitment fee, to donate, or to purchase luminaries! Team Fundraising Incentives If you reach any of the following milestones, your name (or team name) will be entered into a draw to win prizes in the following categories: Last Relayers Standing (a ballot is given to each person participating in the final Relay lap) Participants that raise a minimum of $400 Teams that raise a minimum of $3,000 All teams who have 10 team members

7 Your fundraising fuels the fight against cancer in Manitoba Help light up the night Each year as the Luminary Ceremony starts, I stand quietly beside the bag with my mother s name waiting for the signal to light the candle. It brings back memories of my childhood; the pain and suffering of her disease and the thought that my children never got to meet their grandmother. I gain strength from those around me and hope from all the yellow t-shirts sprinkled throughout the track. This is why Kathy Joshua Relays. Luminaries are candles that are placed in special bags that bear the names of cancer survivors and loved ones who have lost their battle with cancer. A single test tube costs about a dime $100 to $300 will fund enzymes that are necessary for modern molecular biology $300 to $500 will provide the cancer cells needed for one experiment $120 will provide consultations for six cancer patients through our Cancer Information Service $150 provides support Our Peer Support Program matches a newly diagnosed cancer patient with a support person who has survived the same cancer $200 provides a ride to and from cancer treatments for a week through our Transportation Service $250 will support a patient for one month in a clinical trial $10,000 will purchase a specialized ultra-cold freezer needed in a cancer lab $15,000 to $100,000 will fund a microscope $40,000 will pay for a centrifuge a machine used to separate substances of different densities $50,000 will pay for a single laboratory technician for one year $500,000 funds our entire Transportation Service for one year helping over 30,000 cancer patients get to treatment. At each Relay For Life event, the luminaries are lit during a moving ceremony at dusk. Your luminary and its message provide light and inspiration for the participants all night long as they walk around the track. Even if you are unable to attend the event, you can still purchase luminaries to honour and remember your family members and friends who have experienced cancer. Please consider purchasing a luminary for $5 by visiting tinyurl.com/ buyaluminary

8 Tell everyone about your team s planned fundraising activities Relay Rap goes to thousands of Manitobans who participate in Relay For Life. We know that team fundraisers whether you are talking about a community garage sale, book sale, car wash or bake sale are a great way to have fun and reach your team goal. If your team is planning a team fundraising event, let everyone know. Use Relay Rap, which is distributed every few weeks, to advertise this event and build awareness. Just send along your event information (feel free to include photos too) by to: wpgrelayforlifeteams@gmail.com and we will get into the next issue of the Relay Rap. Paying it forward by remembering the past Team OFFSPRING honour parents, grandparents We Relay because we have all paid a price for cancer and we want to do something about it. Our team is made up of four families who joined forces because each of us has lost a parent or grand parent to cancer. We have 19 children ages six to 19 on our team. We re so proud and inspired by these kids who Relayed for the first time last year. They walked the entire Relay from the first lap to the end in honour of the loved ones they had lost. They wore a picture of their grand parent on a lanyard around their neck, lit a self created luminary, and walked tirelessly to raise money to help fight this disease. Our event last year was empowering, educating and heart breaking and we cannot wait to do it again this year. I can safely say our angels looking down on us are smiling. Team Transporters Fundraiser Friday May 9, 2014 Tavern United, Canad Inns Garden City 2100 McPhillips 6:00 p.m. Tickets $20/person and can be obtained from the Cancer Society Transportation Service office Ice Cream Sundae Fundraiser Hosted by Simply the Breast Thursday May 15, :30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Century21 Carrie.com 1046 St.Mary's rd. Sundaes $5 each All funds raised go towards Relay for Life

9 Volunteers Wanted: Have fun, make a difference at Relay Belinda Squance, 2014 Winnipeg Volunteer Coordinator still needs help. She reflects on the satisfaction that comes from sharing everyone s Relay experience. I still remember my first time volunteering with Relay For Life. It was a cold, windy, rainy day at Maple Grove Park. After helping people find their camp sites, I went to help set up luminaries around the track. For an hour I was crouched down in the wind and rain as I stapled messages onto paper bags. With each message brought hope, joy, sadness and tears. I am sure everyone has been touched by cancer. I have had many surgeries to prevent cancer, my mum had breast cancer and survived, my dad had leukemia and did not. wait to do this again!" I guarantee that is what you will find too if you join us this year. The Canadian Cancer Society s Relay For Life is a way for us to come together and not only celebrate our victories over this horrid disease but to also remember to keep fighting against it, even in the midst of great loss. If you have considered volunteering but hesitated because of time, ability or not knowing other volunteers, I encourage you to join us this year. You can volunteer for as little as a few hours, and there are numerous opportunities for all skill sets and I always volunteered on my own. I made some dear friends through the experience and am now proud to Volunteers Wanted There are dozens of ways that you can help even if you have just a few hours. If you would like to learn more about volunteer opportunities for the 2014 Winnipeg Relay For Life please click here. RELAY S GOT TALENT COMPETITION Attention Relay Participants, Do you, your team, or another individual on your team have a talent to show off? Well then Relay Invites you to join in the Relays Got Talent Competition FIGHT BACK EDITION! WHAT IS RELAYS Got TALENT? Relay s Got Talent is a new addition to our Fight Back ceremony where teams and individuals have the opportunity to DANCE, SING, MIME, ACT, PAINT, DANCE, PUPPETEER, PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, ACRO- BAT, STUNT, WHISLE, JOKE (COMIDIAN) their way into Relay For Life Stardom. The rules are simple to take part. In corporate a message that tells our judges what your doing to fight back against cancer into you talent... for example sing about eating healthy or putting on sun screen. Your performance will be judged by four special officials! (Relay s Got talent starts at 4:15 am) Frances at franceslee@hotmail.ca if you or your team wish to enter. See you all at Relay!!

10 Alex leads Team Alex back for the best Relay ever! She s healthy and excited to be part of the event Last year she marshalled her team of 12 in the parking lot before the Relay. Alex's mum, Lois says "It was very difficult to see Alex's friends go off to the Relay without her. But, this year it is a different story. Alex is determined to be the number one individual fundraiser!" With more than $12,000 raised so far, this team of Grade 9 students from Balmoral Hall is making a big splash. Both the Blake Family and Alex's friends have much to be thankful for. In 2012, Alex was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare bone and soft tissue cancer. This cancer primarily strikes teenagers and young adults. Caught early, Alex successfully beat the cancer. Unfortunately, the chemotherapy treatment resulted in a new form of cancer AML (Acute Alex Blake, Anais Casselman-Green and Sophie Joyal prepare for the 2014 Winnipeg Relay For Life. Myelogenous Leukemia). Alex received a cord blood transplant in March of Tests have confirmed that Alex is cancer free. "Alex has always had this quiet strength. It helped us all through the tough days," Her mother says. Alex has had lots of support, especially from her friends and school mates. "We are very fortunate to have a community like Balmoral Hall." Lois said. "they have been so supportive throughout Alex's illness and now they have honoured us by supporting Team Alex." This will be a celebration Relay for Team Alex and rather than staying home Alex will be walking, dancing and lighting her own candle luminary and remember all that supported her fight against cancer. Relay market back this year! Remember to visit the Winnipeg Relay Market this year for all kinds of goodies. We had a good response from teams looking to do on-site fundraising. So the Relay Marché, very much in the style of a farmers market will have something for everyone from crafts, baked goods to mementos and lots of fun things throughout the night. wpgrelayforlifeteams@gmail.com if your team would like a table at the marche.