RELAY FOR LIFE CAMPUS EVENT CHAIR GUIDEBOOK

Transcription

1 RELAY FOR LIFE CAMPUS EVENT CHAIR GUIDEBOOK 1

2 Dear Event Chair, If it was possible to thank you enough for all that you do, better believe we would try! We, the National Collegiate Advisory Team, sincerely appreciate your dedication to this life-saving mission. Our work would not be possible without your energy and commitment. As we begin to analyze the future of Collegiate Relay For Life, we find ourselves wanting more. We want to be more resourceful for you, we want to create more organic networks amongst volunteers, we want EVERY campus to have a Relay. It is inspiring that more than 500 campuses currently host Relay For Life events, but the potential for all 4,000 colleges/universities across the country to host events is jawdropping. Imagine if all 17 million college students were united around this cause, this mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem...it would become a reality! The purpose of this guidebook is to standardize the expectations of event chairs across all events, be it in the United States or abroad. Collegiate Relay For Life has become an international... yes, a global movement, with events in South Africa, Ireland, Canada and more! You are an integral part of this global movement. Your success has an international impact. Perhaps the most important part of your new role as Event Chair is to reflect about the culture of your campus. You will read extensively about how campus culture affects an event, but it is critical that you spend time critiquing your event s history and deciding what your campus values and how Relay can become an integral event on your campus. At the end of the day, Relay For Life is a fundraising event, raising awareness for the American Cancer Society. It is important to integrate the mission of the American Cancer Society into all the work that you do. The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service. You are a leader. You represent a community of people that have a passion and desire to eliminate cancer through Relay For Life and we cannot say thank you enough. If you have any questions, please feel free to us at cac@cancer.org anytime! Sincerely, Your National Collegiate Advisory Team

3 Table of Contents Overview... 1 What is Relay For Life?... 1 History of Relay For Life... 1 Relay For Life Standards. 1 Campus Culture 2 Colleges Against Cancer. 3 Leadership Development.. 4 Role of Event Chair / Co-Chair 4 Staff / Volunteer Relationship. 4 Committee Management. 4 Event Management 8 Get The People.. 10 Committee Recruitment 10 Team Development.. 11 Survivor & Caregiver Engagement 13 Get The Money.. 14 Building Confidence in Fundraising & Teaching Others 14 Individual Fundraisers.. 14 Team Fundraisers. 15 Committee-Sponsored Fundraisers.. 15 On-Site Fundraisers.. 16 Post-Event Fundraisers 16 Recognition 16 Get The Fun 17 Pre-Relay Activities and Events.. 17 Day-of-Relay Activities. 18 Logistics.. 20 Marketing. 21 Spirit Committee 21 Paint the Campus Purple. 21 Go Viral!.. 21 Online 22 Resources 23 Appendix.. 24

4 Overview What is Relay For Life? Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society s signature fundraising activity. It is a unique event that offers campuses and communities an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. Relays range from 12 to 24 hours in length and are always overnight. Teams of people camp out at a local high school, college, park, or fairground and take turns walking, jogging, or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because Relay For Life is a community/campus gathering rather than an athletic event, anyone and everyone can participate. Relay For Life is an overnight event to symbolize the fact that cancer never sleeps. Unfortunately the fight against cancer is a relentless and enduring battle 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The event starts by celebrating our Survivors. After dark, a Luminaria Ceremony is held where candles are lit in honor or in remembrance of those who have been touched by cancer. This is a time that truly highlights the importance of defeating this disease. Later a Fight Back ceremony is held to initiate action against this disease. Money is raised through team commitment fees, team and individual fundraising, and sponsorship. Each participant is expected to raise a minimum of $100. History of Relay For Life In May 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon and avid runner, took the first step of his 24-hour run around a track in Tacoma, Washington. After 24 hours of running, Dr. Klatt had run 83 miles and raised $27,000 for the American Cancer Society. The following year, 220 supporters on 19 teams joined Dr. Klatt in the overnight event and the American Cancer Society Relay For Life was born. From 1985 to today, the Relay Fever has spread to more than 6000 events in 21 countries (as of 2012). What began as one man s statement in the fight against cancer has led to the development of a worldwide movement to eliminate cancer. Relay For Life Standards Relay For Life guidelines are followed by participants around the world. The American Cancer Society clearly states Relay For Life standards to ensure the quality and consistency of the event. Each standard, along with the volunteers and staff who oversee each event, has been integral in the overall success of Relay For Life. Overnight Event Relay For Life was created as an overnight event to represent the fact that cancer never sleeps and neither will we. Staying overnight at Relay is one way we symbolize and support the struggles of cancer patients and their families. Overnight can be defined as sunset to sunrise. Opening and Closing Ceremonies Relay begins with an Opening Ceremony to ensure that all in attendance understand that they are a part of an American Cancer Society event. The Opening Ceremony includes an opening lap by cancer survivors that sets the tone for the entire event. The Closing Ceremony provides another opportunity for cancer survivors, their caregivers, and Relay 1

5 participants to celebrate their accomplishments and the success of the event. Luminaria Ceremony The Luminaria Ceremony is often referred to as the Ceremony of Hope. We remember those we lost to cancer, support those who currently have cancer, and honor those who have fought cancer in the past. The power of this ceremony lies in providing an opportunity for people to work through grief and find hope. Survivor & Caregiver Engagement Activities Cancer Survivors and their Caregivers are the heart of Relay and the event celebrates their accomplishments. Fight Back Activities Relay is a venue for interactive education so Fight Back activities are coordinated to spread the mission of the American Cancer Society. Team Registration / Commitment Fee Teams and/or individuals that pay a commitment fee are more likely to follow through on their participation and fundraising. Most campus events are now utilizing a participant commitment fee (best practice is $10 per participant). Tobacco-Free / Alcohol-Free Environment Tobacco and alcohol are prohibited at Relay For Life. We need to devote our full focus to the fight against cancer. Text / Graphic Guidelines Relay For Life is a brand and all events need to comply with branding specifications. Relay For Life is always capitalized, including the F in For. When using the solo term Relay, it should always be capitalized. When using the Relay logo, ensure that you are using the most recent logo (there will not be a shadow behind the American Cancer Society trapezoid). The logo should never be altered or printed on colored paper Relay events truly reflect the culture of their campus. The American Cancer Society provides us with a great opportunity in Relay For Life, but each committee needs to evaluate their campus culture and adapt their Relay event to fit in with that. If your event reflects the culture of your campus, you are sure to avoid many obstacles and will experience more successful recruitment and fundraising. Here are some examples of events that truly embody this idea of campus culture: Loyola University in Maryland - Community service is a major aspect of Loyola s culture. So, the Relay committee at Loyola really pushed the community service aspect of Relay to their campus and potential participants. In addition, the campus is very religious, and they needed to adapt to that aspect of their campus life in order to gain administrative support. Now, Mass is scheduled among the entertainment for the event. University of California, Los Angeles & University of Southern California - These schools are historic rivals, and those committees market this to their advantage. At each meeting, USC posts their current numbers (teams, participants and fundraising progress) and then posts UCLA s numbers beside them. UCLA does the same at their meetings. In addition, both schools are involved in a Pantene Beautiful Lengths Cut-A-Thon contest and compete to see who can raise the most pony tails. The committees also support each other by hosting on-site fundraisers at each other s Relay events. USC goes to UCLA s for Pie a Trojan, and UCLA goes to USC s for Pie a Bruin. Campus Culture At schools with top-performing events, Relay is a well-known and established event ingrained with the culture of the campus. The most successful campus 2

6 University of Georgia - Their culture is rooted in the competitive environment of the SEC (their athletic conference) and the need to be the best. The committee challenges the school to be better than Virginia Tech (the number one college Relay in the country) and to be a top Relay event. Virginia Tech - Relay For Life at Virginia Tech is present year-round on campus. There are activities throughout the year and the event is decorated with as much Maroon and Orange as Purple. The Relay truly reflects the campus and there is a great sense of pride in being number one. Whatever it is that defines your campus culture, use it to your advantage and adapt your Relay event to it. Think out of the box. Relay is a great event, but, if the event does not resonate on your campus, then you are missing out on a great opportunity to raise awareness and grow your event. Relay For Life is a movement that brings people on campuses together. There are religious groups working with honor societies, fraternities working with cultural clubs, and professors working with students. Can you say that about any other campus event? Relay enhances the spirit and the culture of the campus. That is the power of Relay. Once you adapt to your campus culture and embrace this aspect of Relay, the school will be more likely to embrace your event thus making fundraising and recruitment easier. have a CAC, while others have a CAC but participate in a Relay hosted by a community or another school. Some campuses have a CAC and a Relay, but they function separately. Others have a combined and unified committee that supports both Colleges Against Cancer and Relay For Life planning. Colleges Against Cancer can help an event by providing the foundation for year-round campus involvement through each of the four strategic directions. For more information on Colleges Against Cancer, visit college.relayforlife.org. Colleges Against Cancer Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) is a nationwide collaboration of college students, faculty, and staff dedicated to eliminating cancer by working to implement the programs and mission of the American Cancer Society. With hundreds of chapters nationwide, CAC is showing the world that young people care and want to make a difference. Colleges Against Cancer promotes the mission of the American Cancer Society through four strategic directions: Cancer Education, Advocacy, Survivor & Caregiver Engagement, and Relay For Life. The presence of CAC and Relay varies from campus to campus. Some campuses have a Relay, but do not 3

7 Leadership Development Role of Event Chair/Co-Chair The chair or co-chairs of Relay For Life must be truly dedicated to the cause. Event Chairs have to be great leaders, team players, and hard workers. Event Chairs need to have clear roles, expectations, and responsibilities. person s responsibilities are toward the event, as well as the expected time commitment. It must be made clear that the American Cancer Society staff partner is there as a resource, and that the event Chairs have ownership of the event. It is suggested that Event Chairs be in charge of an event for no more than two years. This is so that new leadership and ideas may emerge, so that the event will last long after its founders graduate. Many schools work on a co-chair system where one is in charge of the growth elements of Relay (teams, fundraising, sponsorships, Survivors, etc) and the other is in charge of the production elements of the event (logistics, ceremonies, activities, etc). The most important aspect of a chair position is organization. There are a number of timelines and checklists that exist to help you do that. One of the most important things to remember is to be a great communicator with your committee. This way, you know where everyone stands, what has been done, what needs to be done, and if anyone needs help at all. In the back of this guidebook, you ll find a sample timeline. Staff / Volunteer Relationship The Society staff partner is the Relay committee s direct link to the American Cancer Society. Staff partners are here to assist you by providing training, materials, ideas, and opportunities for your event to flourish. Their main job is to equip the Event Chairs and committee with the appropriate tools they need to have the best possible event. The staff partner is not responsible for running the event; the committee is. The staff partner serves as a liaison, a support, and a resource. Establish expectations for the staff/volunteer relationship through a partnership agreement. This agreement will lay out specifically what each Committee Management Committee Structure / Positions Having a strong committee is a huge asset to running a successful event. In the Get The People section, you will learn more about committee recruitment. Once you have your committee members, make sure that everyone on the committee clearly understands their roles and responsibilities. Here come the partnership agreements again. Make sure that they are very specific, including exact responsibilities for each committee position, deadlines, and the expected time commitment, including meeting times and dates, plus additional responsibilities. Go through these partnership agreements with each committee chair and member, and be sure to outline both their responsibilities to the event and your responsibilities to them. Reiterate that you are there to help them in any way possible. The best way for your committee to know this is through good, regular communication. Below are some suggested committee positions that you may want to include on your Relay committees, however, it is up to you to configure your committee to fit the needs of your event and your campus. You may want to add or eliminate from the list provided. 4

8 Marketing Team Development & Recruitment Corporate Relations / Sponsorship Logistics Cancer Education Entertainment Advocacy Luminaria Ceremonies Fundraising Survivor & Caregiver Engagement Online If your event has a large committee, (more than 40 people) the sky might seem to be the limit. Just make sure that the committee structure is manageable and you have a good ratio of leadership to general membership. Sub committees to add may be Fight Back, Luminaria, spirit committee, mentoring committee, and recognition committee, among others. Feel free to change these up based on your event and your priorities. These are supposed to serve as a tool to get you started, and by no means are mandatory. In the Appendix, you will find some committee structure examples. For more information, refer to the Executive Committee Structure Guidebook on college.relayforlife.org. Some schools greater stratify the leadership hierarchy by including an Executive Board. The Executive Board is the highest level of volunteers for the Relay event. They are the overall decision makers and manage the committee members. Some schools expand their executive board to include other key committee leadership positions. The rest of the general committee supports Relay through their individual committee tasks such as Luminaria, survivorship, etc. under the direction of the Executive Board. Re-evaluating and Adapting your Committee Structure Your first priority, every year, should be to focus on your committee structure. If you are building a new Relay, focus on establishing a committee in order to ease the burden of the planning process. Each Relay is different and so are the committee structures. Often times, the committee structure is dictated by the size of the committee. If you are a new Relay and/or have a small committee (less than 20 people), you should focus on having five positions: Event Chair, Logistics, Recruitment, Marketing and Fundraising. If you are a medium-sized committee (about people) you might want to add to these an Event Cochair as well as Survivor and Caregiver Engagement, Entertainment/Activities, Ceremonies, Registration and Food/ Sponsorship. All of our schools are constantly changing and evolving year in and year out. Due to the dynamic nature of a student body and campus committee, it is more than likely that your committee will look different from year to year. College and high school provides for a revolving door of outgoing committee members and new, fresh members. It is incredibly important to re-evaluate your school s committee structure each year to make sure it suits the changes and situation that your new committee will be in. What worked for you in the past, may not work for you this year. And let s face it, your committee should not look the same as it did five years ago. Not only are the people and personalities different, but so are the needs and goals of your event. Here are a few examples of times when a committee structure might need to be adapted: 5

9 Majority of Committee Graduates Rapid and Sudden Growth More Focus on Recruitment Focus on Improvement Priority for Committee Bonding Some schools get stuck in the idea that this is how we did it last year or this is the way we ve always done it. While we must identify the successful aspects of the previous years, we need to also continuously re-evaluate the structure to ensure that it still fits with the current situation of the organization and the school. How can we expect our events to grow and evolve if we are not facilitating this internally with our own committees? Meeting Management With so many student groups on campus, recruiting volunteers to join your student organization can prove to be a difficult process, so it is important that you work hard to retain those that sign up to help plan your Relay. One way to retain your volunteers is to conduct effective and productive meetings so your volunteers do not feel that you are wasting their time. First, choose an appropriate meeting date, time and location. Try to avoid potential conflicts that could dramatically reduce attendance. Make sure you have an agenda for each meeting and that it is suitable for your audience. A sample agenda may look like this... Agenda 1. Icebreaker 2. Mission Moment 3. Why I Relay 4. Sub-Committee Updates 5. Upcoming Events/Activities a. Kick-off b. Fundraising Challenge c. Bowling for Boobs d. Crafts at Hospital 6. Committee Planning Time As you will read below, starting the meeting off with an ice breaker is a great way to get the committee warmed up and interacting. Many committees include a Mission Moment/Relay Reminder and Why I Relay to ensure that the mission is always present in the meetings and continually reminds committee members why they are there and how important their contribution is. This is especially important during midterms when people experience a certain amount of burn-out. Allow each sub-committee to update the rest of the committee on their progress so there is a level of transparency and accountability. Then, spend some time discussing major upcoming events and activities that may involve the entire committee. Once the general meeting is over, allow the sub-committees to take that time to meet if they want and continue planning. You already have them there, why not utilize that? Meetings should be fun, too. Maybe you ll set a theme for each meeting. Decorate and encourage volunteers to come to the meeting dressed for that theme. Food is also a great incentive for people to come week after week. Bring brownies, order pizza, etc. Most importantly, encourage all members to participate in discussions and to ask questions. It will allow for new ideas and growth. Try to keep all discussions relevant to the topic at hand. You may even want to utilize a parking log for topics that come up and aren t relevant to the discussion at hand. That way you can remember to cover them later but can stay on topic. Problem Solving Conflicts are bound to arise while planning your Relay. Passionate volunteers want to do all they can to help find a cure for cancer and consequently, want to act upon their ideas to help the Relay. When conflicts arise, it is important to settle the score before it hurts group camaraderie. Here are a few ideas that may help you resolve your differences. 6

10 Stop! Breathe! You share the same passion and commitment to Relay as your committee. Working together will accomplish more. Realize that 95% of how a problem affects others depends on how you react to it. Before you react, step back, and learn as much as you can about the problem. Use every resource possible. Bring in others to provide different points of view, if needed. Make a decision that not only goes hand in hand with the group s goals and objectives, but that also feels right to you. Some problems take time to work out, and that is perfectly alright. Don t think you need an answer right away. Do not attack others. You must remember that as a leader of volunteers, you must be just and good-willed with all of them, even if you don t agree. You must keep your emotions to the side and make rational decisions. In solving any problem, it is important to be as fair and unbiased as possible. However, you cannot please everyone. There will always be someone who disagrees. In these cases, be as accommodating as possible without missing your objectives or solutions. Committee Bonding A well-bonded committee can be your greatest asset in planning this year s Relay For Life event. By planning effective and successful bonding activities, you will experience higher retention with higher numbers of active committee members showing up to meetings every week, more successful events, and higher accountability amongst members. The following are ideas for working toward a bonded committee... Top-down AND Bottom-up: The precedent for committee bonding needs to come from you, as event chair, and the rest of the executive leadership who should make sure that all subcommittee leaders and chairs are bonding. In addition, the individual sub-committees should bond as a unit before bonding with the rest of the committee. This creates a stronger committee base and a higher rate of accountability with those people your committee members will be working most closely with. Then, start expanding and coordinate activities with a few sub-committees or the entire CAC/RFL committee. Activities can include bowling, ice cream runs, game nights, etc. Icebreakers: Icebreakers are a great way to get people out of their seats, out of their comfort zones and learning each others names. You can find some great icebreakers online to freshen up your cache. Do these at the beginning of every meeting. Retreat: Host a committee retreat or a leadership retreat early on for committee planning time as well as bonding. This is a great opportunity for team building activities as well. Hold another retreat half-way through the year for possible new members and reviving enthusiasm. CAC/RFL Welcome Week: Organize a CAC/ RFL Welcome Week with different activities every night for seven consecutive nights. Committee members should plan to come to as many as they can throughout the week, and ideally each activity will bring out new people to meet and engage. Some of the festivities could include ice cream, game night, a baking party for an upcoming bake sale, movie night, and a breakfast for dinner party. Year-Round Activities: Find opportunities throughout the year to host get-togethers or engage your committee members. Go to a football or basketball game together, challenge a rival CAC or Relay committee to a soccer game, host a Super Bowl party, get together for dinner before your meetings or go out for dessert 7

11 afterwards. Surprise your committee with a FUN meeting rather than just talking about business. Start an intramural sports team with your committee. The opportunities are endless. Start these activities at the beginning of the year and keep them going until Relay. Don t wait for spring to focus on bringing your committee together. the past committee member is present to sit down with the new volunteer to review and discuss resources. Partnership Agreements are a must. When new volunteers know exactly what is expected of their role within the committee they are more likely to fulfill their responsibilities. Succession Planning Due to the constant turnover of students on college and high school campuses, succession planning is critically important. Plus, wouldn t you want to save valuable planning time by passing on the information you learned rather than having the new committee member struggle through all the obstacles you may have had to? When should you start planning for next year s event? NOW! Many campus events are planning for the following Relay even before this year s has happened, and most schools will start planning before school starts in the Fall so they can hit the ground running when school starts. When creating a succession plan for your committee, consider the following: Mentoring is Key. Place upperclassman as your chairs with an underclassman as their co-chair to shadow; therefore, experienced students are available to answer questions and review resources during the transition period. Set terms. A student should not serve in the same role all four years. Place a two-year limit on all positions to ensure the committee grows in fresh ideas and new networks of people, and supports mentoring. Share, but also review roles and responsibilities. Host a meeting where information from the previous year is passed down to the new committee preferably before the said school year is over. Passing down of materials can be in the form of binders or electronic media, such as on a flash drive or through GoogleDocs. Ensure 8 For more information refer to the Succession Planning Toolkit. Event Management Goal Setting Setting realistic goals for your committee to work towards will allow you to keep focus on the priorities on your campus. While we want to do everything we can, resources are limited so it is crucial to pick and choose our opportunities. Set goals to build on past successes or attempt to define what you hope to accomplish in your first year. Goals should be ambitious but attainable. Every year you work with your committee and staff partner to set numerical goals: you project the amount of survivors you want to recruit, the amount of teams you want to sign up, and the amount of money you want to raise. These goals are an important part of year-round planning for your event. It is vital to have goals that are not only qualitative, but measurable as well. In addition to these quantitative goals, you should be setting quality goals as well. These new goals can serve to augment the numerical goals by providing your committee additional ways to celebrate the successes of your event. Here are some examples of quality goals: Having more participants stay all night Having more tents decorated Having an increase in participant involvement and spirit Having more on-site fundraisers Increasing your offline fundraising Having a well-bonded committee

12 Timeline / Budget Students are busy. They worry about exams, sports teams, club meetings, and papers, while trying to keep a social life. An important step to ensuring your event is successful is to secure your Relay date early in the school year (or the year before!) and then work to alert the entire campus when Relay will be held. When setting the date, look into the following: What other activities are happening that may limit the number of students available? Is there a sporting event on the night we want Relay? Are there major events going on in the area that may draw students away from Relay? Is another student organization hosting a large campus-wide event that day? Is the venue available? Do you need to check into any other venues? Do you have any must-have entertainment? Will they be available? When building your timeline, strive to make Relay a year-round presence on your campus. Relay is not just a season. You should be recruiting year round, fundraising year round, and engaging people year round. You can find a sample timeline in the Appendix to better visualize a year-round approach to event planning. lives of cancer patients and their families or for materials for researchers. The recommended expense ratio is 10 percent of the income raised, while some Divisions require as low as eight percent. A substantial number of events have been able to keep their expenses to as low as two to three percent. Be creative to come up with ideas to offset costs and to increase in-kind or corporate sponsorship. And, of course, work with your staff partner to set up a plan to keep expenses low. They will have some great ideas and can share examples of how other events manage their budgets. Working with Administration Gaining the support of your school s faculty/administration will help alleviate many logistical problems and allow you to navigate through school policy to hold fundraising activities, awareness campaigns and a successful Relay; however, gaining the school s support can sometimes be a tricky process. Your committee should reach out to the administration directly at the beginning of the school year. Has the school year already begun? Then reach out as soon as possible and make a plan to start early next year. Relationships are not formed over night; they take time and commitment and are built on mutual trust. The administration should trust that Relay is a worthwhile and beneficial event for their student body. Additionally, relationships can crumble fast. So refer to the Working with Your Administration Guidebook to learn how to effectively build those relationships and avoid blunders. For more information refer to the Working with Your Administration Guidebook on college.relayforlife.org Hosting a Relay can be expensive, but work to keep expenses to a minimum. The less you spend on Relay, the more money that will go to impact the 9

13 Get The People Committee Recruitment Having a strong committee is one of the biggest assets to running a successful event. When looking for committee members, here are some things to consider: A number of Relay positions can easily correlate with things people already do on your campus. Look for people who would fit well on certain committees (i.e. someone who works with campus activities would be great for entertainment, or getting business/accounting majors to do your data collection). Don t limit your committee to just your friends. Have an Interested Parties meeting and invite the entire campus. You d be surprised by who shows up! Diversity is very important in bringing up new ideas. Try to involve faculty and staff members in addition to your advisor. They are great people to have on your team. Make sure the people you choose for the event committee are passionate, excited, and energetic about the cause and the event. The success of your Relay For Life will depend heavily on how dedicated and passionate your committee members feel toward the event. Surrounding yourself with those that feel as strongly about saving lives will help in your planning with Relay. Who should you recruit to be on your committee? Any person that is passionate about helping. Students that come forth asking to get involved with Relay are demonstrating their desire to save lives. Usually students that have been personally affected by the disease make great volunteers. And, of course, Survivors are wonderful volunteers to have on your committee because they can speak first hand of their cancer experience. In the campus community you have a unique ability to match volunteer interests with a committee position. For example, a student studying political science would probably make a great advocacy chair, an education major a great cancer education chair, and a communications major a great marketing chair. This will not only strengthen your committee, but it will provide each student the chance to gain practical experience related to his or her chosen career goal. When should you start recruiting committee members? Start recruiting from the very beginning of the school year and you can continue to keep your doors open all the way up until Relay. Most colleges have a volunteer fair at the beginning of the school year (and/or in the summer for incoming freshman at orientation) in which student organizations can have a table to recruit new volunteers. This provides your Relay the opportunity to recruit many new volunteers that are looking to get involved with campus organizations. Most students will recognize the American Cancer Society, have been affected by cancer, and are willing to get involved. Have a sign-up sheet (including name, school , and whether or not they are a survivor) at the volunteer fair to collect contact information and hold an informative meeting within the next week or two. Recruiting committee members is an ongoing process that begins when you get to campus and continues on throughout the year. After your Relay, work with the current committee to see who is interested in a committee chair position and to identify new 10

14 potential committee members from your team captains. While there may not be much time from the end of your event until finals, taking time to contact potential committee members before you leave campus will pay off the following school year. Forming your Relay committee for a first-year event may be challenging, but taking the right steps and looking in the right places will produce a strong, able group ready to make a difference on your campus. Here are a few ideas that may help: Look to recruit students that have Relayed at home or in another community. Relay is a growing movement and chances are good that there is some familiarity or experience with Relay among your peers. Hang flyers in your student union, in dorms, in the quad, etc. all former participants through your event website asking them to join the committee. Utilize Colleges Against Cancer functions and activities to recruit volunteers for your committee. Taking time early in the school year to recruit a dedicated team will save you time and stress Relay rolls around. Recruit a diverse committee filled with students from various majors, ethnicities, and skills. Attempt to identify younger students to step into leadership positions to keep the Relay rolling along after you graduate. Team Development Having a strong team development committee is a crucial part of any Relay event. The team development committee is not only responsible for recruiting teams, but they must also effectively mentor, manage and retain them. Team Recruitment Team Recruitment is an essential element of a successful event. It is the entire event committee s job to help recruit teams. Teams are everywhere! So, how do we get those teams? The first step is to divide up your campus and potential recruitment areas. Dorms: Take to the dorms by dorm storming. Some dorms have dorm/hall meetings. Why not give a quick elevator speech about Relay during these meetings? Some Resident Hall Advisors or RAs have to do community service events. What is a better community service event than Relay? Slip fliers under doors; chat up Relay to those residents who have their doors open. You can even have them sign up then and there. Don t forget to share your personal story to draw them in. Another idea is to slip fliers in all the dorm mailboxes, because college students love to get mail. Be sure to work within your campus housing so you do not violate their policies. Greek Houses: Work with the Greek advisors as well as Panhellenic and IFC to get Greeks out there. Some campuses offer incentives to the Greeks to participate in philanthropy events. If your school does not have programs established, consider including your own. Greek chapters are governed by national organizations and those chapters can use the good PR that you can offer them. This could be by writing letters to their national organization explaining their great level of commitment and service to the event. Some campuses have Greek Week. Think about how you could incorporate Relay into their Greek Week. Maybe you could set certain fundraising or recruitment goals during this week and the Greek House that meets and/or exceeds this goal will be recognized and rewarded by maybe being first to pick their campsite on their track. Clubs and Organizations: Attend club meetings and talk up Relay. Explain the bonding aspect and don t forget to bring a computer to sign them up on the spot. Check if your school has a list of all group leaders. Divide up these contacts amongst your Team Recruitment committee and send them a personalized inviting them to start a team. General Student Body: Ask each of your committee members to pitch Relay at the beginning of each of their classes. Write the event info and 11

15 website on the board (in the upper corner) or hand out fliers. You can even ask your professors to include a slide in their PowerPoint notes about Relay. See if your professor is willing to give you 2 minutes at the beginning of class to talk about Relay (this is great for large lectures). Do not forget about contacting past professors! Also, if your campus uses a system like Blackboard or Schoolloop, you can usually send s to your entire class. them about Relay! Or, submit a blurb to be advertised on everyone s message board or even on the school s homepage. Alumni: Work with the alumni office to send letters or be included in newsletters to promote Relay and the benefits of the American Cancer Society s services and programs. Focus on our mission and not fundraising. This is a great way to partner with the alumni office without interfering with alumni donation drives. Reach out to graduated committee members and have them come back for Relay and start a team. Faculty and Staff: The recruitment of faculty and staff is extremely valuable to an event! Unlike students, this group on campus experiences fewer turnovers and has the means to get things accomplished or improved on campus. Athletic Groups: Athletic groups and sports teams are practically pre-made teams that just need to be signed up for Relay! After all, sports teams are teams, so all you have to do is make the ask and help your teams sign themselves up. You might have to sell your event in order to get your teams off the field and onto the track, but since Relay is a team event, it is a perfect fit for them and they will come back year after year. Recruiting Your Resources Your potential teams are a great way to recruit for other Relay needs, such as entertainment. There is a great portion of on-campus organizations that consists of cultural and entertainment groups. Maybe those clubs can perform at your event. Do you have an outward bound-type organization? Maybe they can volunteer for your on-hand first aid. The resources on campus are endless! Another easy way to get teams is to look within your inner circle. Have everyone on your committee start their own team. This will guarantee you a good number of teams as well as some quality team captains because you know your committee members are committed to this event. Also, although you have a recruitment committee that will handle the bulk of the work, recruitment is the responsibility of the entire committee. Chances are your committee members are also involved in other organizations on campus. Have them recruit those organizations and/or team captain those teams. Team Captain Meetings Managing your teams means you must both keep good records of your teams and know how to effectively communicate with them. Keeping good records means you know who your top fundraising teams and individuals are, how to reach all of your team captains, who is graduating at the end of the year, and who is coming back. By keeping good track of your teams you ensure their vitality year after year. Encourage team captains to have a co-captain that will take over the team upon graduation of the captain. Most campuses communicate regularly with Captains through two means: Team Captain Meetings and . Here are some great tips for planning and running Relay For Life Team Captain Meetings: Teach Team Captains to motivate their teams Plan icebreakers so Captains can get to know each other Make this the place where Captains can ask questions, pick up materials, etc. Show videos Bring food (with college Relays, if you feed them they will come) Ask a Survivor to speak Share the Mission of the American Cancer Society and provide the history of Relay Teach Captains how to fundraise Talk briefly about the logistics of the event 12

16 Plan on having three to four Team Captain Meetings and always offer give-aways and prizes to recognize teams that are doing really well. For more information about Team Captain Meeting, visit college.relayforlife.org. Team Retention Any good business looks to retain its customers. It is easier to retain customers than it is to recruit new customers. In the same sense, it is easier to retain teams once they have experienced Relay than it is to find new ones. Put together a strong plan to retain your teams and you will notice how quickly Relay will grow. While a college event will naturally experience turnover because of students graduating, it is still vital to retain your leaders. Here are a few tips to help you: Have a team retention element to your team development committee. Consistent dialogue with team captains will make them feel comfortable with Relay. Recruiting teams that are from Greeks, clubs and organizations can mean better retention for those groups year over year because they are established groups regardless of turnover that can commit to Relay as a yearly activity. Empower your teams. Relay is a volunteerdriven event so let your teams dictate how your Relay will run. Listen to their desires, needs, and concerns and create action! Continually recognize and thank team captains and team members for their efforts, hard work, and dedication to the Society mission of eradicating cancer. Make it fun and challenge students to do more and stay involved. campus and the local community, but to keep them engaged and in contact with the American Cancer Society year round. It is not always easy to find students who are Survivors on your campus, but do not let that discourage you from making Survivors the main focus of your event. Work out a plan with your staff partner to invite faculty, staff, administration, relatives, friends, and the community to participate in Relay. Here are some helpful tips for getting Survivors to your event: Send out invitations to your event early. Make it clear that want to honor them. Host a Survivor reception or brunch. Make sure you have activities planned for Survivors throughout the event to keep them engaged and at Relay. Send out thank you cards. Let them know how much you enjoyed them coming and how successful the event was. Caregivers are those who helped any Survivor through their journey with cancer no matter if their Survivor is currently battling, in remission, or has passed away. Whether it is a family member, friend, doctor, or loved one, Caregivers were there for the Survivor when they needed them most and it is important to recognize them at your Relay For Life. Consider recognizing Caregivers separately at the event, be it through activities, a thank you or small token of appreciation. For more information look for the Survivor & Caregiver Engagement Guidebook on college.relayforlife.org Survivor & Caregiver Engagement Survivors are a crucial element to any Relay For Life. The goal for the entire committee is to not only get as many survivors as possible to the event from both the 13

17 Get The Money Fundraising is one of the most important aspects of Relay For Life. Let s face it, Relay is a FUNDRAISER! It is the largest fundraiser in the world bringing in over $1 million a day! It is important to remember that although fundraising isn t all that we do, all we do depends on it. Building Confidence in Fundraising and Teaching Others How do we make sure that fundraising is NOT that big purple elephant in the room? How do you promote fundraising on your campus? Are you a no-holds barred kind of campus and just push, push, push? Or are you dancing around the topic? cancer has affected everyone. Making the ask is a harmless endeavor. The worst someone can do is not donate money this time. However, what if someone did donate? Many people do. You never know unless you make the ask and if you don t, the answer is already no. Never apologize for asking for money for this cause be PROUD. One of the best ways to have successful fundraising is to teach team captains and participants how to fundraise. Well-rounded events contain all five fundraising areas: individual, team, committeesponsored, on-site and post-event. Scenario #1: Wishy Washy So, thank you all for becoming team captains, we are so happy to have you. We request that all participants raise $100...it s not a requirement, but it would be really great if all of the participants raise at least $100. They get a t-shirt and food if they do...but it s not mandatory...so ummm...let your team members know about the t-shirt and free food. Scenario #2: Confident Thank you all for becoming a Relay team captain and committing yourself to this great cause. You have truly made the best decision of your life in joining this Relay movement. We have set a great standard for our event: that every participant raise $100. And this is so doable. The American Cancer Society has provided some great resources for easy fundraising including s, Facebook and an iphone application. And it s so easy for people to donate. Click the link and enter your credit card information. See how simple that is? ACS does some amazing things including funding research, cancer education, advocacy endeavors and patient services. But none of this would be possible without the fabulous fundraising of all our participants. Now, which one inspired you to get out there and raise your money? If we aren t confident in the fundraising, how can we expect our participants to be? No one likes to ask others to give money. But, Individual Fundraisers Individual fundraising includes any fundraiser that a participant can do on their own. The best individual fundraising is through letters and s to family and friends. The Event Convio website makes this easy with templates that can be adapted to the individual. Here are some additional ideas for individual fundraisers: Going from dorm room to dorm room Ask for donations in your Facebook status or in your signature Christmas cards Send Luminaria with letters Recycling 14

18 Collect change. A standard 20-oz water bottle filled with dimes = $100 Team Fundraisers Team fundraising is simply fundraisers teams do together to put toward their team goal. Here are some examples of team fundraisers: Bake sales Date Auction Midnight French Toast Feast Car wash Valentine s Day singing grams Movies under the stars Restaurant percentage fundraisers Battle of the Bands Penny Wars Committee-sponsored Fundraisers Some campuses have trouble creating their own fundraisers from scratch, so consider some of these ready-made fundraising pushes that can be adapted to any campus. These are coordinated and promoted by the event planning committee and are aimed to include all participants and boost fundraising success. Additionally, committee-sponsored fundraisers are a great way to promote the event itself and get more people involved in the fight. $48 in 48 (or any variation thereof) This fundraiser challenges every participant to raise at least $48 over a set 48 hours with hopes to raise a 15 certain goal amount (such as $48,000) by midnight of the second day. It often involves prizes for certain fundraisers: first one to raise $48, person to send the most s, highest 2-day fundraiser, everyone who raises $48 gets entered in a drawing for a prize, etc. You can set up a link on your website with directions and resources on how to participate in $48 in 48. Do you have a smaller school? Why not try to raise $4,800 in 48 hours by asking every participant to raise $48? Or maybe try a 10 in 10 challenge $10 in 10 Challenge every participant to raise $100 by raising $10 a day for 10 days. They can: send s use Facebook put out change cans bring homemade coffee to class for friends and ask for donations in return sell 100 cancer ribbons for $1 ask the bookstore for donations (ex. 10 t-shirts or 5 sweatshirts) to resell hold a water balloon fight on the quad and charge $0.50 a balloon to participate hold a dinner for 10 friends and charge $10 per person Relay Madness Relay Madness is a fundraising spin on March Madness. Bracket your teams and have them compete each week leading up to Relay. Some schools determine advancing teams based on the week s fundraising totals while other schools create a challenge for each week: most s sent, most Luminaria sold online, most money turned in at bank night, etc. Have the final four teams go head to head at Relay with the winner being the team that raises the most money in an on-site fundraiser. You can have a buy-in per team and the team that wins takes the pot. Or you can offer the winning team a midnight pizza party at Relay. Santa Sleighs Cancer / Eight Crazy Nights Keep the momentum going over winter break. Offer prizes to the people who raise the most money over the break and spotlight the top winter break fundraiser on their event website.

19 Ransom Challenge In 2011, Virginia Tech went viral when the committee kidnapped their school s mascot (all caught on strategically planned video). They revealed that they were holding the mascot ransom for $10,000 to be raised online in order for the mascot to be released before ESPN s Game Day which was being hosted on their campus. Mission-related Fundraising Don t forget about the mission. There are some fun challenges and tournaments that your committee can host while incorporating a mission or cancer education component. Ideas seen at campuses across the country include Bowling for Boobs, Save Your Balls Dodgeball Tournaments and Sunscreen Slip and Slides. On-site Fundraisers On-site fundraisers are fundraisers that teams, individuals, or the planning committee can participate in at Relay in order to raise extra money. Here are some good examples: Mr. Relay competitions Silent auction Jail and Bail Cake Walks Save It or Shave It challenges Sunscreen massages Post-Event Fundraisers Post-event fundraising is fundraising that occurs once the Relay event is over. This money still counts toward your Relay income. You can continue to collect money until the end of the fiscal year in August. Consider hosting an online fundraising challenge over summer if you still have not reached goal. You can host food-related fundraisers during finals. These can be easy, requiring little effort, but have the potential to bring in a lot more money for your event. Take advantage of nice weather and people wanting to get outside by hosting a softball tournament, ultimate Frisbee match, car washes, etc. Springtime also offers opportunities to partner with other activities that are already planned on campus outdoor sporting events or concerts. Recognition There are a number of ways to recognize successful fundraising teams and individuals. Most events give awards out at the Closing Ceremony for the top three teams and individuals. Incentive Program, where Relayers choose free gifts based on their fundraising level Top Fundraiser Spotlight at meetings Recognition ideas such as Most Team Spirit, Best Team Theme, Best Campsite Recognition of fundraising efforts on your event website Recognize sponsors in your program, on your websites, on posters or track signs at the event, on the back of your event shirt, etc. Wrap-up party for team members 16

20 Get The Fun If you re planning on having a theme, pick it early, and incorporate it into Kick off and all events leading up to Relay. A theme can be an easy but EXCITING way to bring fun to Relay on your campus! A motto can be a great way to market before Relay as well! If a traditional theme does not seem to fit your campus style, try having a slogan, such as there s no place like hope. Pre-Relay Activities and Events Relay is not just one day of fun and fundraising, there should be useful and exciting events planned all throughout the year. Relay is a year-round experience, not just a one-night event! In order to keep people motivated throughout the year, it is important to incorporate FUN into every aspect of your promotion of Relay! Each and every campus is different; consider what is most fun for your campus and start there. What makes a campus unique can be what they are most passionate about. It could be sports, the arts, music, and more. Logistically, events should be manageable for the committee, and a good opportunity to practice for Relay. Bigger does NOT necessarily mean better. Get to know your committee s abilities by putting on appropriate events throughout the year. Incorporating everyone in pre-relay events will be great practice for the actual Relay event! Relay Kick off A Kick off is a great way to set the tone for your Relay For Life event early in the year. A Relay Kick off is an event retention strategy used to get team captains, survivors, participants, former committee members and the community, excited and geared up to fundraise for the upcoming Relay For Life. A Kick off is the best way to launch, or kick off, your Relay. Location is key to hosting a successful Kick off. Bring the Kick off to the people; hold the event at the heart of campus. Your Kick off should be a snapshot of what to expect at Relay, so focus on what will engage and excite your campus specifically, and as always, keep the fun going! The Kick off is also a great opportunity to communicate your event goals and pass on any other information that your feel will be valuable to them at this time. Relay Rally A Rally is another way to bring the fun and excitement of Relay to the students. Although you know all about Relay For Life, there are still many people who do not. We want as many members of our community as possible to share in the excitement, the passion and the emotion of Relay. Examples include hosting a big birthday party, a concert, or any other fun activity/event that might draw a crowd. Invite your teams as well as the student body. Make sure to have computers around to sign up teams and participants on the spot. Before we go any further, we want to clarify that a Rally is Not a Team Captain Meeting The Rally is designed for people who have not been involved in Relay in the past. In other words, this is not your first team captain meeting. There is nothing wrong with having past or team captains there, but it is not the time to sign up for activities, share the entertainment schedule, or talk about campsite selection. 17

21 Not a Kick off As mentioned earlier, Kick off is a team retention strategy used to inform Team Captains and the community that the Relay For Life has started planning its next event. think these small precursor events are fun, they will definitely show up to Relay! Campus-Specific Activities Another great way to get the fun is by building and maintaining relationships with students and other campus organizations through pre-existing activities held on your campus during the school year. By partnering with these activities and their organizational groups, you are reaching new networks of people, creating less work for your committee, and saving funds by using what is already in place on campus. These activities involve getting students out of the classroom to learn and have a good time and what better venue to promote Relay! Some great ideas we have seen are concerts, open mic nights, and Relay s Best Dance Crew. Using concerts or open mic nights is a great way to build relationships with students on campus, and you can scout out possible entertainment performers at the same time. Relay s Best Dance Crew (similar to all the televised reality talent competitions) has proven to be incredibly popular. Dance crews perform their routine in front of an audience and a panel of judges (opportunities for survivors and caregivers!). Some of the schools used objective committee members while others used on-campus celebrities such as school administrators, sports stars, and members of student government. The comments and banter of the judges can often become just as entertaining as the dancing. At the end, a winner is selected and gets a prize. Another similar idea would be to do a rendition of the Sing Off and utilize all those amazing a cappella groups that you have on campus. These events can be used as fundraising opportunities by charging admission, selling refreshments, selling c.d.s, etc. Increasing motivation throughout the year by hosting a variety of events that cater to all different interests and motivations of participants is the best way to get the FUN and build excitement for Relay. If people 18 Day-Of Relay Activities A major piece of get the fun is bringing fun to Relay! A quality event will keep students talking and coming back each year. Ceremonies The foundation of any Relay For Life is the ceremonies. When we begin to plan our Relay schedule, ceremonies are normally first on the list to delegate to our committee. The ACS has provided us with some great formulas for how Ceremonies should be, but make sure that you adapt that formula for your campus. Your ceremonies are the perfect opportunity to deliver the message of Relay and hook your participants. A poorly-planned or under developed ceremony is a lost opportunity and a true disservice to your participants. Opening Ceremony Your Opening Ceremony kicks off your event and should demonstrate the excitement and fervor, as well as fun that you expect the event to carry. This ceremony should set the tone for your event, and it is also the CELEBRATE ceremony so remember to honor and celebrate your survivors. Here are some things that the opening ceremony should have: Welcome address by Chairs

22 ACS mission and brief overview of history of Relay Speaker(s) BRIEF run-down of rules Survivor Lap Caregiver Lap it is our time to fundraise harder, learn more and fight back against cancer. Luminaria Ceremony The Luminaria Ceremony is the most emotional ceremony. It is the REMEMBER ceremony where participants can remember those loved ones they have lost to cancer. This ceremony should truly invoke the emotions of every participant. It is a great idea to have someone share his or her story, preferably a caregiver who has lost a loved one. Be careful about having survivors speak, because some participants may get upset and offended when survivors speak at Luminaria because they are grieving for someone who lost his/her fight. Be sure you consider this possible emotion when you decide on your speakers. Here are some things that the Luminaria ceremony should have. The lights OFF Candles or glow sticks Explanation of the ceremony Music Speakers Silence (in a moment or perpetual) Remembrance Lap(s) Slide Show For more information on the Luminaria Ceremony visit college.relayforlife.org. Fight Back The Fight Back ceremony is possibly the easiest, but it is often the most overlooked. Remember that this is your call to action for your participants. Both survivors and caregivers are very suitable to be your speaker for this ceremony. Remember that you can add special aspects to your ceremony that add fun. For instance, have your school mascot come in and beat up cancer (one of your committee members dressed up). This is the time to highlight the hope that we have in this fight, how in the upcoming year Entertainment & Activities Keeping an event fresh and exciting is one of the most common challenges found after talking with Relay participants across the county. Successful events are capturing the attention of their participants and teams through the use of entertainment and activities. Incorporate activities that pull participation from all teams. For example, So You Think You Can Dance, Relay Idol, Minute to Win It games, and Are You Smarter than a Freshman trivia challenge are a few examples that draw attention and laughs. Activities are great to have planned throughout the entire hours. You can host a Relay Olympics with all the activities and award points to teams for participating. Points can be given for first, second, and third place in any given game/activity. Some great examples include: Theme laps: 80s, poker, Disney, pajama Limbo (lap) Dance contest Minute to win It Are You Smarter Than a Freshman Scavenger hunt Water balloon toss Pop the Polyp Capture the Cure (Flag) 19

23 Provide diverse entertainment. As you begin booking entertainment for your event, be sure that you consider different genres of music, combination of both a DJ and live bands, school choirs, jazz bands, marching bands, etc. Our Relayers interests are diverse and so should the means in which we entertain them. Popular types of entertainment include: Bands and DJs Dance Groups A Cappella Groups/Choirs Singers Cultural groups Swing Lessons Zumba Generating Anticipation It is important to provide teams with the Relay schedule before the day of the event. Be sure to let them know in advance about any themed laps or activities that might require the teams to bring props in order to participate. No matter how much you plan, you will need to be flexible with your schedule. There may be a dead time in the middle of the night, and you may want to do an activity early or have extra games ready just in case. Logistics Noise Concerns about noise complaints can be challenging, especially if your college or venue is located in a heavily populated area. It is important we are conscious of our neighbors, and also invite them to participate too! Sometimes neighbors will be more understanding if they understand the event, or perhaps they will agree to sponsor quiet hours. Perhaps the surrounding community will feel 11pm- 7am of silence is acceptable and then work around that! Have someone play lap-matchmaker for a few hours, project a movie with the volume low, or choose the early morning hours for a soccer 20 tournament. You can also notify the police department and the city of your Relay event. Acquiring a noise permit may also be possible. Food We know anywhere in the Relay world, and especially with high schools and colleges, if you feed them, they will come BUT if you can't feed everyone - reach out! Ask your fraternities or sororities if you can use their industrial size kitchens to cook a lot of pasta for your participants. Or, because they often order in bulk, ask if they are willing to contribute. If possible, you can also take over a large kitchen in an apartment complex for a day. Ask each one for small contributions, instead of an entire meal - pasta, croutons, salad dressing, and maybe you won't have to purchase as much! Work with the dorms to ask residents to donate a meal to your event or for your survivor and caregiver reception. Whether it s hot cocoa, popcorn, fresh guacamole, Boba tea the food will add to the festivities, the fundraising, and the ease of feeding all those people. Ask for donations from local restaurants and grocery stores that many students frequent. Most will donate food or gift cards if you ask them in advance. Many restaurants are allotted to give donations each month and most restaurants build donations into their budget so be sure to contact them early. Day of the Event: Make Committee Schedules In order to ensure that your experience at Relay is as stress-free as possible, and that you too have FUN at Relay, make sure that everything is organized going in. Have comprehensive schedules assigning your committee members to different jobs throughout Relay. What time are they working the food table, registration table, Luminaria table, etc? Who is setting up the HOPE to CURE, putting candles or glow sticks in Luminaria bags, or going to get food? What time is all of this happening at? Make sure that you include people s contact information in case they forget to show up.

24 Marketing The best way to create and reinforce Relay For Life into your campus culture is by maintaining a yearlong presence. Focus on marketing over publicity. What s the difference? Marketing is active promotion of your event while publicity is passive. There are many things you can do to transform publicity tactics into major marketing techniques: Fliers: By themselves, these are passive because you rely on people to actually read the information. However, if you include a Sudoku puzzle on your flier or put a round flier on the face of clocks in every classroom. Now you know they ll see your message. Tabling: Tabling is great, but usually you rely on people to approach you. Lose the chairs and force people to get out from behind the table. Coordinate a flash mob or a 2 minute freeze in place to get people to notice you. Or, offer food at your table. Traits to look for in students to form your Spirit Committee include: Knows a lot of people on campus Not afraid to meet new people Enthusiastic and passionate about Relay Willing to be innovative and think outside the box For more information on the Spirit Committee, download the Guidebook from college.relayforlife.org Paint the Campus Purple Should be self-explanatory; Paint Your Campus Purple. This is a great marketing opportunity to promote Relay awareness before your event. We all have our own styles to put on it. Look for every opportunity to paint your campus purple for a week. Purple Ribbons on light poles Cancer Facts on stakes Purple wraps on trash cans Purple table cloths on dining hall tables Pass out purple solo cups Purple Balloons Purple Mini-bottles of sunscreen Purple Hershey Kisses Go Viral! Spirit Committee The purpose of the Spirit Committee is to generate excitement about Relay! One of the main goals is to maintain a presence on campus on a regular basis through creative and out-of-the-box promotion seen through posters, tabling, chalking, word of mouth and videos that all promote Relay. This group of students is the heart and soul of Relay, always showing Relay pride by wearing purple or something Relay and talking to anyone and everyone about the event. Quite simply, make videos and utilize social media. You can use your school s mascot, coaches or campus celebrities. Make a video that incorporates your students, specifically the ones not on your committee. This could be a dance for a cure or show us your cancer victory dance. Think of the videos on YouTube that are most memorable; many do not seem to have a purpose or much thought put into them at all, but they stick. Be creative, have fun and make a ridiculous video that your campus will love, but make sure they remember it is Relay include pictures of American Cancer Society branding, contact information, website link to donate, and the event date. 21

25 Online An ever-important and ever-growing position on your executive team is your online chair. Your event website can be your greatest tool for the event and it s received a facelift. The site has a completely new design and is more customizable. This presents a perfect opportunity to put your school s mark on the event website. So, let s check out some of these cool new features Greeting Page: Underneath the slide show there is a spot for you to post your major event announcements. The banner on the right side of the screen contains the event day and time as well as a countdown to the event. Scrolling down you can post photos of all of your Relay activities and events through FlickR. Your event can create a FlickR page, so everyone can upload pictures to it anytime, and they automatically scroll on the greeting page. You can also use the Twitter, Facebook and YouTube plugins to link feeds and channels to your event website. Events Details Page: This is one of the most useful pages for your participants! Not only does it also include the date, time, and countdown to your event, but it can also autogenerate the time of your ceremonies, events, and other activities for your event. It also includes a weather widget for your event site and forecaster. Not only that, a Google Maps powered widget makes directions from anywhere available to your participants. Survivor and Caregiver Page: This is a great new feature to the Relay For Life websites. Caregivers are now fully incorporated. We can now create an interactive experience for our Survivors and Caregivers on the event website. They have the ability to click share your story and their stories are automatically posted on the page! Customized Page: Add a special page to introduce your CAC board. You can post information about meetings, activities, and events. This can serve as a major link to your school s official CAC page and help your teams work together! Remember you can also add YouTube videos, updates about meetings, fundraising goals, and blitzes. An overwhelming majority of college fundraising is done online, and the website makes it easy. Post links to inform participants how they can best use the website to fundraise. Most participants don t know this exists! If they knew how easy it was, who knows how much more money you could raise! All of these ideas require communication between your online chair and the rest of your committee. Event Announcements Page: Here you can post your meeting dates, post documents and forms, and incorporate your Facebook feed as previously mentioned. This is a great way to make all necessary information readily available to your participants and team captains and improves their experience as well. Fundraisers & Activities Page: This page is one of the most unique because it is interactive. Teams can submit a fundraising event and get it on the calendar. Your participants can refer to this calendar to see what is going on and head out to support those other teams. And you can even embed a Google calendar right on the page. 22

26 Resources Staff Partner Division Task Force National Collegiate Advisory Team Conference Calls Monthly Impact Update

27 APPENDIX 24

28 Relay For Life Partnership Agreement Relay For Life Position Being Discussed Between (volunteer 1) & (volunteer 2/chair) Key Responsibilities of Volunteer 1: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Time Requirements: Est. # meetings / Month Phone Calls: /Week Best Method to Communicate: Time of Day Length of Term Training/Skill Development Needed: Key Responsibilities of Volunteer 2: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Availability: Est. # meetings /Month Phone Calls: /Week Best Method to Communicate: Time of Day Other ACS/Event Responsibilities: Goals: # Teams # Survivors # Committee Members Event $ Total Expense Ratio / / Signature Date Signature Date 25

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