Why I’m Coming Back…

This week, we asked our Susan G. Komen 3-Day® social media community to tell us why they will be returning to the Komen 3-Day this year. Their responses ranged from encouraging to heartbreaking, from funny to inspiring, but no matter what your reason, every story reminds us all about the importance of the 3-Day® and our part in it. It is because you keep coming back, and keep fighting, that makes you More Than Pink™.

We put some of your responses into a word cloud, and all the wonderful comments can be found in the original threads on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds. If you haven’t shared your reason yet, feel free to add on!

Below is a selection from some of the amazing walkers who have already told us why they’re coming back…

Sarah Hillstead: I am coming back because I have to. It’s my amazing pink family!! Without my pink family I would not be the person I am today. They have seen me at my worst times and my best times. They are my family.

Sally Poag: I walk because in 2017 I will be an 8-year survivor. I made a promise to my angels, walk I must.

Stacey Hardy: I walked the last Chicago 3-Day the year I was diagnosed. I will walk the Seattle 3-Day to celebrate as a 5-year survivor!!! My 13-year-old son hopes to be in the Youth Corps and go on this journey with me!!!

Dana B. Parker: As a two-time survivor, my desire to make a difference is greater than ever. If by walking I can spare just one woman in my lifetime I will walk. My journey will not end until a cure is found.

Sharyn Lowney Eaton: I started as a walker in 2006, later crewed Tampa and other cities, went to work for Komen as a part-time Field Coordinator for Boston, and the rest is history. My heart belongs to the Boston 3-Day and all the amazing people I’ve met in every city.
This September will be event 29 for me and I’m so excited. Who’s going to join my team, A String of Pearls, and come to Seattle!

Sandi Van Kirk: This year will be my 7th year on the medical crew. I started volunteering the year after my daughter did her first walk here in Seattle. She began walking after her mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suzanne passed away 6 years after her diagnosis. She fought with courage and never let breast cancer define her.

Karen Perlstein Kaplan: I’m coming back because this is something I can do to help put an end to breast cancer. I walked 5 years and have crewed for 3. I have registered to crew in two cities in 2017. The 3-Day is like a retreat—it’s a place where everyone is kind to everyone else and we are all united for one goal.

Dena M Groth-McLauchlin: I am coming back because of all the amazing friends I have made along the way. We are all members of the 3-Day family. We are all fighting to end breast cancer. We come back because we must continue this fight until everyone has a chance at a lifetime without cancer. My hope for 2017 is to form the first team in San Diego that consists of members from all 50 States. Please join Team Shenanigans!

Lynda DI Caro: November 2017 will be the 10th celebration of my involvement in the 3-Day. I continue to be involved because it not only brings awareness and the much-needed funding to help find a cure. And, equally important, it is three wonderful days of caring, support, respect and joy. We come together for many reasons and share a common goal. I hope for a day when we can gather for 3 days to rejoice because of a cure.

Vicki Bates Layne: I’m coming back for my 5th year. My mother and several friends lost their battle. And I know several who have won. Their struggle inspired me to fight as hard as they did and not give up until there is a cure. I have a team this year and hope to double my fundraising efforts.

Exciting Updates to the 3-Day’s Social Media

With the 2016 3-Day season underway, you might be noticing some new elements in the 3-Day’s social media coverage of the events. Here’s what’s exciting, fresh and new for this season!

But First, Let’s Talk About What’s Familiar – Everything you know and love about following the 3-Day on social media is still going strong. We post to Facebook and Twitter every day of the year, and we blog, Pin and Instagram several times a week. We have an ever-growing library of videos on YouTube and of course, the 3-Day website and your Participant Center (though not strictly considered social media) are your go-to 3-Day online headquarters for everything from general event info to your own personal and team fundraising progress.

When one of the 3-Day events is going on, you can count on even more action from the 3-Day social media team! We share photos and videos at the ceremonies, from the route and in camp dozens of times throughout ever 3-Day weekend. So if you and your loved ones aren’t following the 3-Day on social media, get on it! None of you will want to miss what we’re sharing.

Hashtags 2.0 – Hashtags on the 3-Day aren’t exactly new either (we dedicated this whole blog post to them a while back), but we wanted to give you a refresher on those funny looking number signs and words you sometimes see at the end of posts.

Hashtags serve the purpose of sorting and grouping together pieces of content (photos, tweets, status updates) that have something in common. The same way that a fifty-person 3-Day team might all wear matching flamingo socks to help identify them as a group no matter where they all are on the route, hashtags identify similar social media posts (such as fifty different Instagram photos with #flamingosocks), no matter where or when they were posted. The hashtag (#flamingosocks) groups those posts together the same way the actual flamingo socks would group those teammates together. Nifty, huh?

Each 3-Day event has two main hashtags associated with it:

#The3Day – this identifies a post as being part of ALL of the content having to do with the 3-Day as a whole. We put this hashtag on just about everything we post.
Event-specific hashtags help group together the posts that have to do with that particular 3-Day city. There’s a different one for each of the 7 events, as you can see here:

And then there are a couple others you’ll probably see popping up, especially during the 3-Day events themselves:

#WeAreThe3Day – We use this hashtag (and encourage you to use it too) on social media posts that show/tell a little piece of the whole big, beautiful 3-Day story. #WeAreThe3Day posts are usually centered around various individuals (and from time to time, teams) that make up the patchwork quilt of the 3-Day family, and they aim to share a small slice (told in the 3-Dayer’s own words) of what makes those individuals and their experiences unique.
#The3Day_Selfie – This year, we’ve dubbed Day 2 of every 3-Day event “Selfie Saturday.” 3-Dayers are encouraged to post their best selfies*—whether they’re on a 3-Day event or at home—with this fun new hashtag. (*Safety first! Remember to stop and move to the side of the route if you want to take or post a picture.)

Some of you may be saying, “Okay, the hashtags are on the post. So now what?” When you’re logged in to Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, type a hashtag into the Search box and it will show you the various tweets, pictures or posts that have that hashtag on it. But not ALL of them…keep in mind that that some posts may not show up in the search results, even if they included the hashtag. This is most likely due to privacy settings on the different social media sites. If you’re not friends/followers with someone who has posted with the hashtag you’re searching, you probably won’t be able to see those posts (and they won’t be able to see yours).

Facebook LIVE! – Last year, we live-streamed from the 3-Day a handful of times, but with the new Facebook Live video feature that came out this spring, we’re going to be bringing you more live video broadcasts from the 2016 3-Day events. In addition to streaming the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, morning walk-outs and the arrival of the last walkers each day, we’re hoping to also bring you those fun and memorable “only on the 3-Day” moments from the route and camp.

Facebook sends out alerts when we begin a live broadcast, so to make sure you don’t miss any of the action, be sure to follow the 3-Day (and if you miss a live stream, don’t worry, the videos will be posted to the 3-Day’s Facebook page after we’ve called “Cut!”).

Snapchat – It’s not just for teenagers anymore (heck, even the White House is on Snapchat now)! Starting in Seattle this week, the 3-Day will be snapping throughout the event weekend. If you use Snapchat, add us so you can follow our Story on each event! You can add us by username (The3Day), OR use our Snapcode:

To add The 3-Day to your Snapchat friends, open Snapchat, point your camera to this image, touch in on your screen and hold!

To add The 3-Day to your Snapchat Friends, open Snapchat, point your camera to this image, touch it on your screen and hold!

When you’re out at the 3-Day, be sure to snap using our customized 3-Day geofilters! You can add them to your pictures or video when you’re at Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and when you’re at camp.

Tell us the ways you enjoy following the 3-Day on social media!

You’re on Social Media? So Is the 3-Day!

It’s 2016, and practically everyone and their mom is on social media! As we approach event season, we want to make sure you know all the best ways to connect on social media with the 3-Day and your fellow walkers and crew.

Come on, follow us! – The 3-Day is posting all the time on Facebook, Twitter and, Pinterest and Instagram, and those posts will increase even more when we get on the walks (tons of pictures, people! Who doesn’t love that?). The 3-Day’s social channels and website are the best places for you to find lots of fascinating stories and quotes, as well as important event info and updates before, during and after each 3-Day. You also don’t want to miss our fundraising challenges, training tips, and heartfelt stories from the 3-Day community. You’re likely to see slightly different content on each site, so the best way to make sure you don’t miss anything is to follow the 3-Day everywhere!

LIVE, from the 3-Day…! – Last year, we live-streamed video broadcasts from the 3-Day events (Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Last Walker arrivals, morning walk-outs), and we’ll be doing even more live streaming on social media this year! It’s a great way for you to get a peek at what’s going on at other 3-Day events, and a fantastic way for your loved ones at home to keep an eye out for you while you walk or crew your own 3-Day. We’ll have more details about our broadcast schedule as the events get closer, and in the meantime, be sure to follow the 3-Day on Facebook to see when these live transmissions are underway.

Don’t Forget #Hashtags! – We hope to see lots of you doing lots of your own social media posting about the 3-Day too! When you post updates, requests and photos to social media, remember to add hashtags so that your posts can be grouped with other ones from the same event. At minimum, we encourage you use #The3Day and your location-specific hashtags.

Not quite sure how hashtags work? Read up on them here!

#WeAreThe3Day – This is a new hashtag that we started using last year. The purpose of #WeAreThe3Day is to share small bits of our histories, relationships, motivations and inspirations, along with compelling photos, to make up a patchwork of stories. Find out more about it here. And of course, you are welcomed and encouraged to use this hashtag on your posts too!

Keep An Eye Out For More Fun Changes! – We’re always thinking about fun new ways to incorporate social media into the 3-Day experience, and we have a few ideas in the works for bringing YOUR social posts to life on-event (who wouldn’t want to see their Instagrams on a big screen?). Stay tuned for details, and if you have any social media ideas to share, feel free to email us at social@The3Day.org.