March Facebook Relay For Life Challenge!

After a lot of requests, here is a March Relay For Life Facebook challenge for you all!  Use #marchrelaychallenge with your posts so others can see them to!  You can see February's edition here: http://cassiselby.blogspot.com/2014/01/february-facebook-relay-for-life.html

Share your love and passion about Relay by participating in Cancer Man's March Facebook Relay For Life challenge!  A Facebook challenge is a great way to get your Relay participants actively posting about your event on a daily basis.  I wrote this challenge to feature the best parts of Relay- when the posters friends see it, they should feel like they are missing out if they don't sign up (and hey, let's be honest- they are!)

Need a copy of the challenge to share or post on your Facebook wall?  Just Right click and save the image below!  Good luck!

Relay For Life Movie Theme Team Name Ideas

It's no secret that I am super excited about our Relay theme this year - Lights, Camera, Cure!  Life on the purple carpet.  I've been pinning on Pinterest like some kind of mad woman.  But there are so many good ideas that I can't help myself!  So, naturally, like any good OCD list maker- I have been jotting down team name/theme ideas as I think of them or come across a really good one.  I thought I would post them here in case any other teams need some inspiration (that's right, steal away!).  But, I also want you to comment below with your ideas to help me grow the list!

Here are a few of my favorites so far-

-Pirates of the CUREibbean

-Toon out Cancer

-Let’s make cancer Gone with the Wind

-Go on and cure the girl- The Little Mermaid

-Rocky – Knock out cancer

-Survivor – Voting Cancer Off The Island

-Oz- There’s no place like hope

-Finish The Fight Club

-Mean Girls-
   -Cancer can’t sit with us

   -A cure would be so fetch

   -On Wednesdays we wear pink (pink ribbon theme)

   -Cancer doesn’t even go here!

-Blind side cancer

-Peter Pan- sending cancer to Neverland

-Relay Wars or Bra Wars(Star Wars Theme)

-Willy Wonka- A cure would be sweet, Wishing and Working for a cure

-Indiana Jones and the Temple of Hope

-A Relay Story (A Christmas Story)

-Help us create more un-birthdays (Alice in Wonderland)

-Toy Story - Let's kick cancer to infinity and beyond!

-Roaring away cancer (Lion King, or Jurassic Park theme!)

-Jurassic Park - Making cancer extinct!

-Beauty and The Beast - The beauty of life is beating the beast called cancer.

- Big Brother - We vote to evict cancer!

- Despicable Me- Despicable Cancer, Incredible Me!

-Finding Nemo- Finding a Cure

-Frozen - Making Cancer Frozen

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Of course, being Cancer Man's mom, we are going with a hero theme - "Hero Headquarters-Super Heroes Unite to Finish The Fight!

Help me add to the list by commenting below!  That way, when other Relayer's across the world see this, they can benefit from our brainstorm!

As always, with hope-
Cassi

Relay For Life campsite ideas!

We just finished Relaying BIG at RFL Custer County this weekend, and I wanted to take some time to share some of the awesome campsite ideas I saw, including my own, and a few others that I have seen online!

 This year our theme was Colors For The Cause, and each campsite represented a different type of cancer.  Our color was pink, for breast cancer, because Wesley's principal is a cancer survivor! I wanted to do something that had never been seen before- so rolled up my sleeves and put my artist thinking cap on :)  I wanted to show support for breast cancer without using some of the puns that are usually associated with it like "save the hooters".  I wanted this for two reasons- the first was because our team is an elementary school, and I don't think it is a good idea to teach kids to call breasts hooters.  And second, I read a blog that a survivor wrote saying how offensive those things felt to her, and how she thought it minimized the seriousness of the disease.  Here is what I came up with!

 I started by hand painting the top of our canopy with acrylic paints.  I am not sure how well this would translate into an outdoor event (if it rained) but our event is inside, so it worked great!  The canopy was set up in the middle of our living room for about two weeks while I did this (working on it for about an hour every evening when I had free time) so I have to give major props to my son and hubby for putting up with that!  Under each word I out a quote that pertained to the word that was painted above it. 

 We decorated the top and the supporting poles with deco mesh.  It was really easy to put on, and we just attached it with pipe cleaners!  The best part about this part of the project is we now have tons of deco mesh to turn into wreaths to sell for next years fundraising!  We also tied big ribbons onto the poles, and added pink monarch butterfly wings (which are a symbol for breast cancer).  I bought the wings on Ebay for about $6 each, and they actually started as the kind little girls wear for a costume.  I just cut off the elastic!

 

I love making balloon sculptures, because it is an inexpensive project that makes a HUGE impact.  When I saw this idea on Pinterest, I knew we had to do it at our campsite!  You can find great instructions for a basic balloon arch here .  The only difference is I use clusters of three instead of four.  To create the ribbon effect, simply bend your arch into a ribbon shape!  People were stopping here to take pictures all night!  

 

I also wanted to do something besides just fund raise at our site.  So, I decided it would be a great way to "fight back" by signing people up for a free mammogram reminder.  I found a free reminder service on the American Cancer Society's website, and created a form for people to fill out based on that.  Then we simply entered the information they filled out into the site! Feel free to use my form!

 Here is another amazing idea we saw that night from my friends over at The Etc Shop!  This is a great idea for those of you who have tents that are already decorated, or a different color than you want them to be (I am totally stealing this idea next year!)

They took those cheap $1 table cloths, and attached them to a piece of round cardboard (just a box they cut with a box knife into a donut shape!)with clear packing tape, and used it to cover their canopy- the result was an awesome big top look that amazing!

 

The thing I love most about this, is it could be changed to virtually any color based on your theme!  It will definitely make your site stand out of the crowd!  Way to go Team Etc! 

Here are a few more awesome site ideas!

This Naples RFL team's tent depicts 32 actors and actresses who had cancer during the 15th annual Relay for Life of Naples.  What a great idea for a Hollywood theme!  You could even include a walk of stars with survivors names!

Relaying outside at night?  Glow sticks make great decorations with a big impact!  Check out amazon- they are a great place to buy in bulk!

Lidy went wild with the Fishing For A Cure theme, and I love it!  You can check out her blog post on how she did it here.

Last, but not least- Put Cancer on Ice!  How cool (hehe no pun intended) is this one?  They used recycled milk gallon bottles to make the ice cubes! 

What does your site look like?  Do you have any fun ideas for next year?  Share below, and subscribe!

For the cause!
Cassi

PS- Like what you see?  Follow my Relay board on Pinterest!

How to FUNd-raise like a BOSS!

If you are here reading this blog, it is probably because you are looking for awesome and fun fund raising ideas for kids!  But, when you have an awesome kid that is working hard and kicking butt, it means YOU have to step up your game to!  Today I am going to share my tips and ideas on how to fund raise like a BOSS, so that you can RELAY BIG! After all, we are setting an example for some pretty amazing kids!

Now, first things first.  The fund raising game changes a little bit when you have a child (or spouse!) fundraising to.  Wes and I have an unwritten rule that he gets to ask for the donations from our friends and family, so I have to think outside of the box when it comes to my efforts.  Luckily, that is something I am pretty good at, since my job requires me to think outside of the box on a daily basis!

USE YOUR SKILLS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
Whether you realize it or not, we all have unique and amazing talents!  Are you a great cook?  A painter?  Do you make the cutest hair bows for your daughter?  Do you play an instrument?  Find that special talent, and use it to your advantage with fundraising.

I have two unique skills that I use to raise money for RFL.  One thing I do year round is donate a large portion of my sales from my Cancer Awareness Tie Dye to my Relay For Life goal.  The thing I really love about this is that I get to communicate with people all over the world who are fighting the same fight I am.  Now, if you have a talent, but don't run a business doing that talent, you can still sell your items!  Use Facebook to your advantage- it's a free advertising tool!  Post pictures of your creations, and ask your friends to buy them, or share the pictures :)

Something else I love to do is paint.  This year, my Relay hosted a silent auction, so I painted up two jewelry boxes and filled them with bracelets to auction off.  This was a really easy project, I just sat them on the coffee table and worked on them each night as I watched TV!

Now, I can't talk about talents and skills without mentioning my friend Krisha (who is also a fundraising power house!).  Krisha and her team are off the charts good bakers.  During the fall, they sell pumpkin rolls that are TO DIE FOR, and during Valentines Day, they sell Valentines cookies!  What Krisha does is post about what she is baking on facebook, and takes orders, so she knows how much to make.  THIS FUNDRAISER WORKS like a charm, and is way less stress than a traditional bake sale, because you know what you need to make ahead of time!  So far this year, they have raised over $800 by doing this!

Take it to the next level
Let's face it- I can only sell so many tie dye t-shirts at an event.  So this year, I thought further out of the box- I wanted to figure out how to get a bigger variety of items to auction off or sell, without having to buy them all outright.  Then it hit me- what if I asked other Relayers all over the country to trade their crafty items for tie dye?  Surely they had the same dilemma I did!  I went straight to Etsy (which is like the worlds biggest craft show online), and searched "Relay For Life".  When I found an item that I thought would work great for what I was doing, I simply shot that seller an email and asked if they would consider trading me for tie dye!  I figured, the worst I was going to hear was no!  Guess what happened?  Most people said yes!  It created a win win situation for both of us.

TinkerDotDesigns, for example, sent me this amazing mounted print, and magnets, and I made tie dye for her and her daughters to wear at Relay!  I'll admit I am going to have a hard time selling this one off, it's beautiful!

Other Ideas that work!
So, you're not the crafty type, you can't boil water, and your last project ended up an epic Pinterest fail.   Don't worry, all is not lost!  Here are my two favorite fundraisers that don;t require much creativity!

Relay For Life T-SHIRTS with a message sell!  Go to your local T-shirt printer, and find out how much they would charge to print shirts for you.  Many print shops also have a designer who can sit down with you and your ideas, and come up with the perfect design for your shirts!  Have them make you an order form, and take pre-orders for T-shirts.  Use that money to purchase the shirts, and put the rest towards your Relay goal!  Last year, I noticed that no one in our area had shirts made for the event that represented our schools- The Weatherford Eagles.  So, I drew up a design with that in mind, and it has been a hit!

Here are some more of my favorites!  If you would like to purchase any of these, you can find them over at https://www.facebook.com/RelayForLifeOfCusterCounty

Who doesn't love wearing Relay gear all year anyway!?  I love buying all of the t-shirts everyone makes, because it gives me the opportunity to talk about RFL everyone someone compliments what I am wearing!

MUDLOVE BRACELETS
I absolutely love MUD LOVE bracelets.  They are handmade in the USA, waterproof, made of clay, adjustable, and come in tons of colors and sayings.  As if that isn't enough, 20% of all sales go to creating clean drinking water in Africa.  I love using the bracelets to raise money for Relay, because it is something different, and they go fast!  Mud Love offers bulk ordering straight from their website with minimums as low as 50 bracelets.

USE YOUR CONNECTIONS
Make a list of everyone you know that you have a connection with.  You know what I mean, your friend who manages a restaurant in town,  your sister who works for a big corporation, your best friends hubby who works for a big box retailer.  Talk to those folks, and see if they can do anything to help you out, even if it is not monetary help!

I made the most wonderful connection this year with Jodie Kyle, the owner of Simplistic Style  an awesome boutique in our town that sells my line of Boho Couture.  Not only did I learn that Jodie is a Cervical Cancer survivor, she also decided to join our team!  Jodie let me put all of the items I had been selling for Relay at the front and center of the store, and even added her own items to fund raise!  So every time someone goes into her store, they see our items!  It has been a great success.

That's it for now!  Stay tuned for more ideas, and if you want to hear about team fund raisers, let me know by leaving a comment below!

Remember, we are all in this fight together- the more we share, the better we can fundraise and end the fight!

XO
Cass