See that, just ahead? It’s the Broad Street Run (BSR) finish line. Not for the race itself—yet—but for Team CMMD’s DetermiNation fundraising.
Jackie Sharp, Team CMMD’s fundraising chairperson, swells with pride when she notes that as of April 23, Team CMMD has raised more than $244,000 toward the $250,000 goal set by Christine Meyer, M.D. As of that same date, according to the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) DetermiNation fundraising page, that’s over 40% of all funds raised thus far the event.
Suck it, cancer.
You, dear blog reader, can help us hit the team’s goal—in all likelihood, blow it away—by supporting our runners. Any donation of any size is one step closer to our fundraising goal, one giant step closer to beating cancer.
“We are part of the bigger DetermiNation set up by the ACS, but we’re quite a force,” Jackie explained. “To be part of DetermiNation, you commit to raising $500 to get your bib. Our team is allocated 250 bibs because of our size, strength and past fundraising efforts. Clearly we’re showing our commitment again already this year.”
This year’s Team CMMD supporters snatched up those 250 bibs right away, so another determined group of Team CMMD runners, The Footnotes, started their own team to get more bibs and raise more funds. There are 31 Footnotes hitting the street for the BSR: Team CMMD will be 281 strong on Sunday, May 3.
“We also have more than 50 in our group who are DNation Double Athletes,” Jackie added. “They’ve commit to raising $1,300 each to run Broad Street plus the Philadelphia Full and Half Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 22.”
Team CMMD gets a jump on fundraising when bibs are dibbed in December of each year. Each person is responsible for hitting the $500 bib minimum, but everyone on the Team pitches in for the cause. During the course of BSR fundraising, you’ll see everything from a Super Bowl football square pool to restaurant give-back events; sales of bracelets, shirts, bags, cups and more to home-party hosting opportunities; Yogathons, Zumbathons, the Team CMMD Yard Sale Facebook page, trivia games and so much more equal bigbucks in the fight against cancer.
Jackie, who’d just done the Susan G. Komen 3-Day when the BSR bibs became available, wanted to do something a little different since she’d just asked family and friends to support that effort. United Sports in Downingtown generously donated an hour of turf time so Jackie could invite her neighbors and their kids to come out and play games for the price of any donation to DetermiNation.
The bottom line? Every effort, every activity, of every size, matters. Just as important is engaging our circles of influence in these efforts to not only raise funds but also to educate.
How You Can Help
BSR is two weeks away, and fundraising may continue up to May 17. Team CMMD is about big dreams, so let’s bust $250,000 by May 3.
If you’re not running but want to help … Donate through the ACS page:
Watch Facebook for donation opportunities:
- Join the Team CMMD BSR ’15 Fundraising page
- Join the Team CMMD Broad Street YardSale page
“There are about 1,000 people who like Team CMMD on Facebook, and 281 of us running,” Jackie explained. “If the other 750-ish gave even $10—wow! Every bit helps us hit that goal.”
If you are running, Jackie offers the following checklist …
Follow up with anyone who indicated they wanted to donate to you and hasn’t yet! This can be as simple as a message saying, “I know you had mentioned previously that you would want to donate to BSR. If you are still interested there is time left.”
If any of your donors indicated he or she would be submitting for an employee match, kindly ask if the “paperwork” has submitted for this yet. Keep in mind some companies donate up to 100 percent. A simple $25 can be turned into $50.
Continue to post your link. Continue to post pics of your training progress. People really do put off donating until the last minute. You will be surprised: when people realize we are so close they will make those last-minute donations.
Enjoy yourself! Enjoy your teammates! Enjoy this time! Enjoy being part of something so big! Enjoy reaching goals you may not have thought were possible.
We could not have said it any better.
Content posted by blogger Nina Malone.
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