Relay For Life - a lot to promote

Opening the curtains

By Mark Schadenberg

It’s time to open the curtains or cut the ribbon – to officially unveil the newest promotional vehicle for Relay For Life in Woodstock.

Scissors please !

Understanding the limitations of both Twitter and Facebook for length of content, but most certainly realizing the importance of internet and social media to promote the Woodstock event (June 14-15 at CASS), now is the moment to introduce our committee’s blog site.

This space will serve many functions, including featuring stories written by committee members discussing why they participate in Relay For Life, plus updates on how you can volunteer or join a team (www.relayforlife.ca/woodstock), along with specific requests for areas of volunteering. For example, the logistics crew always needs extra hands on the day of the event as the stage must be built, tents to be raised, signage posted, and of course requiring volunteers with the ability to construct the walkway arch for the start-finish line. People with electrical and construction background can contact Janet Bragg (See list below of email addresses).     

Team recruitment chair Beth Boulard last week noted that the team total is currently (as of March 28) at 44 so far and that’s an amount trending above the pace to exceed last year’s total of 86. The goal for this year is 87 as our committee has adopted both the local theme of Carnival For A Cure, but is also promoting a provincial participation ‘Power Of One’ effort – i.e. have one more team, invite one more person to your team, one more volunteer, one more monetary pledge, etc. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu2NgqNPK1s)

The sponsorship committee has reported a lot of good news so far -- the addition of several new business / corporate supporters, including the No Frills grocery store on Norwich Avenue.

Related events, including the Cooking For The Cure breakfast at Swiss Chalet on Saturday, June 8 (8 – 11 a.m.), will be talked about in this space. Don’t forget about the FUNdraising day on May 11 at Zellers / Foodland parking lot.

You will also read about luminaries (10 p.m. is luminary ceremony), the Survivor’s Victory Lap (7 p.m.), the Fight Back Zone, planned entertainment and guest speakers, and a preview of the Boston Pizza menu.   

In other words, there are many reasons to visit: www.woodstockrelay.blogspot.com on a regular basis.

We look forward to seeing you on June 14.

BACKGROUND INFO

To learn more about Relay For Life in Woodstock, plus background information on Oxford County events in Ingersoll (June 21) and Tillsonburg (June 7) as well, be sure to read other posts on this site. Updates will appear in this space as June 14 approaches, including reminders about captain's nights at Fanshawe College (April 18 and May 15, 6:30). To sign up or sponsor a participant, see: www.relayforlife.ca/woodstock or call the Oxford unit office at (519) 537-5592. If you would like to contribute a story or promote a Relay team fundraiser, send details to: mschadenberg@rogers.com. 

COMMITTEE CONTACTS

Kim Whitehead

Relay For Life: co-chair

Email: kimw_1@sympatico.ca

Keri Axon

Relay For Life: co-chair

Email: keriaxon@gmail.com

Mark Schadenberg

Public relations committee

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

Beth Boulard

Team recruitment committee

Email: ebaboulard@rogers.com

Bob Axon

Sponsorship committee

Email: raxon@rogers.com

Janet Bragg

Relay For Life Volunteer coordinator

Email: janet@goodbeginningsday.com

Josie Atkinson

CCS – Oxford unit fundraising

Email: jatkinson@ontario.cancer.ca

One committee already surpasses last year's totals

One committee already surpasses last year's totals

The story below appeared in The Woodstock Sentinel-Review in early February and focused on the blitz of businesses conducted by Bob Axon's sub-committee for sponsorship.

Bob Axon reported back with his results at Relay Rally on March 20 and noted that his committee has already exceeded last year's sponsorship total by $2,000, including securing Boston Pizza as a name sponsor.

Also at the Rally, Boston Pizza co-owner and manager Megan Porter spoke about why her family is involved in Relay For Life. Part of that story is discussed below. Porter also invited Relay teams to contact her if they plan on searching out fundraising events. 

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Boston Pizza event sponsor for Relay For Life

February is blitz month for sponsorship

By Mark Schadenberg

While the month of February begins with a gopher counting down the weeks to spring, for the Relay For Life sponsorship committee it’s ‘go for it’ time in securing important sponsors for an important annual charitable benefit still 19 weeks away.

The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) will be marking its 14^th annual Relay For Life, June 14-15 at College Avenue Secondary School. Last year, the Woodstock event alone was ranked No. 7 in fundraising in the province with $317,000. It takes a lot of work and a lot sponsors to reach that plateau.

“February is our blitz month for sponsorship,” said sub-committee chair Bob Axon. “An impetus to be a sponsor of Relay For Life for a business is for them to gain significant visibility. Community relationships can assist in a business’s success.”

To promote the blitz month, Relay For Life announced the commitment of Boston Pizza (431 Norwich Ave) as a full event sponsor with a donation of $7,000.

Boston Pizza owner/manager Megan Porter says community involvement has always been important to herself and the restaurant’s brand name.

“It’s just the way my family is. It’s how I was raised.

“It’s also one of the reasons why I’m with Boston Pizza as this company is always promoting that we should be involved in our community,” said Porter, adding on a personal note that her mom passed away from cancer about 10 years ago. 

CCS Oxford County unit fundraising manager Josie Atkinson explains there are two important differences in any business donating to Relay For Life. Firstly, it’s the level or dollar value (fair market value), and secondly (for tax purposes) whether the contribution can be considered a need-to-have or nice-to-have gift-in-kind.

Since Relay feeds its 1,000 participants (Last year there were 87 teams, plus additionally survivors in the victory lap, and volunteers), a restaurant or grocery sponsor qualifies as a need-to-have.

At various amounts, Relay For Life sponsorship levels could include mentions in all newspaper ads, logo placement, signage around the CASS track, recognition in the program, or even a street naming in the event’s tent city map.

Other important donations for Relay For Life include media sponsors The Sentinel-Review (Sun Media) and 104.7 Heart FM. Meanwhile, Kinsdale Carriers, Swiss Chalet, Tim Hortons, The Guarantee company, TD - Canada Trust, and Woodstock Print & Litho continue to be corporate supporters as well.

Bob Axon notes that in 2012 an Ipsos Reid survey listed the CCS’s Relay For Life as the most valuable charitable event for a company to be involved with. The study calls Relay: ‘Canada’s Most Valuable Property, a first of its kind study designed to measure consumers’ affinity and connection with a property and its impact on sponsorship’, noted the press release from the research firm, which continued: ‘To measure the ability of a sponsorship property to create an emotional connection between Canadians and the property’s sponsors, the Most Valuable Property study evaluated 100 properties through a survey of 1,016 Canadian consumers.’

Relay For Life will be hosting a registration night Wednesday, Feb. 20, 5 – 7 p.m. at the CCS office, 65 Springbank Ave. North.

The kickoff event or Relay Rally is March 20, at Quality Hotel and Suites.

The event’s various sub-committees are always looking for volunteers, not matter what expertise you may have. For example, on event day, the logistics group needs assistance in building the stage, tents and signage. If you would like to volunteer with the food committee, luminaries (1,993 sold last year at $5 each), registering survivors, public relations, entertainment, children’s area, silent auction, logistics or even coordinating the volunteers, contact Atkinson anytime at the CCS Oxford unit at (519) 537-5592.

Bob Axon can be reached at (519) 421-0806 or through email at raxon@rogers.com.

For more details on Relay For Life, contact Atkinson, or event overall co-chairs Keri Axon or Kim Whitehead (kimw_1@sympatico.ca).

The battle to find a cure is on-going: Celebrate . . . Remember . . . Fight Back is the overall motto, while this year’s Woodstock Relay theme is Carnival For A Cure.

You can register your team at www.relayforlife/woodstock, or sponsor someone on one of the teams already signed up.

This year, the Tillsonburg Relay is June 7-8 at Annandale school, while Ingersoll’s all-night fundraiser is at IDCI, June 21-22.

Megan Porter at the podium at Relay Rally on March 20:

Bob Axon and Nancy Springstead of sponsorship sub-committee:

It just takes one to top last year's total

Looking back at the Rally preview

This was the preview story to Relay Rally featuring some good background information. Chuck Phelps is the official spokesperson for Woodstock's Relay For Life. When he spoke on March 20 he had everyone's attention. When I think of 'Fight Back' and the Canadian Cancer Society, I think about Chuck Phelps.

Chuck Phelps guest speaker for cancer society

Relay Rally is (was) March 20

By Mark Schadenberg

Is there a better way to get ready for competition, than to host a rally?

The Canadian Cancer Society’s (CCS) Relay For Life in Woodstock is set for June 14-15 at College Avenue Secondary School – the battle against cancer or as the slogan says: Celebrate . . . Remember . . . Fight Back. The local theme for the 14^th annual event is ‘Carnival For A Cure’.

This year’s Relay Rally is Wednesday, March 20, 6:30 p.m. at Quality Inn Hotel & Suites on Bruin Blvd.

The 2012 Relay For Life raised over $310,000 -- the seventh highest total raised by an individual event in Ontario. Province-wide the total last year was $17 million. The Woodstock event attracted 87 teams and the goal is to surpass last year’s numbers, by raising a hopeful $320,000.

Team recruitment chair Beth Boulard notes that one way to further increase participation is the number one. 

“If each team asks one more person to join their team our event grows larger and larger,” said Boulard.

“The Rally is also a great opportunity for the community to learn about Relay and why we have the event, to learn what the Cancer Society does with the money raised and to hear a cancer survivor’s story.”

The keynote speaker knows a lot about a personal battle versus cancer. Chuck Phelps, who has spoken on stage before the Survivors’ Victory Lap at the last two local Relay events, has been fighting back since a diagnosis in late 2010. Despite “35 shots of radiation” and chemotherapy, CT scans and several operations, the Phelps message is in a positive motivational fashion.

After his first operation to remove a brain tumor in December of 2010, the original prognosis was not favourable.

“The doctors told my sister that I probably wouldn’t be able to see or walk again after the surgery,” Phelps explained. “But about 10 days later, I walked out of the hospital.

“My talk at the Rally will be about two things. Firstly, I was living a normal life until I woke up with a headache one day. I’m going to talk about my story, but I’m also going to talk about the fact that you can’t put a value on all the research that is going on and the work being done to find a cure is absolutely remarkable.”

Phelps says Relay For Life is a true friendship event.

“We can all get together and hang out and talk about life’s struggles and fighting cancer,” says Phelps. “The bottom line though is my cancer is terminal – it doesn’t get fixed, but we need to keep fighting and stop (cancer). ”

Picture: Chuck Phelps

Lots Of Information

The Relay Rally will also be set up similar to a trade show where prospective Relay For Life participants can sign up a team, and find out more details about camp sites, the Fight Back Zone, registering as a survivor, buying a luminary (The luminary ceremony is at 10 p.m.), signing on as a corporate sponsor, along with an education table with more information about the CCS locally.

Woodstock Relay co-chair Kim Whitehead summarized at last year’s event what the fundraiser is all about.

“It changes people’s lives,” she said to The Sentinel-Review. “Cancer survivors get a chance to get together and talk to each other and know that they are not alone. It’s about celebrating all the victories we’ve won and remember in our luminary ceremony those we’ve lost.”

For more details on the Relay Rally, contact the CCS office today at (519) 537-5592. To register for Relay For Life or to sponsor someone online see:www.relayforlife.ca/woodstock.

Other lead-up events to Relay For Life include two captain’s meetings (April 18 and May 15, both at 6:30 at Fanshawe College). The Relay Fundraising Day is Saturday, May 11, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Foodland / Zellers parking lot, which is an event featuring bake sales, garage sales, silent auctions, kids’ activities, a car wash, barbecues, and many other types of fun fundraising ideas.

If you are unable to attend the Woodstock Relay For Life, June 14-15, you could join in on the Tillsonburg Relay, June 7-8, or the Ingersoll Relay, June 21-22.

Relay For Life Rally about education & motivation

Chuck Phelps speaks at Relay Rally
By Mark Schadenberg
Relay For Life in Woodstock is less than three months away (June 14-15 at CASS high school) and one way to rally participants, team captains and committee members is to conduct a motivational Relay Rally.
Hosted by Quality Hotel & Suites, the Relay Rally on March 20 featured discussion to reinforce the national slogan of: celebrate . . . remember . . . fight back.
However, when keynote speaker Chuck Phelps walked up to the podium, thoughts were about fighting back against cancer as Phelps has been battling a brain tumor for more than 2 years -- a diagnosis even he refers to as being terminal.
Raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) will increase research and improve the odds for patients such as Phelps, who has been on the Relay For Life committee locally since 2006 -- four years before receiving his medical news and his now on-going treatments.
"One day at a time. . . . one community . . . one night," said Phelps. "It's not an assumption -- it's a fact that our fundraising efforts will get us closer to finding a cure for cancer."
Relay For Life theme for 2013 in Woodstock is Carnival For A Cure and one of the national themes is to ask one or: 'The Power Of One'  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu2NgqNPK1s)
With that in mind, the local committee hopes to increase it's team numbers from 86 in 2012 to 87 in 2013, which could translate into 870 participants. That number would not include other volunteers or the registered cancer survivors (the Survivor Victory Lap is at 7 p.m.).
The fight to find a cure is long term as depicted by a series of placards on display at the event, noting research advancements through the decades.
"Many of the break-throughs we are seeing today are partly thanks to the research projects of 30 years ago," said Josie Atkinson, fundraising coordinator for the CCS Oxford unit. "In 2012, the (CCS) contributed $46 million to leading edge cancer research."
In 2013, another significant milestone for CCS is celebrating the organization's 75th year of existence and a corresponding slogan to mark this birthday: 'With you in the fight for life.'

Pictured: Chuck Phelps and Josie Atkinson

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To learn more about Relay For Life in Woodstock, plus background information on Oxford County events in Ingersoll and Tillsonburg as well, be sure to read other posts on this blog site. Updates will appear in this space as June 14 approaches, including reminders about captain's nights at Fanshawe College (April 18 and May 15, 6:30), stories about luminary sales, sponsorship, volunteering, the silent auction, registering as a survivor, and the logistics of setting up the camp at CASS. To sign up or sponsor a participant, see: www.relayforlife.ca/woodstock or call the Oxford unit office at (519) 537-5592. If you would like to contribute a story or promote a team fundraiser, send details to: mschadenberg@rogers.com.