Tales from a Slumber Party Tent: Kendall C., San Diego 3-Day Walker

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Glamping is a huge part of the 3-Day experience, and our fields of pink tents are always a welcome sight for participants after a long day out on the 3-Day trail. Last year, though, participants had the opportunity to upgrade their glamping experience even further with our Slumber Party tents! Complete with air mattresses, a friendly doormat, camp chairs and more, they were a special reward for those who had recruited two new walkers to our pink family.

And they’ll be back in 2018! Open to walkers and crew, if you recruit two new 3-Day walkers by May 31, you can have a big pink slumber party on-event! You and your pals can celebrate your 60-mile journey in a Slumber Party Tent, a large tent that sleeps up to 4, complete with air mattresses, sheets, pillows, camp chairs and a phone charger. We can promise it will be tons of fun, especially because you’ll have your friends with you on the walk. Don’t take our word for it though! Kendall C., who walked her first 3-Day last year, got the luxury of spending her weekend in the Slumber Party Tent with her teammates from The Divine Sisters of the Ta-Ta Sisterhood…and she’s already trying to recruit friends for 2018 so she can be back in that tent again in November!

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“I’m always telling people how much I loved it and how it’s an experience I will never forget. Actually, one of the best in my life!”

Part of that was thanks to her team, who recruited her as part of their neighborhood team. Kendall walked for her three friends who have all been diagnosed with breast cancer, but didn’t know when she signed up that she would be sleeping in the Slumber Party Tent. Talk about an extra perk!

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“The tent was SO much larger than we anticipated and the air mattresses and pillows were such a treat to have! I also couldn’t believe there were chairs, which we loved having at the end of the day to relax in. We also would bring all our chairs together to hang out in the evening before bed. I also remember a welcome doormat, and a little table complete with a fake succulent! I mean, that is glamping in my book and I’ll take it any day! To top it all off, there was a cell phone charger we ALL got to use, even at the same time. We were so, so happy to have the Slumber Party tent and it completely made our camping experience perfect!”

Kendall says all the special touches made the experience all the more enjoyable, and encourages everyone to recruit and try to earn their own Slumber Party Tent experience this year. It brought her team even closer together, especially as they decorated the larger tent. Her tent won the decoration contest for its “All I Want for Christmas is a Cure” theme, which Kendall is still glowing with pride over.

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“When else can you decorate a tent while camping with your girlfriends?! It even heightened the excitement we already had for the walk. We put tons of Christmas lights on it and you could probably see our tent from a mile away! Once we had our theme, “All I Want for Christmas is a Cure,” we could not stop buying pink Christmas decorations. We had pink stockings (with our names in glitter of course), pink garland, pink Christmas trees, and I even wrapped presents in pink paper! It was really fun to come up with all the ideas with my tent mates too.”

Her enthusiasm for all things 3-Day extends beyond her decorating success last year, and right into her training and recruiting goals for this year as well.

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“I am still riding on the high from last year’s walk! It completely exceeded my expectations in every way. The training brought an entire new group of friends my way and I looked forward to every training walk with them. I loved feeling a part of something and felt like I was making a difference! I was raising awareness and fundraising at the same time and that felt good.

The walk itself was also so much fun! The 3-Day crew took such amazing care of us and we always had everything we needed. Whether it was food or drink, help from the medics, our amazing tents, and they even hosted an amazing family night. I really loved every minute and once I start telling somebody about my experience, I just can’t stop!”

Want to join Kendall in 2018? Register now…and then get recruiting! Go to The3Day.org/Refer for all the details and get the Recruitment ID you need to recruit two friends to walk 60 miles with you by May 31st, and you could be enjoying your very own Slumber Party Tent!

Valentine’s Day Fundraising Ideas

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Valentine’s Day is next week, and we can’t wait to see how all our 3-Dayers spread the love! From sweethearts to Galentines and beyond, it’s the perfect time to show everyone just how much you care. It’s also a wonderful opportunity for your donors to show YOU a little 3-Day love, so here are some unique ways to ask for a donation. Valentine’s Day can be a fun holiday to start or reinvigorate your 2018 fundraising with easy ideas like these…

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Valentine Donor Letters

This is the easiest and most simple way to start your Valentine’s Day fundraising. Pick your favorite Valentine (you can buy whole packs of them on a budget) and include your next donor outreach inside a “love letter”. Explain why you care about the 3-Day, how it brings happiness and joy to your life, and encourage your friends and family to donate in 2018. By adding a more personal touch, and showing the emotion behind why you walk, you can bring people into the pink bubble just by sending some snail mail.

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Appeal to their Sweet Tooth

Candy and other sweets go on super sale the day after Valentine’s Day (sometimes even the day of), so take advantage of this chance to make or buy tasty treats at a bargain. Pick up a range of goodies, and make gift bags to deliver to your friends and neighbors. It gives a personal touch, will have them feeling sweet inside and out, and you can attach a quick donation reminder to the treat!

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Throw a Galentine’s or (Guy’entine’s) Party

If you’re single this holiday, or just want to give your pals some extra love, celebrate with a party on February 13^th. That’s the official Galentine’s Day holiday, and you can plan a fun night for yourself, your team, and all your favorite people.

If you’re part of a team, invite all of them to bring their best friends over for a night in with romantic movies, house made snacks and lots of fun times celebrating each other. Then, remind your friends to donate to your pink family — or join it — this year. You can accept donations that night, and send your guests away with information about how to donate and join the 3-Day.

You can do the same thing if you’re walking alone — just cast a wider net for your invites.

Also, be sure to remind your friends that if they sign up before February 20^th, they can take $20 off their registration fee!

Use Flower Power

Just like candy, many florists put flowers on sale after the Valentine’s Day rush. If you call ahead, and work with your local flower shops, you might be able to get options at an even bigger discount, or for free. There are often leftover buds and stems from bouquets, or whole arrangements that don’t get picked up. See if the shops will donate flowers directly to you, for you to use for your fundraising efforts. Then, deliver them to potential donors with donation forms, or let donors “send” them to loved ones, with you playing the mail carrier.

How will you be celebrating the love-filled holiday? Tell us in the comments!

And don’t forget, if you haven’t signed up for the 3-Day yet, now is the perfect time! Through February 20^th, you can take $20 off your registration fee with no code needed.

5 Ways to Talk a Friend into Doing a Charity Walk with You

Did you know you can already register for the 2018 3-Days? There is no time like the present to sign up to be a part of our 3-Day family, and get moving towards your own goals for next year’s events.

You never walk alone on the 3-Day, but those 60 miles are all the more fun with your bestie beside you! Start talking up your friends to see who will walk with you next year!

Get started now to give all your team members as much time for fundraising and training as possible. If you are planning to grow your team this year, it is also the perfect time to start asking new recruits to join you. There are plenty of ways to talk someone through the great impact of the 3-Day and encourage them to join the cause.

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Tell them they’ll make a difference: This one should be a great opener, especially for anyone who has been personally affected or knows someone who has been affected by breast cancer. Susan G. Komen^® has plenty of infographics and information explaining how all of your fundraising money is put to good work, but you can also see it first hand at any of the 3-Days. When you walk, you meet survivors, their families and many others who are or have felt the direct impact of the money raised by every 3-Day walker.

Tell them they can raise the money: Fundraising is one of the topics our coaches and team captains get asked about the most. Not everyone is comfortable asking for monetary support, even for a cause as important as ours. However, there are plenty of different ways to effectively fundraise, including letter or email writing campaigns, bake sales, charity events, selling homemade goods and more! New walkers receive lots of support from their teams, their coach, and our online community as well. We will help you find a fundraising plan that works for you, and do all that we can to help every walker reach their fundraising goal.

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Tell them they can go the distance: Another obstacle some people have to overcome is the prospect of walking all those steps. Very few people walk 60 miles in a weekend when they’re not on the 3-Day, so it can seem like a daunting task. Luckily for anyone with reservations, we have your back. With a fully supported route, including Sweep Vans that can pick up walkers and take them to the next rest stop, you only have to walk as far as you can!

Tell them there will be laughter: Is the 3-Day a lot of work? You bet your pink tutu it is! But it is also a whole lot of fun. From sharing stories on the walk, to themed rest stops and lunch tents, to dance parties and glamping, there is no shortage of smiles and laughter on every one of the 60 miles. This is an especially good approach for those who are afraid of potential monotony of walking for 3 days in a row, or who don’t know as many people on your team. No matter who you know, you will always have a friend on the 3-Day.

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Tell them they will gain a family: One of the best parts about the 3-Day is that you become part of a family. Beyond your team, or those who share tents near you at our camp site, you will leave your 3 days with us as part of something larger than yourself. For anyone who has participated in charity events in the past, reminding them of that feeling of family you get when you’re all trying to accomplish something together will be one of the easiest ways to encourage them to participate. It will also probably help you feel reinvigorated for your own training and fundraising goals.

How have you convinced people to join your team?