Dear Team Captain,
Thank you for being a Team Captain for the Breakthrough for Brain Tumors 5K Run & Walk
(BT5K). This kit serves as a tool for providing you with the essentials you need to make your
team’s experience fun, successful and rewarding.
As a Team Captain, you provide motivation and excitement to your team! Encourage your coworkers, friends and family to join you on this journey. Once the team is in place, the Team
Captain acts as the key liaison between their team and the American Brain Tumor Association.
Follow these simple steps for a successful walk:

Plan Ahead

Recruit and Register

Set a Goal and Fundraise

Celebrate your Success
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Events Dept at [email protected]
or 800-886-1281.
Sincerely,
The American Brain Tumor Association
Plan Ahead
Decide on a team name and register online. Visit www.breakthroughforbraintumors.org and
select the city in which you will be participating. After you have registered, you will have access
to your Participant Center which will allow you to customize the team webpage, update the
team fundraising goal, check team members’ progress, send messages to your team members
and so much more!
Feel free to come up with a theme for your team! You are welcome to create team t-shirts, hats,
accessories or any other spirited item to bring your team together. Team spirit is a great
motivator and is highly encouraged.
Recruit and Register
Teams come in all shapes and sizes. There are no special requirements for creating a team, but
the more the merrier! The best way to recruit is to just ask. Start by asking your friends, family,
co-workers and neighbors to join your team. Encourage them to recruit members, too, and
watch your team grow!
Helpful Tips:
Invite everyone you can think of to join your team. Make a list of all possible team members.
Team members come from a variety of places, so don’t be shy about asking. When you find new
team members, encourage them to ask people in their network to join the team as well. You can
continue building your team right up until walk day!
Send an email. Create a list of family and friends and encourage them to register. Always
include a link to your team page so they can register as easily as possible.
Use social media. Update your Facebook status and spread the word on Twitter and other
social media sites. Include the link to your team page as well as information about the event and
why it’s important to you. Even if there is no personal connection to the ABTA your excitement
and your story can be what bring additional team members on board.
Get your employer involved. At your boss’s approval, invite co-workers to join your team. Ask
if you can submit an article for the company newsletter, hang posters on the break-room
bulletin board or add the event to the company calendar.
Host a kick-off party. Provide some refreshments and invite your friends and family to attend.
Share information about the event, why it is important to you and why you want them on your
team. Have a computer available at the event and encourage everyone register for your team
before they leave.
Motivate your team and HAVE FUN. Keep your
team engaged by sending them emails with
important event updates, fundraising tips, mission
information or team member spotlights. Your
excitement and enthusiasm are contagious!
Set Goals and Fundraise
Make it personal. Update your team page and your personal page with your story and a photo.
This is a great way to share why this walk and your involvement in it is so important with all
those who come across your page. Let everyone know why you’re fundraising for this cause.
Set a goal. The Breakthrough for Brain Tumors 5K is a signature fundraising event for the
American Brain Tumor Association. We encourage each team member to raise at least $120
(because there are 120 types of brain tumors), but don’t be afraid to set the bar higher for your
team. The money raised through this event helps advance our mission and allows the ABTA to
continue funding researchers and providing patient care.
Make the ask. Don’t be shy about asking for support. You will be surprised how willing your
peers are to help you. We have created some email templates that you can find in your
Participant Center to aid you in the process.
FUNdraise!

Sponsor yourself. A personal donation demonstrates your commitment to the cause
and is also a great motivator for others to donate.

Find out if your company has a matching gifts program. Matching gifts can double,
and sometimes triple, your team money! (Note: Matching gifts often take several months
to come in, so be sure to ask early.)

Use the buddy system. Ask someone who cannot walk to help you collect donations.

Utilize social media. Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media tools are great
ways to spread the word about what you’re doing. Include your personal fundraising link
any chance you can so that making a donation is easy.

Ask one person a day to sponsor
you.

Hold Fundraisers at Work.
o
Jeans Friday – anyone who
donates $5 or more can wear
jeans on Friday
o
Bright Ideas! – buy one for
$1.00 or more, then sign your
name and display it proudly
to help support the cause
and your team.

Check out our Fundraising Tips for more great ideas!
Celebrate your Success
It’s Walk day - take a moment to pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Now it’s time to
celebrate! We want everyone to be able to enjoy the event and all of its activities.
Here are some suggestions to keep in mind to ensure your team is prepared on Event Day:

Coordinate a carpooling system for team members in the same area.

Set up a meeting place for the team. Feel free to bring balloons or signs so your team is
easy to spot.

Make sure all team members check-in at the tent and receive their shirt and other
rewards.

Collect and turn in all remaining off-line donations.

Sign the Breakthrough for Brain Tumors Tribute Wall.

Schedule a team photo at the Breakthrough for Brain Tumors banner.

Celebrate with your team and bask in the pride that your involvement helps advance the
mission of the American Brain Tumor Association.
Following the Walk:

Send a personal thank you note to each of your team members and encourage them to
do the same to each of their donors.

Submit a team photo to your company’s newsletter as well as highlights and inspiring
stories from the event.

Share your team photo and team’s success with everyone you know. Send a follow-up
email and post photos and stories to Facebook and other social media sites.

Plan a post-event get together (picnic, party, breakfast, etc) and share results and photos
from the event. Thank everyone for their involvement and encourage future
participation.
Know the Facts
The below facts will help you engage people when asking them for their support, either by
joining your team or making a donation. More brain tumor facts are available at
www.abta.org/news/brain-tumor-fact-sheets.

Nearly 700,000 people in the United States are currently living with a brain tumor—
approximately 221 out of every 100,000 people.

An estimated 69,720 new cases of primary malignant and non–malignant brain tumors are
expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2013.

There are more than 120 types of brain tumors.

Primary malignant brain tumors tend to affect more men than women. Benign brain tumors
affect more women than men.

Brain tumors are the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in people under the age
of 20, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in males aged 20-30, and the fifth
leading cause of cancer-related deaths in females aged 20-39.

Approximately 4,300 new cases of childhood primary malignant and non–malignant brain
tumors are expected to be diagnosed 2013. Of these 4,300 new cases, an estimated 3,050
will be in children less than 15 years of age.

Meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumor, representing 34% of all primary
brain tumors.

Gliomas, a broad term which includes all tumors arising from the gluey or supportive tissue
of the brain, represent 30% of all brain tumors and 80% of all malignant tumors. The most
common glioma—and most aggressive—type of glioma is glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM.

A brain tumor may be classified as benign or malignant. Benign tumors usually grow more
slowly and are typically more easily removed. Malignant tumors tend to grow and spread
quickly, and are not easily removed. Over time, some benign brain tumors may become
malignant.

Senator Edward Kennedy, composer George Gershwin, film critic Gene Siskel, singer and
actress Ethel Merman, Major League Baseball player Gary Carter, and Eleanor Mondale,
daughter of former US Vice President Walter Mondale, all died as a result of a brain tumor.
About the American Brain Tumor Association
Founded in 1973, the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) was the first national nonprofit
organization dedicated solely to brain tumors. For nearly 40 years, the ABTA has been providing
comprehensive resources that support the complex needs of brain tumor patients and
caregivers, as well as the critical funding of research in the pursuit of breakthroughs in brain
tumor diagnosis, treatment and care.
Our Mission
The mission of the American Brain Tumor Association is to advance the understanding and
treatment of brain tumors with the goals of improving, extending and, ultimately, saving the
lives of those impacted by a brain tumor diagnosis.
We do this through interactions and engagements with brain tumor patients and their families,
collaborations with allied groups and organizations, and the funding of brain tumor research.
Did you know?
American Brain Tumor Association – The First and Only
The American Brain Tumor Association was the first national organization committed to funding
brain tumor research, and today is the only national organization providing comprehensive
informational resources designed to meet the complex care needs of brain tumor patients and
caregivers.
Where does the money go?
In fiscal year 2012, 80% of funds raised by the American Brain Tumor Association were
invested in programs that directly support our mission—including research and patient
services. Said similarly, 80 cents of each dollar donated is directed to the ABTA’s programs.
Therefore, our mission-driven programmatic funding represents about 80% of the
organization’s budget.