Bring a piece of the 3-Day to the comfort of your living room or backyard for the 3-Day National Campout! On October 16, 3-Day Nation participants from all over the country will be settling into their backyard camp at the same time to connect and come together virtually! From decorating your tent to 3-Day inspired activities, we have some great ways to make the experience memorable.
Camping by yourself is fun, but camping with other members of the 3-Day family can make the experience even better. Find other walkers in your area to walk with and set up camp together at the end of the day. Check out our Friend Finder or post in the 3-Day Nation Facebook group to search for walkers near you.
It’s time to set up your tent and start decorating! Take your camp to the next level with some festive décor inspiration on our Pinterest board. Whether you decide on a simple camping setup or plan to step it up a notch with a glamping experience, creating a beautiful space to come home to after walking your mileage for the day will make 3-Day Nation that much more enjoyable. String up lights, hang photos of loved ones and past 3-Day walks, and anything else that will make you feel at home in your tent.
We know you’ll be hungry after a long day of walking, so the next step is one of our favorite camping activities: eating. Make your favorite 3-Day recipes in the comfort of your backyard. Craving some decadent mac n’ cheese? Check out this recipe. For dessert, ditch the traditional s’mores for grahamwhiches! No matter what you cook, a backyard cookout is a great activity to do either by yourself or with a group.
Don’t forget to tune into the inspiring Honor Ceremony and take time to reflect on why you walk. Then, once your tent is set up, it’s time to snuggle into your sleeping bag and check in with us on Facebook Live. We might even have a special guest or two providing entertainment for the night!
What’s your favorite part of camp that you will be recreating for 3-Day Nation this year? Send us photos of your 3-Day Nation backyard camping experience at 3daynation@the3day.org or tag #3DayNation on social media. Happy camping!
It can be difficult to figure out where to begin when fundraising for the 3-Day, especially if you have little to no experience with asking for donations. If your fundraising account is stuck at $0, take this opportunity to learn from those who are practically professional fundraisers. Veterans of the Pink Bubble share with us their most successful fundraising strategies that have helped them meet and exceed their fundraising goals, year after year.
Farrell C.’s suggestion is to share and highlight the person for whom you’re walking. She lost her Mom to breast cancer so she shares her personal story. She believes that you never know who you’ll touch by doing so. Farrell also suggests having a high fundraising goal and continuing to move the goal as you get close to reaching the current one.
Debbie S. collects emails addresses from anyone and everyone all year long! She starts a monthly email campaign beginning in June to send to everyone on her list. The first email is long and explains what the 3-Day is, why she’s doing it, how long she’s fundraised and walked, and closes it out with asking for donations. Each month, she sends out a new letter to anyone who hasn’t donated yet. Right before the event, she sends out another email to everyone on her list again, regardless if they’ve donated or not. This email is an update of what she’s doing, why, and how much she’s raised so far. Debbie doesn’t mention a fundraising goal, but always pushes for more, regardless of where she’s at. She also utilizes Facebook by copying and pasting her monthly email to a Facebook post with her personal page link! She is also a big fan of taking advantage of all matching gift opportunities.
Cathy L. started her pink envelope campaign many years ago and has since stuck with it because it works so well! She mails everyone on her list a personalized letter in a bright pink envelope with a self-addressed pink envelope inside for the recipient to mail a donation check back to her. She still gets excited to see those pink envelopes in her mailbox because she knows it’s a donation. (And don’t forget — you can easily deposit checks with the 3-Day app. It’s as simple as taking a picture of the check.) Cathy believes her personal touch is the main reason why her donors keep supporting her. Over the years, she has also hosted many types of parties (Pampered Chef, Tupperware, etc.) where a portion of the sales are donated to her 3-Day fundraising.
For more ideas on how to fundraise, head to our ABCs of Fundraising blog and join our Facebook Groups. What has been your most successful fundraising strategy? Share it with us in the comments below.
* States and local communities have laws governing many fundraising activities, including raffles, garage sales, leafleting, auctions and other promotional activities. Compliance with applicable laws is the responsibility of each participant, and the 3-Day cannot render legal or tax advice on these matters. Please check with your local authorities before fundraising in these ways.
Lori M. is no stranger to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day. She has completed three 3-Day events, and is currently training for her fourth. This one is different though, as she comes back to the cause after an 11-year break. What happened during those 11 years, and why walk again now? Read on to find out more about Lori M.’s incredible story.
I have done the 3-Day three other times, all in Chicago. The first two times were done with my mom. Our first and second time was in honor of my mom’s husband’s first wife and daughter who both battled breast cancer and lost the fight. In 2010 I walked with three other ladies; our team was “cops for a cure.” I have been a 911 dispatcher for 16 years for my county, and at that time, one of our own was battling breast cancer: Flora #139 from the Portage Police Department. Flora is currently 11.5 years cancer free. She is still a police officer and continues to “fight like a girl.” In 11 years, two childhood friends of mine, one who is a single mom and one who is a very young friend, who both mean the world to me, are currently going for radiation once a week.
In August 2018, my husband, Mark (but everyone calls him Randy), was diagnosed with leukemia. He was the love of my life, childhood sweetheart and best friend. We started living a little more after that, we always loved going and doing things, never sat still, and enjoyed our vacations. We started taking more pictures and going more places. The only times we weren’t together was when we were each at work. We have three beautiful sons and daughters who have given us three grandchildren: two boys and a princess.
Our world took a gut punch again on December 31, 2020 when Mark was admitted to the hospital with Covid. He lost his battle on February 13, 2021 after fighting for six weeks in the hospital. I, along with my children, mother in-law, and a few family members, were fortunate in being able to be with him when he passed. We will be welcoming our fourth grandbaby in December (a baby girl). She’ll be named after her papa in heaven; Randi will be her name.
To say my days have been difficult is an understatement. In addition to taking care of my mom, my days are full of work, kids, and life. I am busy, consumed with trying to just go through life day by day. I didn’t find time to mourn, miss him, to have alone time to just focus on myself. I just kept thinking I need to get away, to think. I tried a vacation with some friends…that didn’t work. I then started seeing more ads for the 3-Day. I got to thinking about it, ignoring it, seeing more ads, ignoring them. Then I pulled up the Susan G. Komen Facebook page and tried ignoring it again.
I finally pulled up the page, looked at it, prayed and thought, “ok, maybe.” Then things started falling into place. I looked at my work calendar because I thought “oh, I’m probably working” (good excuse to say no). Nope, I am off work that weekend. I did a lot of praying, talking to myself, maybe trying to talk myself out of it. I registered and committed to raising the money and walking 60 miles again while not being in shape, 11 years older, and an emotional wreck.
I made contact with Coach Tisho; I had a few questions for her. I think I was hoping she would tell me something I didn’t like to give me an excuse to back out. I didn’t tell anyone that I had signed up, I kept it to myself. I did a lot of praying, planning, searching myself. I knew from previous walks I would have time to myself since I wasn’t walking with anyone this time. I could walk, think, talk to God, finally be alone in my thoughts, talk to my husband. I knew there would be no distractions. I knew I’d be surrounded with survivors, strong women and men on a mission. I wanted to watch them and be inspired. I told God, “If you want me to do this, I need to hear from you, loudly…I need to know this is something I’m supposed to do, not me running from life clear across the country.”
August 5, 2021, I walked into church; only the third time in seven months. It has been difficult to go without Mark. I walked in, sat down next to a cousin and they started playing “Nothing Else,” the same song I played daily for six weeks, the same song I played as my husband took his last breath. As our preacher began to speak, he told the story of Peter being commanded by Jesus to get out of the boat and “WALK.” The message I got was loud and clear: GET OUT AND WALK. I went home, posted about my Susan G. Komen San Diego 3-Day walk, spoke about how this all came about… and the donations started coming in.
Within five days, I passed the amount needed and have raised my goal to $5,000!!!!
I’m inspired by women who have battled and survived breast cancer. I’m looking forward to flying across the country, pushing myself, and being surrounded by strong men and women all on the same mission.
Walking 60 miles in three days is hard, but it’s STILL easier than breast cancer.
