#eventdevelopment

Try to publicize in the following places pre-event:

Campus Newsletters/Newspapers.

Posters around campus.

A local newspaper.

Get mentioned on local TV.

Create videos on a YouTube Channel.

Spread the word on Twitter.

Post-Event Publicity

Campus Newsletters/Newspapers.

A local newspaper.

Get mentioned on local TV.

Create a video with pictures from the event.

As the month of April comes to a close, so do many of our campus Relay events in the Lakeshore Division. This year has been a very successful year for the Lakeshore Division campus events so far and we applaud you for all of your hard work that has gotten us closer to finishing the fight. But when your event makes it to your closing ceremony and reveals your final fundraising total that doesn’t mean that your 2014 Relay season is over just quite yet! Though the weeks - more like MONTHS - of intense preparation leading up to your event were a lot of work, there are still some important wrap-up steps that each committee should take to set next year’s event up to be another success.

Thank everyone involved. From your amazing team captains, to your rocking entertainment, to the caring companies that sponsored the event, make sure no one involved goes un-thanked! These individuals coming together for the cause are the reason your event was such a great success. We want to make sure that they receive the proper recognition. Hand-written personalized thank you cards goes a long way and is the perfect opportunity to invite them to stay involved next year!

Recruit talented team captains. Time and time again we see that highly involved team captains make great committee members. These individuals bring a fresh perspective to your event being new to the committee and having experience your event from the eyes of a team captain. So think back to those individuals who came to meetings throughout the year or maybe planned their own amazing team fundraisers before Relay, and make the ask right now! This will make recruiting next year’s committee that much easier.

There are many important aspects on the day-of your Relay: the activities, the food, the performers, but the part that really brings home the mission of the American Cancer Society and reminds people why they are there is the ceremonies. Together the opening, fight back, luminaria, and closing ceremonies function to remind people of those who have won the fight, those who are still fighting, those we have lost, and what more we can do. They inspire and encourage people and are often what people remember the most after the event. It is essential to put on ceremonies that will make the most impact so people will continue coming back to Relay for Life year after year.

Each ceremony should be long enough to get the main point across but short enough that participants do not loose attention. Try for a length of about 20 minutes for most ceremonies; this gives enough time for an introduction, one or two inspirational speakers, and a call to action. If you have too many parts to a ceremony it takes away from each individual, you want to highlight a small number of inspiring parts instead of overwhelming and boring participants with numerous stories and calls to action.

When looking for speakers, find specific ones for each ceremony. The opening ceremony should have a survivor or caregiver who is articulate and motivational, their job is to get people excited to be at Relay, to remind them why we’re fighting, and to jump start the event. Fight back speakers should inform people what more they can do in the fight, maybe find a cancer researcher or someone who has experience in going beyond Relay for Life and doing more. The luminaria ceremony is, usually, by far the most moving and important part of a Relay.  Look for speakers who are passionate and extremely dedicated to the cause. These speakers must honor those we’ve lost while giving people hope that there may be a time when no more people will die from this disease. Speakers for the closing ceremony must bring the entire event home, summarize why we’re there and how we’re helping, and encourage people to continue Relaying and fighting against cancer.

Beyond speakers, ceremonies can have fun events attached to them. The opening ceremony is usually followed by a survivor and caregiver walk, honoring those who have won their battles or who are still fighting. During fight back you can include a fun activity that gets people moving, maybe a dance lesson, to encourage people to start fighting harder and to change their own life styles. Include musical performances in the luminaria ceremony to inspire people and to give them time to recover from the speakers. The closing ceremony should have a call to action at the end, getting people pumped up to continue the fight through out the year.