Survivor Crop

BONNIE MOSEMAK is our 50th participant to register!

Hello there,

I know it's been awhile since I last posted a blog for you.  It was crunch time at school...I managed to get 5 weeks of work done in 5 days!  Whew!  The last day of school has come and gone, it was time to say goodbye to the kids and teachers for the year!  Which is scary because once summer is over, Survivor Crop is right around the corner!

Which is why it's so cool that we have our 50th participant!  Returning for 2008 is Bonnie Mosemak!  She is one of the dancing Herem Girls from last year on Island 15!  Can't wait to see what they have in store for us this year!

Sheila

Who will be our 50th registration???

I can't believe it!  We are one away from 50 for this year's Survivor Crop!  How cool is that!  I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see that people are as excited about Survivor Crop as I am!  Plus it was a nice surprise to find registration going so well after being in the hospital for a few days.  Nothing can keep me down for long and all is well again...or will be in a few days time.  So it's back to planning and getting out the first Survivor Crop Newletter.  It should hit e-mail boxes for those who have registered on the 1st or 2nd of June!  It will be loaded with information about this year's Survivor Crop and will have fundraising information for those who have agreed to be in the $500.00 club.

I hope that all of you have a happy Memorial Day, even if it is a little cold out there!

Sheila

A day of great planning!

Everybody has those days where you go into a meeting and nothing happens.  You just spin your wheels and find yourself day dreaming, which could be bad if you're supposed to be hosting the meeting. 

I'm happy to say that today was not one of those days.  In fact today was one of those days that everything just seems to be going right.  We met today with representatives from Susan G. Komen and man I am so exicted about what they have in store for this year!  Next we met with Elena and Melianie from Scrapbook Royalt, they will be hosting our 3rd Annual Silent Auction for us. 

These gals and their team of volunteers are amazing!  We're months away from the event, but they are already starting to fill baskets for the event!  This is a great way to Christmas shop, so plan on checking out the great items at Ever After starting the 13th of October!  Bidding will end at the Survivor Crop event site at QLN! 

We're at 35 today!  Wahwho!

Sheila

31 and climbing!

I am thrilled to see how well Survivor Crop registrations are going!  I thought I would let you know which Islands are active and have hostesses already!  We're going to have a monthly newletter, the first one will be sent out on the 18th of May and should be sent out on the 18th of each month.  There will be tips on collecting donations, information on the different swaps that will take place at the event, sponsor information and any news that you should need to know.  If you have a group coming to Survivor Crop, please register on an island and e-mail that you will be the Island Hostess for your group.

Island One - Jonie Anderson

Island Two - Kim McLachlan

Island Four -Brenda Kreis and Kathy Higgs

Island 5 - Jennifer Macker

Island 6 - Janet Andres

Island 13 - Michele Candelaria

Island 15 - Terri Valdez

Island 17 - Ashley Weber

Island 20 - Liz Goldsberry

Sheila

Wow! 20 already registered for Survivor Crop!

I couldn't be happier!  We already have 20 particiapants signed up for Survivor Crop.   We have past particiapants and newbies to the event all ready to get down to business and start collecting donations!  To top it off, 2 of our registered participants have already both turned in over $200.00 in donations! 

Right now we already have $695.00 in donations for Susan G. Komen!  My hopes are this is the year we can reach 200 participants and $100,000.00 in donations!  Would that not be fantastic!  It can happen and pretty easily!  All we would need to do is have 200 participants each bring in $500.00 in donations and we could reach my goal!!  I can't wait to see if it will happen!

What a great start to a wonderful event!

Sheila

25hours and 12 minutes until registrations open!

With just a little over 24hours until registration opens for the 2008 Suvivor Crop, I'm just a little bit nervous.  It's like inviting a whole bunch of people to a party and not know if anyone is going to come and play.  If you are a past participant and are close to Ever After Scrapbooks tomorrow night, please stop by...you'll be able to pre-register before the 12am opening of the on-line registration.  We have the website about 80% updated and if you need updated Donation Forms, I will have copies available for you.  If you can't come by, e-mail me and I will e-mail the forms to you.

Island Hostesses, if you want to volunteer to be an island hostess, please e-mail me once you have registered so that I can confirm you position as the island's hostess.  An offical list of island hostesses will be placed on the blog, as soon as I start hearing from you.

In the mean time here are some more helpful hints from Kathy Taylor our 3rd member of the top four from last year!

Helpful hints for collecting donations:

Mail a letter to all your names on the annual Christmass card list.

Ask for a minimum donation I used $5.00

Enclose a preaddressed envelope back to you (You could put a stamp on it also)

Ask local restaurants to sponsor a raise funds for Breast Cancer night. You will be surprised how many will help.

Put a jar on your desk at work for loose change for Breast Cancer. Get approval from management

Sheila

Reasons to come to Survivor Crop 2008

Here are my tops ten reason someone should participate in Survivor Crop October 18th - 19th, 2008!

1. It's for a good cause, there is still a huge need for research and education about Breast Cancer out there.  By being associated with the San Diego Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, we can guarantee that the money we collect in donations goes to help our community.

2. Taking time to honor those in our group who are undergoing treatment or who are Survivors of Breast Cancer!

3. This year we will acknowledge a very special 5 year anniversary for someone in the Ever After Scrapbooks family!

4. 24hours of Scrapbooking Fun and Games!

5. Unbelievable prizes and goodie bags!

6. Fun swaps, Artist Trading Cards and Altered Paint Cans

7. The 5th Annual Pickle Eating Contest, I have to admit this has become one of my favorite highlights of the event!

8. Masseuses and California Cupcakes!  Hard to decide between the two!

9. Island Themes...they just keep getting bigger and better every year!

10. Getting to hear the total of Donations raised at the event!      

Tips from our 2006 and 2007 Ultimate Survivor!

I usually start my donation gathering in June. I work for a law enforcement agency, so I hit up our labor associations for donations first and I ususally get my first $500-$750 there.  Most businesses have a non profit associated with them whereby they have to donate a certain amount of money each year, so I'd tell everyone to look into that first.  I also initiate a challenge within the police department and the city to the department heads to see who can donate the most money!  This can work in any business setting! 

The next thing I do is write letters to family members and friends.  Then I go to outside sources that assist us at the police department. Towing companies, The Fire Department, AMR, Food Places we use for catered events, the water company we get our bottled water from, large stores in the city like Walmart, Target etc. and I write a letter to them.  I always get a contact phone number so I can follow up my letter with a call.  I have received as small as $20 doing that to as large as $100. I have also held a garage sale and all profits go to my donations.  I usually advertise in the local paper about the sale and that all profits will go directly to Susan G Kohmen foundation and I will have a jar at the sale for tips and donations. 

Finally I go about things the old fashion way. I persevere and bug the crap out of people (you can put that nicer if you want)  I basically stand there until they agree to give me something.  I keep talking about what a great organization it is and how I am devoted to this cause, and eventually either because they believe in the event or just because they want me to go away I get a pledge for a donation.   I always give a deadline when I am going to collect my money and it is usually 2 weeks before the event.  Then I go around and collect and hit up any last minute people I can.   

This what I have done in the past and it has worked for me. 

Hope this helps

See you in October!

Helene

Tips from the Top

I've asked our 4 top level participants to share their donation collection secrets with you!  This is what I received from Jonie Anderson today!  You'll notice that they are all easy to do, it just takes a little effort on your part and you'll be able to not only bring in the minimum in donations, but you'll be able to meet and exceed your goals! 

My number one tip to all of you is to set a goal, you'll be asked to do that as you register for your seat .

Here are tips from Jonie Anderson:

1)         Start fundraising now!

2)         Contact a local restaurant (Baja Fresh, Topper’s Pizza, The Habit) and ask them if they would host a fundraising day for SGK and distribute fliers all over town;

3)         Set-up a recycle can or box near your desk and post a flyer asking for bottles, cans, and glass to recycle for a cause;

4)         Host a garage sale and ask family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to donate items for the sale;

5)         Send a letter to everyone on your Christmas card list asking for a monetary donation and enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Hope these will help you out!  Ifyou come up with a good tip, please e-mail me at sjeaux@cox.net and I'll post it on the blog!  We reached $70,000.00 last year!  I would love to reach $100,000.00 this year!

Sheila

Our first $250.00!

Was on hand on Saturday at the Tour de Crop to help support Survivor Crop and raffled off a Chatterbox Trunk full of goodies with the proceeds going to Susan G. Komen.  I am happy to announce that the first donations for this year were $250.00!  We have a long way to go to reach what we did last, but every bit counts! 

Remember when registering this year for Survivor Crop you can again join the $500.00 club, each month we will give you a way to raise at least $100.00 in donations.  Meeting this goal each month will help you to raise over the $500.00 required to participate in the benefits of the $500.00 club!  We had a blast this year at the $500.00 Crop!

Sheila