International Service Program
In 1985, the first Relay For LifeŽ was born when Dr. Gordy Klatt took the first step of his walk/jog/run around a track in Tacoma, Washington, raising $27,000 to support the American Cancer Society. For Relay to be successful for another 20 years, the American Cancer Society is focusing on five D's - Leadership Development, Team Development, Survivor Development, Event Development and Fundraising Development. Read on to learn how they can improve your chapter's Relay For Life participation!
1) Leadership Development
Relay committees are most
successful when they develop a business-like atmosphere, evaluate
their event, collect data, and hold planning and goal-setting sessions.
Committees are moving towards a two-prong structure, in which certain
subcommittees focus on producing the event (logistics, registration, luminaria,
etc.) and other subcommittees focus on building the event (team recruitment,
survivor recruitment, corporate sponsorship, etc.).
- Be true to your cause.
- Delegate responsibilities. Don't take it all on yourself.
- Give honest, sincere appreciation.
- Don't criticize, condemn, or complain.
- Keep a mutual, business-like respect with all members.
- Trust your team members. They can do it!
- Transitional leadership: Yes, you do have to step down eventually.
- Inspire and arouse in the other person an eager, everlasting desire for the cause.
2) Team Development
Team Development is all about team recruitment and retention. An improved
structure for a team development subcommittee is to have separate
subgroups for team recruitment, team retention, team mentoring, data
collection and outreach (reaching diverse communities).
- Communicate as much as possible.
- Build an email network.
- Use a website to share packets, registration forms, etc.
- Structure team captain meetings to include mentoring of new captains.
- Add a wrap-up meeting following the Relay event to award prizes and gather evaluation information.
3) Survivor Development
To develop stronger relationships with a community's cancer survivors, Relay
committees should reach out to survivors year-round, involving them not only in
Relay, but in all of the American Cancer Society's programs, services and events.
- Host a survivor breakfast or dinner
- Involve the survivors in the Luminaria Ceremony
- Send cards to survivors
- Have each team adopt a survivor
- Honor caregivers
- Consider medals, pins, flowers, balloons or shirts
- Have teams around the track applaud during the Survivors Lap
4) Event Development
Relay ceremonies set the tone for
the event, have an emotional impact on everyone, and provide healing and Hope
to all. To do this, however, Relays need to begin with a well-planned survivors'
lap and an inspiring opening ceremony.
- Fireworks
- Team Roll Call
- College Bands
- Cheerleaders
- Color Guard for National Anthem
- Skits
- Caregiver speech
- A local celebrity who has been impacted by cancer
- White dove release during survivor lap
5) Fundraising Development
Take full advantage of individual, team, multi-team, online and onsite
fundraising opportunities. Here are two creative fundraising examples that also
tie into Phi Theta Kappa's Honors Study Topic on Popular Culture.
THEME: Hollywood
TEAM NAME: Hollywood Stars
OFF-SITE: "Star" sales (to write names on and hang in window), karaoke/kickoff
party, dance/costume party (Consider theme of "20 years of Hollywood," red
carpet style for 20 years of Relay)
ON-SITE: Host a Miss Relay pageant, donate money for contestants to use
as votes
TEAM NAME: Cancer Crusaders
COSTUME: Futuristic, Alien Costumes
OFF-SITE: Star Gazing fundraiser, Raffle (possibly a NASA donated item), Outer Space theme party
ON-SITE: Moon Walk, Alien Face Painting, sell space food and moon pies
Please report your chapter's Relay For Life participation at www.ptk.org/service/relayform.htm.
