How to Support Your 3-Dayer on Event

We have two 3-Days of 2018 behind us, but that means we still have five more yet to look forward to! Seattle is only a few days away, and we want every 3-Dayer from to feel supported from coast to coast (and North to South). Just how can you support your 3-Dayer, even from states away? There are plenty of ways to show them More Than Pink love!

Send Camp Mail

In the world of email and text messages, snail mail seems to have gone by the wayside. But not on the 3-Day! We know the importance of a funny card, a heartfelt letter or even a cute postcard. You can send 3-Day walkers, crew and even staff mail on event. Just please no boxes! Each event has a different deadline so check the Spectator Information for your event on our website to make sure yours is postmarked on time. The camp mailing address and deadline details will be posted one month before your 3-Day.

Gift them some Sweet Treats

Also on that Spectator Information page are the details on sending your 3-Dayer a sweet treat. Because who doesn’t love something tasty to look forward to at the end of a long day? These custom 3-Day chocolate medallions are sent in partnership with Ford Warriors in Pink, a fantastic breast cancer organization.

Cheer for your walkers!

If you live in the same city as a 3-Day (calling on you Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego natives!) you can come cheer for your 3-Dayer all weekend long! We have Public Cheering Stations where you can create banners, hold up signs, bring some music and spread the love—anything to make the 3-Dayers smile, stay energized and keep walking. Cheering station locations and times are posted on the Spectator Information page two weeks before every event.

There are also Private Cheering Stations! You can organize a group (up to 20) to host your very own private cheering station. Follow this link for more information. Then, if you’re interested in hosting a private cheering station, contact coaches@the3day.org with the subject line: “Private Cheering Station Inquiry.”

Last but not least we have Mobile Cheering Squads, which are small groups (less than four people) who support the 3-Day walkers along the route. If you are interested in forming a cheering squad, contact coaches@the3day.org with the subject line: “Mobile Cheering Squad Inquiry.”

Come to Friends & Family Night

Every Saturday night on the 3-Day is Friends & Family Night at camp. Be there to welcome your 3-Dayer home, explore Main Street of our camp, then laugh and dance together at our Camp Show! It’s the perfect way to really immerse yourself in the Pink Bubble your 3-Dayers live in for the weekend. Dinner in the dining area at camp is for participants only and seating for visitors will be limited, so please bring a picnic blanket and your own dinner. Check your 3-Day’s Spectator Information page for more details.

Celebrate at the Closing Ceremony

When the weekend is finished, and 60 miles have been walked, our Closing Ceremony is a true celebration of joy, determination and family. It happens on Sunday night, and is the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend. Come join us!

How else do you show your 3-Day family love while they’re out on event? Tell us in the comments!

Ways to Support Your 3-Dayer on Event

Our first 3-Day of 2017 is just a few weeks away and that means 3-Dayers across the country have been ramping up their fundraising and training for their last big push. They can’t do it alone though!

If you are local in any of our event cities, please come out and cheer for your 3-Day walkers and teams along the event route! Our “Walker Stalkers,” or 3-Day supporters mean everything to our whole 3-Day family! Stand along the sidewalk, outside your home or even favorite restaurant, and let the walkers know how much their steps mean to you. You can also join some of our favorite, and famous, cheering stations along the route.

If you aren’t able to be physically present for the event, don’t worry! There are plenty of ways to show your love. For example, you can still send your 3-Dayer words of support and encouragement with snail mail sent directly to their tent on event.

You can send Michigan 3-Dayers mail until July 25^th.
You can send Twin Cities 3-Dayers mail until August 8^th.
You can send Philadelphia 3-Dayers mail until August 15^th.
You can also send Seattle 3-Dayers mail until September 5^th.
Also, keep an eye out for more dates for future events as those dates get closer!

In a world of texts and emails, a letter, card or note is a personal and emotional way to connect with your 3-Dayer while they walk those 60 miles.

Does your 3-Dayer have a sweet tooth? You can now also send Sweet Treats to your favorite 3-Dayers walking in Michigan!

If you have a walker in our other 3-Day event cities, you will be able to send them Sweet Treats starting on the following dates:

Twin Cities Sweet Treats are available on July 20^th
Philadelphia Sweet Treats are available on July 27^th
Seattle Sweet Treats are available on August 17^th
Atlanta Sweet Treats are available on September 14^th
Dallas/Fort Worth Sweet Treats are available on October 5^th
San Diego Sweet Treats are available on October 19^th

It will be the perfect dessert to end each of their long days of walking.

Last but not least, you can send them social media love! We will be sharing live videos, photos, interviews, announcements and more throughout every one of the 3-Days so show your love with likes, comments and more!

Keep an eye out for Facebook Live videos, as well as photos on our Instagram and updates from our Twitter feed. You might see the familiar face of your favorite 3-Dayer!

How do you support your 3-Dayers? Tell us in the comments!

The Insider’s Guide to the 3-Day – Camp: Happy Glamping on Main Street

The Susan G. Komen 3-Day® camp is like its own little town, and just like any town, this little community pulses with life and activity on Main Street.

Pause to Remember – Before I get into all the “glamping” perks of the Komen 3-Day Main Street, I do want to spotlight one other very special part of camp: the Remembrance Tent. The reasons why we commit to the 3-Day are never far from our minds and our hearts. And yet, there’s so much going on during the event—walking, talking, photos, more walking, music, food, costumes, still walking, tents, maybe some rest in there too—and it’s easy (and good) to get caught up in all of that. But it’s also important to take a moment to stop and really reflect on the people we walk for. The Remembrance Tent is where we do that, honoring the memories of 3-Day walkers and crew members whom we have lost, as well as the loved ones in each of our lives who have been affected by breast cancer. It’s a peaceful, contemplative place, set apart from the noisy bustle of camp, where you can quietly honor those who have passed. Like so many parts of the 3-Day, it’s difficult to put the emotional impact of the Remembrance Tent into words, and I can’t encourage you strongly enough to take time to visit it.

A new white tent is displayed in each city, where you can leave messages for/about loved ones.

The white tents are put out in each new city, a traveling tribute

Take a Stroll Down Main Street

You’ve arrived at camp, set up your tent, showered, and maybe even had dinner already (well, your first dinner anyway…maybe you’ll still go in for seconds!). Before settling in for the camp show, head on over to the 3-Day Main Street, where you can:

3-Day Main Street

Feel the Love! – Like any Main Street worth its salt, the 3-Day Main Street comes complete with a post office. Did you know that your loved ones can send you mail to pick up in camp? It is truly an awesome feeling to search through the alphabetically sorted bins of envelopes and find one (or two, or ten!) with your name on it. And I will admit without shame that yes, I ASK people to send me mail. Many of my family members and friends may not know that they can send mail to me in camp, and who am I to deny them that opportunity? So yeah, I send an email out, giving them the camp mail address, and leave the rest to them (camp mail addresses are posted on the 3-Day website a couple of months before each event). Is this a shameless ploy to get mail in camp? Perhaps, but I see it more as giving them way to be with me on the 3-Day, even if they can’t be there in person. The messages of love and support that result from this small request (and, be still my heart, the hand-drawn pictures and cards from my kids!) are genuine and so, so appreciated. It’s a way for the people close to your heart to be close to you on the 3-Day.

Mail call!

Walkers finding notes and cards from loved ones

Feel Sweet – Prior to each 3-Day event, friends and relatives also have the opportunity to buy a Sweet Dreams Treat for their favorite walkers or crew members to enjoy in camp. These little chocolate goodies come with a note from the giver, and like camp mail, they are a delightful way for your supporters to show you their love.

Build Your Legacy – Legacy Pins are fun little collectibles that are very popular among the 3-Day walkers and crew members. You can visit this stop on Main Street to pick up any pins that you have earned throughout the year; at the very least, you get your Walker (or Crew) pin, but may also get pins for fundraising milestones, 5- or 10-year walker-versaries, captaining a team, celebrating being a survivor, and more!

Relaaaaaaaaax – Two words: massage chairs. Is there really anything else you need to know about that?

Susan G. Komen walkers gear up and take on Day 2 to find a cure for breast cancer.

Oh massage chairs, you’re the best!

Go Shopping! – Looking for a new shirt, socks, luggage tags, or something else to commemorate your 3-Day adventures? Well look no further than the “stores” on Main Street. (And by the way, if you want to get some shopping done before you walk, look no further than our online store, Shop3Day.com.)

Lounge Around – In an earlier Insider’s Guide entry, I commented that one of my favorite parts of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day camp experience is coming together with my fellow walkers—my own teammates and also new friends I’ve met along the way—to relax and share our stories from the route. There’s no better place in camp for this kind of relaxed bonding than the 3-Day Lounge. Revamped and “super-glamped” in 2014, the Lounge is the swanky “campfire” you sit around with your friends (in ridiculously comfortable FatBoy bean bag chairs), swapping stories and enjoying delicious treats donated by local bakeries, as well as a make-your-own trail mix bar. And since pictures can give you a much better peek than my descriptions, feast your eyes below.

Ahhhhhh!

Custom mixed trail mix

So many delicious combinations!

Photo booth fun

Um, yes please!

No caption necessary!

Friends, treats, and rest for your feets!

A refreshing alternative after all that sports drink!

Evening ambiance

The 3-Day Lounge: the “star” of Main Street

Friends, we’re getting close to the end of the Insider’s Guide, with next week’s post being a “wrap-up”. It has been my pleasure to share my perspective and experience, and I am so excited to continue to enjoy your stories and insights too! Comment and subscribe to the 3-Day Blog, and share with your friends!

And if any of you are still not registered, don’t wait! The low $50 registration fee will go up (to $70) on April 7!

Want to see the entire Insider’s Guide to the 3-Day? Here are all of the segments:

The Start of Something Beautiful
Pointing, Pacing, and… Motorcycles Wearing Lingerie
Pit Stops and Cheering and Sweeps, Oh My!
3-Day Camp: Just Like a Sleepover, Only More Pink
3-Day Camp: I love the Night Life
3-Day Camp: Happy Glamping on Main Street
Over But Not Ending