Meet Your 2019 Philadelphia 3-Day Coaches

The Philadelphia 3-Day is tomorrow…can you feel the excitement? We are thrilled to welcome all our participants to the City of Brotherly Love!

Your coaches, Tisho and Carol, plus your amazing Crew Coordinator Gina and Event Planner Melanie, have all been working towards this weekend for a whole year. They can’t wait to welcome walkers, crew, volunteers and 3-Day supporters of all kinds to Philadelphia! Before we kick off the weekend though, the team is sharing tips and advice, their favorite memories, and what we can look forward to over this weekend.

Let’s start there! The Philadelphia route has so many highlights, and our coaches have their favorites:

Coach Carol loves Kelly Drive, where you can watch the boats rowing on the Schuylkill River. She also has a soft spot for The Porch at 30th Street Station and the Schuylkill River Trail.
Coach Tisho, on the other hand, is bee-lining for Pat’s and Geno’s! Even after all her years of being a Philly participant and coach, she still hasn’t visited these iconic restaurants. You’ll find her there or posing for photos with the Rocky statue or on the top of the steps. No one should miss those iconic Philadelphia spots.

The coaches also have advice to share. They come with years of experience as walkers and coaches, and their connection to the 3-Day family and cause runs deep.

Coach Gina says, “After 15 years and countless events, my 3-Day ‘why’ became much more personal over the past couple years and has renewed my energy in this fight. My own breast cancer battle brought surgeries, chemo, radiation, and my life is forever changed. I am blessed because I had my 3-Day community by my side, and they lifted me up when I needed it most and got me to THIS moment.

The 3-Day to me is a family bound together by their passion, enthusiasm and drive to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer.”

The renewed appreciation has led to Coach Gina to encourage all Philadelphia 3-Dayers to “savor the moments, every step, each interaction, all the 3-Day love you feel” all weekend.

Coach Carol echoes that sentiment, saying, “Cherish every step. Take it one day at a time. Make friends and take care of yourselves and each other.”

That’s advice that the coaches have been taking all year long, as they worked together to plan your 3-Day experience. They have worked as a team, cherishing their time together. You can hardly call it “work,” when these ladies love each other as much as they do.

Coach Gina calls Coach Carol “one of the faces of the Philly 3-Day who is truly ‘boots on the ground’ and uber passionate about this cause.”

That passion lives inside Gina as well. Coach Tisho sees that dedication in every bit of the work she does with the 3-Day Crew.

“Gina is so caring and as a survivor herself she really brings a whole new level of compassion and strength to the event and our team.”

But we can’t forget Coach Tisho herself! She “does such a great job of keeping our participants inspired all year long,” according to Melanie, and Carol loves that Tisho is “always willing to go the extra step to help walkers in any way she can!”

This is a team of dedicated, loving women who can’t wait to welcome all of you to their Pink Bubble! If you see them, be sure to stop and chat or share a hug!

Coach Carol especially wanted to make sure she included that message, saying,

“It has been my honor to be the coach for the Philadelphia 3-Day this year, and I am so appreciative for the opportunities that I have had to get to know our participants. I am so looking forward to sharing some miles with you all on Saturday. Look for me! ?

3-Day Fall Fundraising Ideas

There are only a few months left in the year, but we also still have three more 3-Days ahead of us. So, let’s get to work! Don’t let the change of season slow your fundraising mojo…instead, use this time of year to reinvigorate your goals and dedication. It’s the perfect time to test out new fundraising strategies, and perfect classic tactics to make the most of all the 3-Day tools at your disposal.

Check in with your 2019 goals: If you set goals at the start of this year, now is the time to check in and see what progress you have made. We are officially in our final quarter of not only the year, but the decade! This makes it the perfect opportunity to check in with yourself, and see not only where you can go, but to acknowledge all the amazing work you have done so far.

Make sure your Personal Page is up to date: Your personal page is the simplest way for potential donors to learn your 3-Day story, and to directly donate to you. Make sure it reflects exactly who you are and shows why you walk!

This is especially important because its super easy to send donation emails from your Participant Center, and then any emails you send from that platform will automatically include the direct link to your personal page. Since most donations to 3-Day participants are made online, you will want to make your page impactful and inspiring.

You should also make sure your personal page is public so that donors can find you in the search results on the 3-Day website.

Lastly, you can use the blog function on your personal fundraising page to keep your supporters updated on your progress as you fundraise and train. You can also use this to countdown to your 3-Day and remind people to donate!

Remind past donors: Use email, social media, and in-person reminders to keep the 3-Day top of mind for all your friends and family. This is especially important for people who have donated before. Past donors, on average, give 38% more than donors who are giving for the first time. If you use your Participant Center to send emails, at the “Set Recipients” step, select Group>Past Donors to send your email too all of your past donors at once.

Don’t forget recurring payments: One way you can work with donors is to remind them of the easy way you can set up recurring payments. If someone can donate $25 to you this month, take that next step and see if they are willing to donate $25 a month for the rest of the year. By taking advantage of the monthly recurring payment option, you have the potential to turn a $25 donation into a $75 or $150 donation.

To make a monthly recurring donation, you just have to donate online at The3Day.org like normal, then select the number of payments (two, three or four monthly payments of $25 or more) you want to make!

Always be ready: You never know when someone might want to know more about the 3-Day! Just in case, make several copies of your personal donation form (you can find it in your Participant Center and at The3Day.org/DonationForm) and 3-Day informational business cards (you can find these at The3Day.org/Cards).

You can also check out The3Day.org/Fundraising for more printable tools, like 3-Day posters you can put up at work.

It’s all about the app! Add the 3-Day Fundraise app to your phone so you can continue to fundraise from anywhere…even on the go. The app is free, and you can use it to ask for donations, track fundraising, and send thank you messages to your donors. It also syncs up to your social media, and you can easily find it in your app store if you search for “Susan G. Komen 3-Day Fundraise.”

Make the most of your resources: There are so many tools out there to help you hit your fundraising goals! Make sure to watch our fundraising webinars at The3Day.org/FundraisingWebinar for quick, successful tips from coaches and fellow participants. And speaking of coaches, don’t forget about them either! Call your coach at 800-996-3DAY if you are feeling stuck. They have been in your shoes before and are always here to help.

Remember that every minute counts: There’s no bad time to send a fundraising reminder, even if it’s right before you start your 60-mile journey! Send one final email in the week leading up to your walk to pick up any last-minute donations. You never know who might help in those last few days!

What are your fall fundraising plans? Or your tips to make the most of the last few weeks of fundraising? Tell us

One Face, One Voice: Kim Crist’s Metastatic Breast Cancer Story

Guest Post By: Kim Crist

After I finished treatment for early stage breast cancer, I never considered that I was in remission. I told everyone I was cured. The doctors told me after four months of chemotherapy and 40 rounds of radiation that I would be just fine. It took me a long time to really believe that I was going to be okay. For years, I couldn’t drive by my oncologist’s office without having that “sick to my stomach, I had just had chemo” feeling. But the nauseating fears were finally gone when I hit the five-year mark. I remember driving by my doctor’s office and realized I didn’t think about my cancer. I had finally let go of my fears and realized I really did beat this.

It turns out there is no way to know if you have a cancer cell tucked away. It was almost 10 years after my first diagnosis that I was diagnosed with Metastatic, or stage four, disease. They say if you go five or 10 years, you’ve beat it… I thought I was home free. Not one doctor told me the true statistics for recurrence. If I had known, maybe I would have been more diligent in taking my estrogen blocker. Maybe I would have done more research at the time. Perhaps I would have known what symptoms to look out for. The maybes, the what ifs take a toll.

Funny thing is, I thought I was taking care of myself. I worked out and lifted weights, I took exercise classes. I even thought I was doing too much because on two separate occasions I ended up in the ER with crippling back pain. I had to actually leave during the middle of a workout class. Each time being sent home with pain meds and muscle relaxers. Not one doctor asked about a cancer history.

It wasn’t until a routine yearly blood work and oncologist visit to get my mammogram prescription that my doctor saw a rise in my tumor markers…the results you have figured out. What does this diagnosis mean; Metastatic Breast Cancer?? As far as I’m concerned Metastatic disease is a polite way of saying you have stage IV cancer. Stage IV?? We get it now. At least one would think so.

I believe Susan G. Komen is a wonderful platform. We have so much information to share and research left to be done. Walking and raising money allows me to share my story and hopefully teach someone else what to look out for and what questions to ask. Why didn’t those doctors know to ask if I had a history of cancer? Why didn’t I know that bones are the most likely place for initial metastasis? Why didn’t I think to, or better yet, why didn’t I know to ask for an MRI over an X-ray? X-rays don’t show cancer. This is important information that I wish I had known and needs to be shared.

“We need to laugh. We need to laugh at ourselves”

Now, people ask me, “Are you in remission? You’ll be cured, right? Are you done with your medicine?” The answer? No, no and no. They ask, things like, “how long will your medicine work?” Until it doesn’t. Then I’ll find another drug. All in hopes of going another three months praying and stressing that the next scan is stable. I can live with it in my bones, I dread the day it attacks my organs.

Right now, there is no time for being sick and no time for stinky thinking. No time for rest. Now is the time for faith and giving back. Being a Susan G. Komen walker and super supporter has given me an opportunity to talk to people from all over the country. The 3-Day brings together a large community of fighters, survivors and the surviving.

As a 14-year walker I’ve not only seen the impact we have made in research, but I’m living proof. Coming up on five years, I would have never thought I’d have the quality of life that I do. My bones are weakened by the cancer slowly eating away at it, but now there is a simple shot I take every quarter to keep me strong. My freedom and quality come from not being stuck in a chemo chair. Breakthroughs have happened!! But we have to keep working.

“It’s important to keep your strength and be out in nature”

Thank you, Susan G. Komen, thank you fellow supporters, sponsors and researchers. This walker will never give up and I will never give in.

Learn more about Metastatic Breast Cancer. If you or a loved one has questions or needs support, please call 1-877-GO KOMEN.

Official Sponsor of the 3-Day®