Tag Archives: Susan G. Komen

Meet Your Twin Cities 3-Day Coaches

It’s hard to believe it, but we’re only days away from our Twin Cities 3-Day! We can’t wait to take this 60-mile journey with all our Minnesota 3-Dayers, and no one is more excited than our 3-Day coaches. As our team makes the final preparations and plans for the 60-mile journey, we thought it was about time that you all get to know our Twin Cities 3-Day coaching team.

Meet Coaches Liz and Heather, our amazing Crew Coordinator Kiki and Event Manager Eileen. They make the 3-Day magic happen year-round, working every day towards this weekend. That means that they spend a lot of time together, and they love it that way. They are each other’s biggest cheerleaders, just like they cheer for you!

  • Liz is the definition of “excellent customer service” and Kiki considers her to be “my Webster’s Dictionary of the 3-Day!” She knows everything and can be your one-stop shop for any questions or needs you have leading up to, and during, the weekend.
  • Kiki is the Crew and coaching team’s best resource — funny and quick-witted and she knows all the right ways to support her Crew.
  • Eileen planned your amazing 3-Day route, and Liz says she “is the master at getting things done.” And, according to Liz, she has a wicked dry sense of humor! Maybe she has some 3-Day puns to share ?
  • Last but certainly not least, Coach Heather is a new addition to the Twin Cities team, and her fellow coaches describe her as “so full of energy, when she is laughing you cannot help but join in and you can always depend on her for a really fun time.” We can’t wait to see her smiling face out on the route!

Eileen has already given us a preview of just what that route will look like, and some of her favorite spots are:

  • Nicollet Mall where our Opening Ceremony will take place, inside the Hyatt Regency
  • The Nicollet Mall art fest
  • Lake Minnehaha Boulevard
  • Minnehaha Regional Park and Minnehaha Falls
  • White Bear Lake and the surrounding community
  • Stone Arch Bridge

But that’s not all the walkers and crew members can look forward to!

Heather promises “an incredible weekend full of inspiration, laughter, tears, amazing memories, countless hugs, and endless high fives!”

Kiki added, given that this walk takes place in Minnesota, out-of-towners and locals alike will experience everything that the state is known for: “beautiful scenery and the nicest people on the planet.”

To get you ready for all of that, our coaches also have advice to help you in the final days before you begin your journey.

  • Coach Kiki encourages everyone to work together. “Ask for help when you need it and offer it when you think it’s needed by others.”
  • Coach Heather reminds everyone to be in the moment! “Yes, there are many photo opportunities, but don’t miss “being in it” just to see it in pictures later. Be present! Remember, there are so many pictures being taken by those around you, the moment will surely be captured by someone!”
  • Coach Liz echoes that and adds to “be sure to drink more than you think you need, both water and sports drink. There is no rush; you have all day, so enjoy every moment.”

That includes enjoying time at our new hotel camp! Liz says some highlights to especially look forward to are “a great community feel as we gather in one banquet room, a nice comfy bed at the end of the day, and a bathtub!”

What more could you want? How about quality time with these amazing ladies, and all of your 3-Day family? ? In just a few days, we’ll all be together in the Pink Bubble…We’ll see you soon!

2019 Michigan 3-Day Route Preview

It is almost here! The Michigan 3-Day is next week, and as you get ready for the event, we have a preview of what you can expect on our first 3-Day of the year! We can’t believe the weekend is almost upon us, but your Michigan 3-Day staff and coaches have been hard at work all year long to plan a fun-filled weekend for everyone heading to the Great Lake State.

After getting great feedback on our route from last year, you’ll be happy to see some familiar sights, but we have taken extra effort to make this year even better than the last! That includes an updated experience for our Opening Ceremony and camp, both of which will take place indoors at the Sheraton Detroit Novi. We will be taking over three different hotels in the Novi area, spreading the 3-Day spirit far and wide.

You can follow along with us on Facebook to see the grand unveiling of what the new Opening Ceremony will look like, but Event Production Manager Melanie Toner thinks everyone will love the new set-up!

After the Opening Ceremony, walkers will start their 60-mile journey. There will be changes to the route as we walk in and out of camp, so that we can give our walkers a direct route in and out of the hotel, and Melanie and the 3-Day team are working hard to make those changes extra special.

After walking out of the hotel, walkers will cross over Interstate 96 and head North to Walled Lake and into Novi. Keep an eye out for our first cheering station of the day and then an amazing photo op at Pavilion Shore Park.

After this you can look forward to some new route stops, but we will still visit all the amazing Michigan towns that have been such great hosts to us in the past. That includes the quaint neighborhoods of the Walled Lake community that embody the lake culture of the Mitten state!

Then, we will finish our day back at the new hotel camp.

Melanie says, “You can expect the same elements of 3-Day camp and your night with your fellow 3-Dayers that you’ve loved in the past! It will just be spread over two floors. Although we are moving camp from the outside, the move indoors creates a new and exciting atmosphere with all the comforts of home! (indoor bathrooms anyone?)

The first floor will hold our Opening Ceremony, and following the ceremony, the space will transition into your 3-Day Dining Room for the rest of the weekend. It will include the all-new 3-Day Lounge brought to you by Amgen, complete with charging stations, giveaways and frozen yogurt! And back again this year (to everyone’s delight) is a fan favorite, the Bank of America massage chairs. Also be sure to visit the 3-Day store, get your 2019 Michigan pin and buy a 3-Day “wish you were here” postcard for to a loved one! Don’t forget to bring stamps.

Then on the second floor there will be the medical team, a Manduka stretching area, our Youth Corps area and more! It will be a space for connection, community and a chance to refuel”

Ann Love, another member of our Michigan Event Production team, echoes this excitement, enthusing, “I am very excited to see the hotel portion of the event come together. The hotel has been really supportive, and I think everyone is going to love what we’ve put together!”

Day Two will start with the Bank of America Breakfast of Champions for our Top Fundraisers. Usually honored on Friday at Camp Show, this recognition will now take place before we leave camp first thing on Saturday.

Day Two we will head south through Novi again, and then into Plymouth where we’ll pass by the Plymouth Historical Museum. We will spend much of the rest of the day in Plymouth, including visiting Kellogg Park, where the familiar Pink Fountain awaits and walking along the Ann Arbor Trail Road and then into Northville, another historic Michigan community.

At lunch on Day Two, we will reach the halfway mark of our walk… and we’re going to celebrate! Enjoy special photo opportunities, a local DJ and more excitement. This new celebration will take place at all of our 3-Days this year, and we are especially excited to debut it in Michigan.

One of Ann’s favorite parts of Day Two is that it will be a shorter route, thanks to the new hotel camp location. We have heard your feedback about Day Two being a bit long and taken that into account this year.

Day Two will end back at camp with an all-new Honor Ceremony. This special addition will include stories from walkers, crew, Youth Corps, and more. You’ll even have a chance to share with the world why you commit 3-Days.

Melanie says that our Day Three route is very similar to last year. “We know people loved it, so we didn’t want to change that feeling!”

The day will start with a short bus ride to an elementary school in Livonia. Then much of the day still takes place in Dearborn, including a pit stop at the Dearborn Historical Museum. This is just one of the fun destinations right in the heart of downtown Dearborn. York Street in Dearborn is especially supportive of our walkers, coming out in full force to cheer them on. Also keep an eye out for gorgeous views of the Rouge River near the end of the final day of walking.

Other highlights to look forward to on the route throughout the weekend are:

  • Walled Lake
  • Cheering stations in downtown Plymouth
  • Ford Field in Dearborn
  • Hines Park
  • Downtown Northville (Ann especially love the historic homes)

After 60 miles, our walk will once again finish at the Ford World Headquarters. This has been such an iconic and special spot for our Michigan 3-Dayers, and we are honored to once again be able to finish our journey there.

Instead of having a separate Participant Finish Area and Closing Ceremony site, we will have one celebratory Closing Festival area. So, all the excitement can be in one giant space! There will be live music, crowd games and prizes plus even some line dancing!

When the last walker arrives, we will immediately begin the Closing Ceremony. The Closing Ceremony will be like what you have come to expect in past years, but with some new festive additions.

The celebration will be for everyone, regardless of when you finish! Plus, having the Victory Area also hold Closing Ceremony means there will be less walking after you finish your 60-mile journey! Which we know our walkers will love ?

All in all, we are looking forward to showing off many new additions to the 3-Day this year and kicking off our 2019 3-Day season in style.

 

Fundraising Ideas You Might Never Have Thought Of

Fundraising for the 3-Day is a large commitment. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t still be fun, especially if you get creative! If you’re in a rut, we have creative ideas and approaches that you might never have thought of on your own, to help turn your fundraising into FUNdraising. Plus, for added motivation, we also have a fundraising contest going on right now. Read on for new ways to hit all your fundraising goals this year.

  1. Rent a port-a-potty: Yes, you read that right! Those port-a-potties you “love” during the 3-Day can help you raise money too! Talk to your town and find out about the next parade or community event, then rent a port-a-potty. Decorate it (of course we’d suggest pink!) and ask people for donations in order to use it.
  2. No one is a bad idea: And we mean everyone! Even ask people like your auto mechanic or dry cleaner for a donation. You can also ask them for coupons that you can use at a fundraising event or as a reward to teammates who hit a certain fundraising amount.
  3. Spare change: Set up a jar next to your desk at work and ask people to empty their pockets at the end of the day and donate any spare change they have. No one likes carrying lots of change around in their pocket anyway!
  4. Host a Mow-a-thon: Now that summer is upon us, take advantage of the warm weather! Host a weekend lawn Mow-a-thon and try to mow as many lawns as possible in one weekend. Start with your neighbors and then ask them to spread the word! Wear pink while you mow. ?
  5. Walk where people see: Set up a treadmill outside of a store or farmer’s market and walk for donations. Set out a donation can for people to drop donations in. We guarantee people will stop and take notice!
  6. Pet birthday party: Have a fun birthday party for your pet—or a friend’s pet! They happen more often than you think, but this time, really go all out. Serve pet-themed treats and ask everyone to wear ears! Then, ask for a suggested donation at the door.
  7. Personal vending machine: Have you ever thought about how much money the vending machine at work likely makes in a single week? You can be your own vending machine! Purchase some of the office favorites in bulk (or have them donated if you can!) then sell them from your desk at a profit. Your desk will be the office favorite in no time!
  8. Say in style: We love a good 3-Day wig or pink hairdo! Color your hair pink or shave your head for donations. Hype the new style up on social media and ask for donations to support your new do. Then, do a Facebook Live or other promotion of your new style to ask for more donations after you take the style plunge.
  9. Free rent: Ask your apartment complex to donate one month’s rent to sponsor you. It’s a simple strategy, with no more investment than you usually spend.
  10. Get creative: Ask a local artist or creative friend to donate a piece of artwork that you can raffle off to those who have donated. If you’re a creative, you can even design the art yourself!

So, let’s get fundraising! If you have any more FUNdraising ideas, add them to the comments below. Our 3-Dayers have the best fundraising knowledge. We want to hear from you!