Not going to lie….I was sweating a bit when the calendar turned to September and I had yet to start our Walk for SickKids fundraising efforts.
This is our fourth year walking 20km (the kids walk 10km) in The Great Camp Adventure Walk to honour our son Zack, who died 5 and a half years ago. The reasons that we walk brings us both pain and joy at the same time. We love feeling a part of the community of families walking to celebrate their own child but we also think of how much we miss him with every single step through the streets of Toronto. Along the 20km, we have met other bereaved parents and shared stories about our precious angels and why SickKids is so special to us. Paul, the boys and I laugh and cry as we talk about silly family memories, doctors and nurses we adored, and all the procedures Zack endured in his short life. We feel that even though we lost our son, giving back to the place that gave us our 3 years with him and cared for him and us, is the best possible way to grieve our loss and keep him remembered. Raising money in Zack’s name has always brought us comfort and we love the chance to share his brave SickKids story, his endless courage and his amazing light.
Every year it seems to get harder and harder to raise donations when friends and family are also trying to fundraise for their own important cause! There isn’t a month that goes by where we aren’t donating to another charity that we desperately want to support. It’s always tough to donate to every important cause, so we try to donate to each request, even if it is just a $10 contribution!
This week, I finally got to sitting down and writing the email to send to friends, family, and coworkers to tell them that we were walking again and really counting on their support! While we know that so many of our loved ones have supported us for many years, it’s still really difficult to ask for money, so here are my own personal tips to help you with your own fundraising goals for the Walk for SickKids:
- Start using your social network for social good! Post your fundraising link on your Facebook page and other social media channels. Do it more than once, but not more than maybe 4 times leading up to the event. Share your progress as you go and even give some shout outs to show your appreciation!
- Send an email. We all know that the logarithms on FB can often hide important links and news, so send a personal email to family and friends with a story reminding them about your connection to the Walk for SickKids. Give them the link to donate, but only send ONE email.
- Say thank you! With every donation, SickKids Foundation sends me an email telling me the amount and name of the donor. I immediately forward that email to the donor and send them a personal thank you about why their contribution meant so much to us.
- Set a reasonable goal and start counting down! Whether it’s by email, on Twitter or on your Facebook wall, tell everyone how close (or how far away) you are to your goal! “Only $200 more to go!” can really inspire a sense of urgency in someone who just simply forgot to click the link.
- Be honest if you are struggling to reach your goal. “I need your help. I haven’t gotten one donation yet and I’d love you to be my first donor” is a personal plea to get your friends to rally around and even make small donations to help you out.
- Ask everyone. Worried about sending the email to the neighbour who asked you to turn that loud music down or that boss you had 10 years ago..don’t be! Maybe they have a connection to SickKids and would be thrilled to donate to your team.
- Get creative! Check the Walk for SickKids website for their own Fundraising Tips!
I’m thrilled to report that we are over $500 and half way to our overall mandatory fundraising goal of $1000! We are pleased that SickKids has very reasonable registration fees and has also lowered the fundraising goals a little bit this year, to make it even easier to reach the minimum. Funds raised from The Great Camp Adventure Walk support patient care, research discoveries, knowledge sharing among medical professionals and the hospital’s most urgent needs
Join us on Saturday September 24th for a day you’ll never forget! There is still time to register for the Walk for SickKids! Follow us along on social media by watching the hashtag #WalkforSickKids.
Disclosure: SickKids Foundation has contributed to Zack’s Dream Team in appreciation for my post and social support.