acsrelay.org December 2005 Newsletter - Happy Holidays!

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Relay ForLife

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Dec 17, 2005, 9:34:50 AM12/17/05
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Folks,

Happy Holidays,  Hope that this note finds you and yours happy, healthy and prosperous as you enter the holiday season.

This month's acsrelay.org newsletter focuses on the following topics:
1.  Committee Team Building - as the new year approaches, its a great time to build the cohesiveness of your committee - check out our tips!
2.  Relay Committee Planning Tools - Here are some basic tools to get your committee jump started
3.  Blogging About Relay - In an effort to increase news out there about Relay, I have started a blog to go with acsrelay.org - read more below about this and other blogs!
4.  On-Line Resources For Relay For Life - Fueled by blogs, on line fundraising websites on kintera.org, and more, there are now more on-line sites for Relay For Life than ever
 5.  Holiday Tip

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1. Committee Team Building

It's impossible to put a value on building an effective committee! Since you will spend up to a year pulling together your next Relay For Life, having productive working relationships is essential. To that end, we have a few suggestions to get you from point A to point B:
  • Use Icebreakers! - Your committee will function better together and be more honest the better they know each other… start every committee meeting with an icebreaker to help them get to know each other. Here are some examples:

     http://www.acsrelay.org/Darn_Good_Ideas/09-Great_Icebreakers!.doc
     
  • Make sure that your committee is armed with information - Your committee should know what Relay is and have access to information about it. Distribute the Relay For Life Speaking Points early in your Relay Season to ground everyone in the basics about Relay:


2. Relay Committee Planning Tools

  • Have clear responsibilities for each subcommittee chair and their committee – Make sure it is clear what the roles and responsibilities are for the committee vs. staff partner. You will find that committees work much better when they know exactly what is expected.  You can download a Chairman's Manual at:

    http://www.acsrelay.org/downloadzipmanualanddgis.php

  • Give your committee great fundraising ideas! – Your committee can drive your fundraising and should be role models - Give them great ideas they can share with their teams!

    http://www.acsrelay.org/Darn_Good_Ideas/10-Fundraising_From_A_To_Z.doc

    http://www.acsrelay.org/Darn_Good_Ideas/10-Fundraising_for_Kids_&_Youth_From_A_To_Z.doc
     
  • Here's another great fundraising idea, especially for this time of year:

    Send a fundraising e-mail on your Relay For Life on-line fundraising event website (if your Relay uses one) or a hard-copy Holiday Relay For Life fundraising letter. You can ask for donations to fight cancer instead of a gift from your closest friends or families, or can be a great way to do your "annual" holiday letter to those you know. Tell them a bit about what is happening with you, and add the request for donation as part of telling them what you are doing. Your friends and family will be glad to know that you are joining the fight against cancer and remembering those who are facing this dreaded disease over a difficult time like the holidays.

3.  Blogging About Relay

Blogs are catching on like wildfire in general and in the non-profit world.  Essentially like your own "highlights" page about just about any topic, you can post "articles" about different subjects and have you history easily accessible to readers.  In the last 6 months, there has been an explosion of blogs about Relay For Life - this is a great thing, because it creates a whole new source for ideas and information...  In order to capitalize on this opportunity to share new ideas as they come to my attention, I have established a blog that goes with acsrelay.org that you can find at:

http://acsrelay.blogspot.com

If you see the links section on the right side of the blog, you'll see links to many many blogs about Relay For Life all around the web!  Please visit them for another source of what is going on in the world of Relay!

4.  On-Line Resources

See the following link for the latest list of on-line resources for Relay (including lbogs):

http://www.acsrelay.org/onlineresources.php

Search for an event and/or their website, view blogs, view discussion forums, and more!

5. Holiday Tip

Have your local elementary school students draw holiday cards and send them as Holiday wishes to Relay supporters in your community! Bring them to your committee meeting and have your committee sign them. It has a nice, hand-made touch and reminds your supporters that you care!

Other thoughts:
*  Remember that if you are ever searching for an idea or information, please go to the search engine at acsrelay.org in order to find it:

http://www.acsrelay.org/search.php

Or, you can email rflvol...@gmail.com and we'll look into it!

*  Please feel free to pass this e-mail on to others and let them know that they can also sign up for this e-mail list...  they can sign up at:

http://groups.google.com/group/acsrelay/subscribe


Thanks so much for your leadership and involvement!  Without you, there would be no Relay!  We are only as great as our volunteers, survivors, and staff!


--
Ramesh Moorthy
webmaster, http://www.acsrelay.org
Blogging About Relay at http://acsrelay.blogspot.com
American Cancer Society and Relay For Life Volunteer, Baltimore, MD
"There Is No FInish Line Until We Find A Cure"
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