(NOTE – The 2016 3-Day travel promotions have expired. If you have questions about your registration or traveling to the 3-Day, please contact the coaches at 800-996-3DAY or coaches@the3day.org)

Many of you have been participating in the 3-Day for a decade or more. Why? Because of that “3-Day Bubble.” No matter how tough it was the first time, how crappy the weather beat you down in 2008, or how many times you hit a personal milestone and said “this just might be my last year,” you keep coming back to spend just a little more time in that beautiful pink bubble

For us, the 3-Day is the way the world should be for three glorious days. This 3-Day community and culture has become what it is because of you. Komen didn’t create this—you did.

Now, for those who have been with us for years, you have seen the 3-Day Series grow to great heights and you’ve seen in recent years diminishing returns. We want to grow again.

So we’ve set a pretty ambitious goal for 2016: to double the size of our program. Double. This is aggressive, but so is our goal to end breast cancer forever. You don’t make big progress with little goals. We can do this.

So, how do we plan to grow?

150th Event and 3-Day Family Reunion – The 2016 Michigan 3-Day marks our 150^th event! It’s an incredible milestone! We plan to kick off an epic reunion celebration in Michigan and continue it in every 3-Day city all season long. More details can be found at The3Day.org/Reunion.

We want to bring our entire 3-Day family back together to celebrate this reunion. Many folks participated in the 3-Day for years but haven’t been back because traveling to one has been a burden and barrier.

So, for this year only—in celebration of the 150^th 3-Day event that they helped us reach—we are reaching out to those individuals and teams to cover their travel costs, should they raise $2,300 to walk in the 3-Day closest to them. Check out all of the details at The3Day.org/Reunion to see if you are eligible.

Bring Your Besties – We are also excited to announce Bring Your Besties, a free travel program for new walkers in 2016! Invite as many first-time walkers as you can to join you this year and we’ll pay their roundtrip airfare to and from the 3-Day, as long as they meet their $2,300 fundraising requirement.

I am from Illinois. I’ve lived in Texas for 8 years now. My best friend, Ashley, and I have known each other since grade school. She is the “sister from another mister” for me. I talk to this woman every morning on my way to work, but I only get to see her when I go home for Christmas each year.

Last year, her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. And as usual none of us could be together as often as we wanted to be… I couldn’t hug Ashley when she needed it. I could only pray her and her mom through everything.

Now, with the Bring Your Besties program, I’m rounding up Ashley and our families to walk with me at the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day this fall! They will fundraise and train, and instead of waiting for another Christmas, I will get to spend three whole days in November immersed with my favorite people. Not only that, but I get to share the gift of YOU—the unconditionally loving and supportive 3-Day family—with my loved ones who don’t even know they need this community. I cannot WAIT to share them with all of you.

Guys—if we ALL bring ONE new walker with us this year we will already have doubled the size of the 3-Day and doubled our fundraising. This is a way to make the 3-Day more accessible to everyone.

Is investing in travel wise?

Yes. And I will tell you why:

• For years we have invested in TV and radio ads. Many of you heard about the 3-Day ten years ago through a television ad. And while we love advertising our great event, with the growth of social media, we’ve found that paid ads just aren’t as effective as they could be to bring new walkers to the 3-Day family. You know us to be responsible stewards of the money you raise—devoting 80 cents of every dollar to our mission programs—so we want to ensure that we’re maximizing every dollar. In this case, that means even paying for travel to bring someone to the event and let them experience “the bubble” for themselves.
  The majority of you participated in a 3-Day one time and were hooked. You’ve continued to participate for years. The targeted investment of a one-time flight potentially yields years of participation and fundraising from that person. Plus, we significantly grow the 3-Day.
• Ultimately, our goal is to add more cities to our 3-Day Series. If we can significantly raise participation tides in our current cities in 2016, we’re looking at adding at least one new city in 2017. And, we want you, the 3-Day community, to have a voice in which city we add.

We all want the same things: more people = more fundraising dollars = bigger impact = a day where no one dies from breast cancer. We are not settling for smaller plans that yield incremental growth. NASA didn’t aim to just break the sound barrier; they had a goal to walk on the moon. A BIG GOAL. Double the 3-Day. Everyone bring your besties and let’s grow the 3-Day!

I am very excited and recruiting my team as I write this blog. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you, 3-Dayers, for filling voids in my heart I didn’t know I needed last year as a co-survivor. And I want to thank you for continuing to be you—the most passionate, genuine and FUN group of people I’ve had the privilege of calling a new family. Together, we can do this. Here’s to a strong 2016 3-Day season!

~ Chrissy