Tag Archives: komen

Part 5 of the ABCs of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Crew

Welcome to the fifth and final installment of the ABC’s of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® Crew! We’ve shared letters A – E, F – J, K – O, P – T, and this week, we’re excited to bring you the final six letters. Please tell us your ideas for each letter here or on Facebook, and share these images with your family and friends. (To see the Komen 3-Day walker version of the ABC’s, click here!)

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk crew volunteer university training

Crew University is a series of recorded, online training sessions designed to get 3-Day® crew members up to speed on what the 3-Day is all about, and provide details about their specific crew jobs. All 3-Day crew members have access to Crew U. in their Participant Centers, and are encouraged to watch the recordings that apply to them before they come to the All Crew Kick-off.

 

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk crew volunteer Every 3-Day crew member is a volunteer (they’re paid in hugs, high fives and heartfelt gratitude) who works all three days of the event, but there are also numerous other volunteer opportunities for folks who may not be able to fulfill the full crew commitment. From outreach and recruitment, to training and motivating participants, to on-event roles and responsibilities, there is a volunteer program to fit your schedule, skills and passions on the 3-Day.

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk crew volunteer western shelterTo most walkers, they may just look like pink-covered beacons you see from afar, telling you that you’ve reached a stop at last. But to a 3-Day crew member, these open-air tents, called Western Shelters, are an essential part of the pit stops, grab & go’s and lunch stop. Crew members work together to quickly and safely assemble the structures, ensuring that your beloved grahamwiches are kept shaded.

See also: Walkie-talkies

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk crew volunteer x tent sectionThe 3-Day camp is divided into tent sections to help participants find their little pink homes amidst a sea of tents. Crew members “live” in section X and Y, which are kept a little bit separate from the walker sections (so the crew members, with their early mornings and late nights, don’t bother the sleeping walkers).

See also: eXcellence (one of the “STEPS” that make up the foundation of the 3-Day Crew culture and philosophy)

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk crew volunteer youth corpsThe 3-Day Youth Corps is a select group of young people (10-16 years old) who participate as crew members on the event. The yellow-shirted Youth Corps members attend the entire 3-Day event (accompanied by a small group of adult leaders), camp with the participants and complete a multitude of important tasks both on the route and in camp (the most important of which is enthusiastically cheering on the walkers). The Youth Corps is the only crew team that is required to fundraise; each Youth Corps member must raise at least $500 by the time of their event in order to participate and most kids exceed the minimum by leaps and bounds.

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk crew volunteer zip tiesDuct tape is great, but on the 3-Day, the go-to tools for holding stuff together–from route arrows to pit stop decorations to event signage—are zip ties.

 

We’ve reached the end of the alphabet, but the conversation doesn’t have to stop! Tell us what those 26 letters mean to you, as a walker, crew member or supporter!

Meet the Philadelphia 3-Day Coaches!

Every Susan G. Komen 3-Day® event has a core team of three coaches, each of whom plays a different role in helping our walkers and crew members prepare for the Komen 3-Day. For months, these dedicated staffers have been having personal conversations with walkers to help them with their training and fundraising, have hosted dozens of local events to bring participants together and build a community of encouragement, and have organized and inspired the amazing team of crew captains and crew members.

Let’s meet the coaches for the Philadelphia 3-Day®!

Joanne Harrington – Philadelphia Local Events Coachsusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk blog philadelphia coach joanne

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Coordinate everything to welcome our walkers to the 3-Day.”

We’re a couple weeks from the Philadelphia event. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “I’m insanely busy here! I’m firming up private cheering stations and mobile cheering squads, gathering bakeries for baked good donations, answering questions about ceremony flag bearers and generally just putting on the finishing touches.”

What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I have two lovely granddaughters: Abby, age 9 and Caroline, age 5. Unfortunately, they live in Maryland so I don’t get to see them as much as I would like; 2) I am a Philadelphia Eagles season ticketholder. E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES! LOVE my birds! 3) I have been on 16 cruises.”

 

Jen Haber – Philadelphia Participant Coachsusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk blog philadelphia coach jen

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Answering all things 3-Day-related on a daily basis.”

We’re a couple weeks from the Philadelphia event. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “Busy! My days are filled with interactions with participants. I’ve gotten to know many Philadelphia walkers through the emails and calls I am receiving. It’s that time of the event season when I am helping with matching gift questions, assisting with online check-in and providing last-minute event details. Everyone has a story that connects us to this cause and I love hearing them. The conversations I have each day are very important to me because they remind me why we are all working so hard to make an impact in the fight against breast cancer.”

What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I live in Southern California and have two dogs who love coming to visit the San Diego 3-Day every year; 2) I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Poland, where I organized my first breast cancer awareness walk and where my passion for this cause began; 3) I was a vegetarian for almost 20 years until very recently. My carnivore husband couldn’t be happier!”

 

Melanie Toner – Philadelphia Crew & Volunteer Coordinatorsusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk blog philadelphia coach melanie

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Supporting our amazing captains and crew members to rock on event.”

We’re a couple weeks from the Philadelphia event. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “I spend most of my day working on communicating final details to crew captains and supporting the crew. My goal is to ensure the crew feels confident and prepared on event. The days are long but it’s all worth it. I’m looking forward to seeing the hard work pay off!”

What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I’m a lefty; 2) An ‘intimate’ family event in my family involves 35-40 people; 3) You will likely find me singing to myself on event – something I do when I have a lot to accomplish and need to focus.”

 

Going to be at the Philadelphia 3-Day? Come meet coach Joanne at a special meet-and-greet on Friday and Saturday in camp, 6-7 p.m., in the 3-Day Lounge.

The Life Cycle of a Matching Gift

There are hundreds of fundraising tools, tips and ideas available to Susan G. Komen 3-Day® participants who are working toward their fundraising goals, but I am consistently surprised at how underused matching gifts are. Matching gifts are a way for a donor to double his/her donation, but for some reason, many people don’t pursue the option. Perhaps it’s from a lack of understanding about how the process works, or a misconception that it’s too complicated or time-consuming. I’m hoping to clear some of that up here.

In general, a Komen 3-Day matching gift works like this:

  • Meet Petunia.
  • Petunia has just made a $100 donation to her sister Daisy, who is raising money for the 3-Day®. She’s very proud of what Daisy is doing, and wants to support her as much as she can.
  • Petunia works for Awesome, Inc., which has a company matching gift program. Many companies (especially larger corporations) offer matching gifts as a way to inspire their employees to give charitably.
  • So, Petunia goes to the Matching Gifts info page on the 3-Day website (The3Day.org/Matching) to look up Awesome, Inc., and confirms that they do match with the 3-Day. Hooray! The Matching Gifts page has info about how Awesome, Inc.’s matching process works, so she submits a request for Awesome, Inc. to match her $100 donation with $100 of their own.
  • Every company’s matching gift process is unique, but in most cases, the company will use an online matching gift portal (such as EasyMatch or CyberGrants) to process requests. Some companies use paper forms that must be mailed in. Petunia confirms that Awesome, Inc. uses an online process, so she logs in and enters the correct information about her gift. She makes sure to specifically designate the Susan G. Komen 3-Day as the recipient of the matching gift (as opposed to her local Susan G. Komen® affiliate or Komen headquarters), and includes Daisy’s full name and the city where she’s walking, to make sure Daisy gets credit for the match.
  • The 3-Day matching gifts team receives notification of the match request from Petunia/Awesome, Inc., and once they have verified Petunia’s original donation, they will approve the match and send approval notification back to Awesome, Inc. This process can take up to 4-6 weeks, but is usually much faster.
  • Even though Awesome, Inc. may not send the matching funds to the 3-Day right away (many companies only pay out matches once a quarter, or twice yearly), credit for the matching gift will be added to Daisy’s fundraising total as soon as the match is approved.
  • And just like that, Petunia’s $100 donation has doubled, and twice as much money goes back to Susan G. Komen® and the fight to end breast cancer – the cause that the sisters care so much about.

The number one piece of advice we give to participants who are raising money for the 3-Day is to ASK, and that advice carries over into asking about matching gifts too. When you send out your fundraising emails or post on Facebook, be sure to remind your donors about 3-Day matching gifts and ask them to inquire with their employers about getting a match.

You can find more detailed information about the matching gift process, and a searchable list of companies that currently match with the 3-Day, at www.The3Day.org/matching. And as always, the 3-Day coaches are available at 800-996-3DAY to answer any questions you might have about the matching gift process or the status of a request that has already been made.