Fundraising Friday for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day: Spooktacular Ideas

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Halloween is around the corner! Do you have your tricks and treats ready? In honor of this spooky holiday, we have some fun and easy fundraising ideas that you can put into action this weekend! Whether you are walking in one of our final 2017 3-Days, or you want to get a jump on your 2018 fundraising goals, these are fun and festive ideas you can put into action.

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Movie Night

There are so many fun spooky movies that the whole family can still enjoy for this holiday! Whether you project one on a screen outside or cuddle up inside for a bit of a scare, getting your team and/or potential donors together for a movie night is a fun and easy way to gather your 3-Day support system around you this season. Hand out mini s’more packs for a takeaway, and put a little reminder about your fundraising goal and link on the pack! You’ll wake up the next morning to a lot of love.

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Pumpkin Party

Carve. Paint. Glitter. Decorate. There is no wrong way to approach your pumpkin décor! Challenge your friends to create the most 3-Day-inspired pumpkin for their homes and create a whole outdoor, 3-Day pumpkin festival at your house as well! Then place a sign, and handouts near your pumpkins to encourage people to donate to your cause.

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Trick or Treat for the Cause

When your kids or friends are trick or treating this year, make use of the night out! While the youngsters pick their candy, hand your neighbors an informational sheet about the 3-Day and let them know you are walking! Remind them that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Encourage them to leave a little Halloween treat on your donation page in honor of sweet Halloween fun.

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Keep it Sweet

If you wait until the day after Halloween, you can get tons of candy for a bargain price! Make little sweet treat packets, and drop them off on November 1^st on the doorsteps of potential donors. It’s a minimal investment on your part, and the sweet reminder to donate will make them smile.

Extra, Extra – Check out this post to see a 3-Dayer’s brilliant trick-or-treat 3-Day costume idea!

What are your favorite fundraising ideas for the season? Tell us in the comments – and have a sweet and safe Halloween

Susan G. Komen 3-Day Fundraising Dollars: See Your Impact Locally with Our Infographics

In 2016 Susan G. Komen announced a Bold Goal to reduce the number of current breast cancer deaths in the United States by 50% by the year 2026. That means that each dollar raised, and each step walked in the 3-Day is working towards that Bold Goal.

Dollars raised by 3-Day participants also go towards funding local research grants community health programs. This year, Komen announced $30.7 million in research funding for 98 research grants nationwide, which will predominantly focus on discovering new treatments, as well as improving our understanding of the most lethal forms of breast cancer. These grants and research are critical in helping us move closer to achieving Komen’s Bold Goal.

To fully understand your direct impact in our work, Komen released the direct impact that local research dollars has in all our local 3-Day markets. Last year, fundraising dollars contributed to the 160 total research grants in the state of Pennsylvania, and funded 186 career investigators in California.

To see the direct impact of the 3-Day in 2017, and all your hard work, look up your home state in the infographics below. These are also great informational resources to share with potential donors, or to send to donors from this year’s walks to show them just how much their support means.

Michigan

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Minnesota

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Pennsylvania

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Washington

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Georgia

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Texas

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California

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How have you seen fundraising dollars at work in your local market? Tell us in the comments!

Susan G. Komen 2017 Atlanta 3-Day Wrap-Up

The 3-Day headed south for our October event, taking Atlanta by storm this weekend. The dawn was slowly coming up over Stone Mountain as our 475 walkers and 225 crew started their journey with a poignant and emotional Opening Ceremony led by local participants. The rising sun was the perfect welcome to a wonderful 60 miles ahead.

After walking through Stone Mountain Park, our walkers were greeted by quite the cheering section at Mile 1. All of Stone Mountain Elementary came out to cheer on our 3-Dayers with signs, flags and even their school drum line!

From there, walkers headed through Clarkston, GA to Pit Stop 2 and 6.2 miles checked off their first day. They danced The Wobble with Youth Corps and stocked up on snacks like the infamous Grahamwiches. They also received support from other local cheering stations before arriving at lunch.

“Boob University” was the perfect break spot at Mile 12.6 at the Decatur Family YMCA, complete with pink resting mats from Mohawk Flooring, who also had several staff members walk with us this weekend. There were plenty of dancing and photos as well!

The second half of Day One saw the walkers being welcomed into Emory Village, by the Winship-Glenn Family Breast Center team, who showed the walkers their fundraising dollars at work.

They spent the rest of the day walking through Downtown Atlanta, including crossing the Jackson Street Bridge and walking through Centennial Olympic Park. They ended Day One at camp at the Georgia World Congress Center after 21.7 miles walked. Walkers were able to relax at the 3-Day Lounge, including getting some much-needed pampering from the Bank of America massage chairs. We had an emotional and celebratory camp show before everyone turned in for the night.

Day Two started a little cooler, making it perfect walking weather for our walkers to take on their second set of 20 miles. Straight from camp, the walkers passed the CNN Center and Ivy Hall before stopping at Pit One after a quick 2.2 miles on Saturday morning.

There was plenty of local support before lunch as well, including multiple local Girl Scout troops and Red Hot Yoga Studio, all of which kept our walkers smiling and inspired. At Pit Stop 3, the local Atlanta Komen Affiliate also came out to add to our cheering Crew to propel the walkers those final few miles to lunch.

Lunch was at Mile 11.6, and we had time to meet our amazing Atlanta Youth Corps via Facebook Live as well as re-hydrate before the second half of the day.

High Points on the rest of the day included walking by the Tanyard Creek Park Train Trestle and the World of Coca-Cola before arriving back at camp for the night. Walkers tucked into everyone’s dinnertime favorite: 3-Day mac n’ cheese! Then there was a fun dance party before lights out on Day Two.

Day Three dawned bright and warm, with our walkers making great time on their final 20 miles of the weekend. Pit Stop 1 was at 3 miles, right outside the Atlanta IKEA, but our walkers couldn’t stop to shop. They had a mission!

They breezed through lunch at Morris Brandon Elementary, and in no time at all they entered Pit 3, right along the Chattahoochee River at Mile 13.3. There was a fun community cheering station at Akers Mill Square before our walkers climbed the hill to see the new SunTrust Park up ahead.

We had some liquid sunshine as our walkers crossed the finish line and entered SunTrust Park, but that didn’t stop everyone from dancing across the finish line with smiles on their faces, and even tears of joy in some eyes. The clouds opened up and the sun shone down for our Closing Ceremony, and final celebration in Atlanta.

Our journey is never truly done, though, as was evidenced throughout our closing ceremony. We are all still working, and walking, towards Susan G. Komen’s Bold Goal to reduce the nation’s 40,000 breast cancer deaths by 50 percent by 2026.

As we hugged and celebrated and danced under the bright October sunshine, one message rang loud and clear; that though our feet may ache, our spirit and dedication will live forever; through aches, and pain, and blisters. We are shouting loudly and proudly that in this fight, where we seek to live in a world free of breast cancer, WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP. Thank you, Atlanta. We are so very proud of each and every one of you.

If you’re ready to be a part of this incredible journey again in 2018, sign up now at The3Day.org/Register.