Growing the 3-Day: Two Exciting Travel Programs

(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?

Sunday, August 9, 2015: Participants walk the 60 mile Susan G. Komen 3day event that goes from Novi to Dearborn, MI.

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

Your Dollars at Work: 3-Day Funds and Komen’s Mission Objectives

Participants often ask me how 3-Day funds are put to use. It’s a logical question: If you’re working hard towards raising at least $2,300 each year to walk, you want to know how those dollars get put to work.

If you’ve done the 3-Day before, you’ve probably heard that 25% of the net proceeds goes to local Affiliates to fund community education and treatment assistance programs while 75% of the net proceeds is used by Komen on a national basis to fund research programs and global strategies. But what does that really mean? Here’s some detail to help make this more concrete.

First, let me explain how Komen is structured: There is the national office based in Dallas, which receives funding through national partnerships, individual giving, and national programs like the 3-Day. And, there are also more than 100 Komen local offices called Affiliates, that receive funding through local events like the Race for the Cure, sponsorships, etc.

The funds you raise through the 3-Day (managed by our national office) and the Race for the Cure (managed by our local Affiliates) are unique as both programs have global, national and local impact.

At the end of each 3-Day season we total all of the funds raised on a national level to distribute to the national and local mission. So, the 3-Day’s local proceeds (that 25%) are divided at the end of each season among the 7 host city affiliates, so that 3-Day dollars have a direct impact in 3-Day cities. In most 3-Day cities, there is a single affiliate office, but in Dallas and Michigan, there are several who divide the funds to maximize reach and opportunity in their respective service areas.

Why is this important? Susan G. Komen has funded nearly $889 million in research and nearly $2 billion in community grants. Through this, we have made great strides in decreasing mortality rates from breast cancer, increasing 5 year survival rates, and improving access to screening and treatment for countless women and men. It is this combination – a balance between funding community needs and research priorities – that is so important, and a big reason that 3-Day and Race for the Cure funding is so unique.

In the coming year, a few of our primary mission goals are:

We are focusing major research efforts on metastatic research, primarily what causes the disease to spread from the breast.
- Nearly half of Komen’s funding in 2015 went to metastatic research (23 grants, $16 million)
We are collaborating with other national and international breast cancer organizations to refine goals and minimize redundancy
We are working towards making health resources equally available to all, with a focus on disparities and why the risk of breast cancer is higher amongst African-American women.

Komen President and CEO, Dr. Judy Salerno, said at the Komen Impact Forum in Dallas, “I believe that in a generation we will see more treatments and more cures. You, [our 3-Day community], have been a part of this every step of the way. And we must support you so that we can be successful in achieving this goal.”

We want to make it easier for you to talk with your supporters and donors about Komen’s mission in action. So we’re creating a library of sharable resources on The3Day.org/Komen. The first set is available today: Three infographics talking more about 3-Day funding and our mission in action. (Note: these infographics are in .jpg format below, which you can save to your computer and share on social media. If you would like printable .pdf versions of the infographics, you can find them here.) 3DAY_2016_KomenInfographics_3 3DAY_2016_KomenInfographics_2 3DAY_2016_KomenInfographics_1

Soon, we’ll be sharing more specific details of how each local 3-Day affiliate is putting Komen funds to use in that 3-Day city.

This is just the start of the tools you have told us you need. This will be an on-going project from here forward as your needs change and the 3-Day program begins to grow. As I mentioned in my last blog post, we are forming a 3-Day advisory council (2 participants from each 3-Day city) to help you, the 3-Day family, have a collective voice as we work to meet needs, improve your event experience and grow the 3-Day into the strongest program it can be.

Stay tuned to the blog for more info! Thank you for being you!

– Chrissy Mathews

20 Tips for the First-Time 3-Day Walker

Say hello to Jamie Roubinek. On her blog, Roubinek Reality, Jamie writes about momhood, food, travel, DIYs and life in Dallas. On top of all of that, Jamie also stepped up to join the 3-Day in 2015 as a first-time walker in Dallas/Fort Worth. As a newly-graduated expert on the newbie experience, Jamie has some advice to offer other first-timers making their way to the 3-Day.

20151108_122637 In November, I had the amazing opportunity to participate in the Susan G. Komen Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day. It was an unforgettable event for several reasons but mostly, the 3-Day was a huge learning experience. It was my very first one, so I learned a lot along the way. I wanted to share 20 tips for first-time 3-Day walkers.

Get fitted for good shoes well ahead of time. They will be one of the most important things you’ll need during the 3-Day. But make sure you’re not wearing brand new shoes for the event. Break them in while training.
Train, train, train. This is an endurance event. You’ll want to be physically prepared. By training ahead of time, you’ll potentially avoid LOTS of pain.
Get a training buddy. Putting in the miles is a lot easier when you have a friend to do it with.
Be equally committed to your fitness and fundraising. Make every day a mission to get yourself ready and to get your friends and family behind you.
Attend the workshops that the 3-Day provides. They are full of tips and great information you’ll want to hear. Plus, you’ll meet fun people preparing for the same thing you are.
Practice packing your bag and stick to the weight limit. Crew members will have to move your bags and they have LOTS of bags to take care of. If you aren’t sure if you’ll need something, you probably won’t.
Jazz up your bag a little to make it easily recognizable.
When packing your bag, put outfits for each day in individual Ziploc baggies. It not only keeps things organized for you, but also keeps clothes from getting wet in the event of rain or heavy dew.
Carry a backpack or a fanny pack while walking. Choosing which one ultimately comes down to personal preference, but there are a couple of things you’ll want to have on you while you walk and you need to decide early what is the best way for you to carry them without weighing yourself down.
Eat well, hydrate, and get lots of sleep before the event. You’ll want to be at the top of your game so you’re not fighting fatigue in the middle of the 60 miles.
Don’t forget your water bottle. There are many drink and snack stations along the way, but they are for refilling your own bottle. I actually forgot my bottle one day. Huge mistake on my part. I won’t do that again. 🙂
Get the towel service. After using your towel at night, there’s a chance it might not dry by the next day, depending on the weather. It’s worth it to have that nice fresh towel when you need it.
Bring ear plugs. You never know how loud it might be outside of your tent (or maybe inside, if your tentmate is a snorer) when you’re trying to sleep.
Bring Advil or Tylenol to take before going to bed. Your aching feet and muscles will thank you!
Don’t forget sunscreen and lip balm. We started so early in the day and even though I wasn’t walking during the heat of the day, I still managed to get a bit of a sunburn on my face. Not fun.
Pack plenty of socks and carry another pair with you while you’re walking. Think of how miserable it feels to walk around with wet socks. Yuck.
Get there early for the Opening Ceremony and stay for the Closing Ceremony. You’ll want to soak in both of these emotional events, believe me! 🙂
Meet people along the way and find out why they’re participating. You’ll love hearing the different stories and finding out what you may have in common with other walkers.
Dress like your teammates or walking buddy with lots of pink. It’s fun to see what everyone is wearing and all of the creativity everyone brings to the event.
Make friends, push yourself, envision yourself crossing the finish line, and just enjoy yourself! Remember why you wanted to participate, who you’re walking for, and let that push you along the way!

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to participate in this amazing event and I hope these tips may help another walker who may be taking this 60-mile journey for the very first time. Good luck! You won’t regret it, nor will you forget it.