Five FUNdraising Friday Ways to Celebrate Spring

It’s the first Friday of spring, so that means that all our 3-Dayers should be smiling wide and getting excited for a fun weekend ahead. Hopefully you’ll be spending some of that spring weekend time training and fundraising for the 3-Day. There’s nothing like a sunshiney morning and a free day ahead to remind you of just how much you can get done when you put your mind to it! And we know that all our 3-Dayers are some of the most committed, amazing people out there.

So, let’s make the most of today, this weekend, and this spring! We’ll be covering training, team building and fundraising tips all season long, starting with these Five FUNdraising Friday Ideas:

Get moving (any way you can!)

Start by asking your yoga or pilates teacher, spin instructor, boot camp leader or personal trainer for a donation. Then, move on to the rest of the class! See if you can make an announcement before or after class or keep a donation jar at the gym check-in area.

You can even take it one step further by asking your instructors to host a special outdoor class where the proceeds will go to your 3-Day goal. Imagine starting your Saturday with a relaxing yoga class in the park, or a challenging boot camp on the local high school soccer fields. You’ll be getting your sweat on and earning donations toward your 3-Day goal at the same time!

Save a “pear”

Get a grocery store or local farmer’s market to donate some pears and then set up a table outside with a sign that says, “Save a ‘pear’—make a donation to the 3-Day.”

You’ll make people giggle, and probably get some happy-hearted donations while you’re at it!

Set a springtime challenge

Post it on Facebook. (If you haven’t set up a Facebook Fundraiser yet, now’s the time!) Email it out to your friends and family. Put up a sign in your cubicle. Shout it loud and proud that you will be doing something crazy if your fundraising goal is met before spring is over. Spring officially ends on June 20 so that leaves everyone lots of time to make some big ole’ donations.

Then, go wild with whatever challenge you set for yourself, and make sure to tag us in all the pictures!

Take advantage of tax season

Tax season is no one’s favorite time of year. At least no one we’ve ever met! But, it’s the perfect time to remind people that donations to the 3-Day are tax deductible. Send out emails and fundraising letters reminding your potential donors and asking them to contribute part of their tax refund to a good cause like the 3-Day. They’ll be putting that found money to good use, plus they can deduct it on next year’s return. It’s a win/win.

Stay caffeinated, 3-Day style

Host a get-together at your home or at a local coffee shop. Ask your favorite coffee shop or cafe to donate coffee (and maybe some goodies!), then invite your neighbors and friends to spend an afternoon learning about the 3-Day from you. This can also be used as a team building activity if you invite some potential new 3-Dayers!

Let anyone who attends know they will have a chance to pay tribute to someone affected by breast cancer by being featured on the shirt you wear on the 3-Day. Suggest a donation of $20 (or more!) to be listed. You can also get creative and have them sign pink ribbons to be attached to your shirt, or pink buttons, instead. You’ll have the coolest shirt on the 3-Day!

What are your fundraising plans for the spring? Share them in the comments so we can spread ideas across our 3-Day family!

5 Easy Ways to Get Outside this Spring

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Finally! Spring is here at last! Who’s excited for those warmer days ahead? The approach of spring means the 3-Day Series is coming up quickly so it’s the perfect time get outside and take a new approach to your 3-Day training, team building and fundraising efforts. Here are some fun and easy ways to make the most of the new season.

Take a training walk

This is the most obvious answer. Get outside and take a walk! Whether you’ve officially started using our 3-Day training app to guide your steps, are taking part in local training events, or training on your own time, spring is the time to kick it all into high gear. Warmer weather and more daylight give you even more opportunities to get your steps in.

Take your fundraising into the sun

There are so many ways to fundraise for the 3-Day, but you can get even more creative than usual now that the weather is getting warmer. Here are just a few outdoor fundraising ideas:

  • Advertise while you walk: Ask local companies to sponsor your walk and in return, wear their logo or name on your T-shirt while you train.
  • Work the neighborhood: Walk from house to house throughout your neighborhood to ask for donations. There’s nothing like a face-to-face request!
  • Dog walk for donations: Send out a flyer to your neighborhood offering to dog walk or dog-sit while the owners are out of town. Time with the pups will give you an excuse to get outdoors!

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Give camping a try

Not all our 3-Day camps will be outside this year (say “Hello” to hotel camps!) but that doesn’t mean you all can’t get out and camp under the stars this spring! Grab your friends, family, or 3-Day teammates and have a slumber party camping night in your own backyard. Everyone can bring their own tent, or get a taste of the famous 3-Day Slumber Party tents and get a big tent for everyone to get cozy in together.

Plan a scavenger hunt

This is one of our favorite ways to host a 3-Day team building event! Call your 3-Day teammates and ask them to each bring two new people they think might be interested in the 3-Day. Then use our tips to plan an afternoon of fun that will give everyone just a taste of the excitement, teamwork and support they’ll find on the 3-Day.

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Let the flamingos flock

This is the most fun way to celebrate the new season! Start by buying 10 pink plastic flamingos for lawn decorations. Pick 10 homes in your community to be the “lucky” recipients. Attach note cards to the flamingos’ necks with a phone number and your 3-Day donation information. Let your friends and family know that for a $10 donation, the flamingos can be removed from their yard, but for $15 they will be moved to the lawn of their choice. Then they can spread the flamingo fun to their own friends and family!

Make sure you also place a sign that has cards with your contact name and phone number next to the flamingo for those who drive by and would like to have the flamingos placed in a friend’s yard. That way, they can contact you and donate to your 3-Day goals.

How are you getting outside this spring? Tell us in the comments!

What to Love About 3-Day Hotel Camp with Coach Tisho

Alert: We are less than five months away from our first 3-Day of 2019!

There is so much to be excited for this year, not the least of which is the fact that four of our 3-Days will have hotel camps in 2019! After getting such great feedback from our hotel camp in Philadelphia last year, we are expanding it for the upcoming 3-Day walks in Michigan, Twin Cities, New England and Philadelphia.

If you haven’t spent a 3-Day in one of our hotel camps yet, get excited! There is a lot to look forward to. 😊 In order to get you pumped, Coach Tisho is giving us her Top 10 Favorite Things to Love About 3-Day Hotel Camp…

  1. Beds! Actual beds with fluffy pillows and soft sheets. A full night of restful ZZZ’s for all our 3-Dayers.
  2. Climate control! No chilly nights or sweaty nights or rainy nights. Just comfy nights! This will be especially important for our events happening later in the year when Mother Nature might be more unpredictable.
  3. Dry feet! No unzipping the the front “door” to find wet, dewy grass in the morning.
  4. Quiet! No slamming port-a-potty doors in the middle of the night.
  5. Hotel showers! Bring some of your favorite shampoo and scented body wash to soak your muscles in a nice long shower at night.
  6. So many spaces! Ballroom space, lobby space, lounge space, restaurant space – tons of places to sit and relax and chat with your fellow participants.
  7. Power outlets! No more waiting at the charging station before you can go to bed. It’s the little things that make the most difference.
  8. More privacy! As much as it can be fun to yell to people in the next tent, hotel rooms make for more privacy and quiet when you need it.
  9. Storage! If you’re one of our amazing 3-Dayers who loves to rock fun outfits on event, you’ll have lots more space in closets and dressers for all your 3-Day necessities.
  10. All the fun! There are all these pro’s…plus you won’t lose any of the camp fun and festivity! It will be a new, but no less amazing, 3-Day home to arrive to after a long day fighting breast cancer. We can’t wait to welcome you home. 😊

If hotel camps aren’t your style, or you love the great outdoors, we also have 3 outdoor camps this year in Seattle, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego! We’ll be doing another post in the future that details all the amazing experiences you can have at our outdoor camps, so stay tuned. Indoors or outdoors, 3-Day camp is a fun place to be 😊

What are you looking forward to most about camping on the 3-Day this year? Philadelphia 3-Dayers, do you have any favorite hotel memories from last year? Share them in the comments!