Team Captain
Handbook
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Welcome!
First off, on behalf of the Down Syndrome Society of Mobile (DSSM), our board
of directors and the Buddy Walk planning committee, let me thank you for
participating in the 2015 Buddy Walk by being a team captain! Since 2008,
DSSM has hosted its annual Buddy Walk in October to promote acceptance and
inclusion of those with Down syndrome in the Mobile area.
Team captains play a key role in the success of the Buddy Walk. You are the
personal face of the walk, sharing your stories, increasing awareness of Down
syndrome in our community and educating others about DSSM. You also raise
vital funds for our organization. The funds you and your team raise enable us to
continue our mission of providing support, education and advocacy to Mobile’s
adults and children with Down syndrome, their families and their communities.
A Team
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captain…
is the leader of a Buddy Walk team;
recruits family, friends, and colleagues to join their team;
builds excitement and commitment;
maximizes the fundraising potential of all team walkers;
provides inspiration and motivation;
and recognizes and acknowledges all efforts made by the team.
Your leadership is invaluable to DSSM, and your dedication and hard work are
greatly appreciated! We can’t wait to see you and your team at the Buddy Walk
on October 17!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Cooley
DSSM President
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Important Deadlines
September 25
Last day to register walkers at $15 and to guarantee their tshirt. Registration after September 25 will be $20.
September 30
Corporate sponsorship deadline.
October 1
Last day for exhibitor/vendor forms.
October 15
Last day to register online. On-site registration is available
the morning of the Buddy Walk starting at 9 a.m.
At 5 p.m., we close our team competitions (Most Funds Raised
and Most Walkers). Winners will be announced on our
Facebook page on October 16. Of course, we encourage you to
continue to fundraise up until the day of the walk!
October 16
Team t-shirt pick-up at the Goodwill Easter Seals Child
Development Center located at 10 Westminster Way. This is
the ONLY day available for early shirt pick up, so please send
a team representative if you (the team captain) are unable to
come. Any shirts not picked up this day will be available for
pick up the day of the event.
October 17
BUDDY WALK!
On-site registration starts at 9 a.m.
Walk begins at 10 a.m.
Event ends at 12 noon
Build and Motivate Your Team
Whether it’s with family, friends, colleagues, or members of other organizations
you belong to, building a team can really boost camaraderie and morale. As a
team captain, it’s important to find ways to build excitement and commitment
with team members.
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few ways to do this:
Host a kickoff party
Email people weekly with a fundraising tip, inspirational quote or story, etc.
Make event posters for bulletin boards, doors, waiting rooms
Post sponsor and walk sheets in high traffic areas at work, where colleagues
can make a pledge or join your team
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Create friendly competition between different departments or family
members
Some Buddy Walk teams make team-specific t-shirts, costumes, hats, posters,
buttons, banners any and all of this is encouraged!
Tips for Achieving Your Fundraising Goals
Here are some more quick and easy ways to tackle fundraising for your Buddy
Walk at the grassroots level. Feel free to contact us at
[email protected] to discuss other fundraising concepts that
might work best for you. Suggestions and ideas are encouraged!
• Start now! There is no such thing as too early!
• Arm yourself with facts about Down syndrome and DSSM:
• More than 400,000 people in the United States have Down syndrome.
• One in every 733 births result in a baby with Down syndrome.
• Parents can be of any age, ethnicity, and socio-economic level.
• Trisomy 21 is a genetic condition, and it is not hereditary.
• Along with the National Down Syndrome Society, DSSM promotes
awareness and inclusion for people with Down syndrome and raises
funds for local and national advocacy, inclusion & awareness programs.
• Ask people who are likely to support you. Past supporters are the best and
easiest people to start with. Also, people give to people they know, so don’t be
afraid to ask. This is a great way to CELEBRATE Down syndrome and to
promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome.
• It is best to spread the fundraising activities over a period of time. Developing
a fundraising plan that includes events throughout the year is a great way to
keep the excitement going and raise a tremendous amount of money along
the way!
• Dedicate your personal or team fund raising effort to an individual with Down
syndrome. Walk and raise funds in their honor. Your honoree can be a coworker, friend or family member with Down syndrome. Putting a face with the
cause helps donors realize their impact.
• Make it easy to donate. Fully utilize your personal fundraising page and add
the link to your email signature and social networking profiles.
• Personalize your materials as much as possible. Although it can take extra
time, it makes a big difference and will pay off in the end.
• Use multiple ways to reach out to people. Online is the most popular,
especially social media sites like Facebook, but don’t forget about emails,
posters, and personal phone calls. Follow up is important. Find more
information on using social media for fundraising below.
• Start a letter writing campaign.
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Specify your ask. People like options, so come up with three levels of giving
and add an “other”category (for example $100, $50, $25, other) for people to
choose from.
Tell your story. Talk about why you participate in the Buddy Walk, or what
DSSM means to you and your family. Your personal experience is what will
inspire and gain support
Be enthusiastic about your participation. Whether asking for a donation or for
someone to join your team, your enthusiasm will be contagious and others
will want to support you.
Remember to ask your donors if their companies have a matching gifts
program. You can easily double your fundraising through matching plans!
Once fundraising begins, remember to say “Thank You!” You may choose to
write personal notes, send a standard letter, and write a letter to the editor of
your local newspaper or company newsletter, use e-mail or a big poster in the
company break room to thank your donors for their support.
Tips on Using Social Media for Fundraising
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“Like” DSSM on Facebook (facebook.com/dssmobile) and be sure you are
“attending” the official Buddy Walk Mobile event on Facebook (facebook.com/
events/988283674539706). Invite your friends to like our page and to join
the event.
Use our official Buddy Walk hashtag on your posts, across all social media
#buddywalkmobile
Repost/Retweet DSSM page posts to generate excitement.
Create a Facebook Group for your team, where you can post important
registration and donation information, thank team members and donors as
well as day-of information.
Use social media to:
• Provide a link directly to your team page
• Organize your Team Kick-off Party
• State your purpose and request clearly
• Create buzz and excitement; share a story about your buddy or team
• Post updates regularly about goals you are setting and reaching as a
team
• Post pictures of last year, your buddy, preparation for day-of, etc.
• Ask for a specific amount on a specific day, i.e.:“Help us reach $1,500
by the end of the day. Only $250 to go.”
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Team Fundraising Ideas
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Get Your Child's School Involved - A teacher at a private school instituted a
"dress down day" or “casual day” for the entire student body and faculty. For a
$5 donation, a student or teacher could dress in jeans or other casual clothes
for a day instead of the uniform. If students already have a casual dress
policy, invite them to wear a hat, shorts or other attire that is normally not
allowed. It also helps to remind the school that October is National Down
Syndrome Awareness Month
A Letter Writing Assignment - Students can compete to see who receives a
donation from the longest distance away. Ask them to write letters about the
Buddy Walk to people or companies located out of your state or out of the
country. The student who brings in a check from the farthest point wins a
prize.
Get Your Company Involved - A district manager of a national retail chain
encouraged her company to participate. The employees of each store
challenged one another to form at least one team per store and raise money
for Down syndrome. They had fun, raised money and increased morale all at
once! Another way to have your company raise money is to have one (or
more) “dress down days” with the money collected going towards the Buddy
Walk.
Get Your Religious Organization Involved - Ask to put a poster on the bulletin
board. See if an announcement can be made during a service. Leave a
donation envelope in the coffee room or in the lobby. See if the youth group is
looking for a social action activity.
Contact Your Child's Girl/Boy Scout Troop - Scouts could be eligible to earn a
variety of badges by participating in a Buddy Walk. Scouts may also want to
help set-up or teardown your event, so keep them in mind as volunteers as
well.
Community activities - Car wash, a dog wash, garage sale, bake sale, "Dimes
for Down Syndrome Day" at work, school or your local bank.
Places you go - Encourage walkers to get pledges from family, friends,
colleagues, doctors, dentists, dry cleaners, hairdressers, and places where they
are frequent patrons.
Use incentive prizes to reward participants for their fundraising efforts. For
example, if you raise $50 you will earn a baseball hat, if you raise $100 you
will earn a tote bag, etc. Set a deadline so that your walkers are motivated to
raise money at a quicker pace (leverage the competitive spirit of your
Walkers).
Sell raffle tickets and hold a drawing (or drawings) for items that were
donated by local organizations.
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Dinning for DS - Work with local restaurants and stores to have a day or
night each month where a portion of the proceeds will go to your team to
raise money for your Buddy Walk. “Dining for Down syndrome” is becoming
popular across the country!
Sell Buddy Walk lollipops, cookies or other treats near the cash register at
local businesses. This is a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth and raise
awareness of your organization and event. The Luzerne County Down
Syndrome Network has been very successful selling Buddy Walk lollipops at
their local Wendy’s restaurants and other smaller shops.
Make and sell Buddy Walk ribbons (in the blue and yellow Buddy Walk
colors) and sell them for $.50 or $1.00 to increase awareness of your Buddy
Ask local businesses if you can place cans in their shops to raise “Dimes For
Down syndrome” (or any spare change). Decorate the cans with DSAH logo,
your team name, and information about the Buddy Walk (date, time, place) so
people who drop in their change can learn more about the event. You can also
ask your school, place of employment or house of worship, if you can have a
special collection of spare change for the Buddy Walk
Hold an auction: Auction a prime parking space at work, a half or whole day
off or yourself to work a day for someone.
A little change makes a lot of cents: Ask your bank to post this message at
the teller line, "Dimes for Down syndrome” to help celebrate diversity and
Down Syndrome awareness.”
Use your green thumb: Sell corsages, your extra houseplants, or bouquets
from your garden.
Schedule a game night: Host a Monopoly, poker, bingo or other game night
and charge admission.
Organize a pretty baby contest: Gather employee baby pictures, have donation
jars set up as votes - the jar with the most donations wins. Get prizes donated
for the winners.
Sell your career skill: For example, if you’re a CPA, offer to do your friends’
taxes for a fee that goes toward your goal.
Schedule a share-the-profit event: Many local restaurants will give a portion
of a day’s profits to a specific cause. Set this up with restaurant management
and notify your friends, family, etc. to visit the establishment on the scheduled
day.
Host a yard sale: Sell your unwanted items and put the profit towards your
goal. If family/friends don’t want to give money, suggest that you sell their
unwanted items and keep the profit.
Turn a gift to you into a gift to the Society: Ask family/friends to donate
money on your behalf to the Buddy Walk instead of giving you presents at
your upcoming birthday or anniversary.
Present an instructional class: Invite possible donors to participate in a howto class and charge a fee that goes toward your goal. For example, if you’re a
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great dancer, offer to conduct classes for your friends with the proceeds
benefiting the Buddy Walk.
Host a party: Throw a great party and charge admission! Have the party at
your house or partner with a local bar that gives you a portion of the
evening’s cover charge.
Host a block party: Invite your neighbors to a neighborhood block party. Sell
food and charge admission.
Bake Sale: Hold a bake sale at work, church, or school or sell donuts, bagels
and coffee in the morning.
Book Smart: Dust those bookshelves and have a book sale.
Snack Bar: Set up an inexpensive snack bar. Every day employees purchase
snacks—sandwiches, chips, cookies, juices and soft drinks—with all the
proceeds going toward your fund raising goal.
Coin Saving: Ask five to ten people to save their change for you for a month.
Give them buckets decorated. At the month’s end, invite them to your home
for a “counting party.”
Meals on Wheels: Have a meal day where you will cook and deliver breakfast,
lunch or dinner to other businesses in town. Fax them a few days ahead of
time to inform them of the menu, cost and how to order.
Garage Sale: Have a garage sale in your company parking lot or at your home
and have all your friends, coworkers, and team members bring items from
their homes to sell.
Car Wash: Get your team together on a weekend to hold a car wash. Some
good places to have a car wash are parking lots of fast food restaurants,
grocery stores and churches. Be sure to check with the owners before setting
up!
Raffles: Ask a local merchant to donate a prize (restaurant gift certificate,
TV/DVD player, hotel weekend getaway, airline tickets, etc.) to be raffled.
Make tickets and start selling.
Yard Displays: Place plastic pink flamingos, wooden cows, or whirly birds in
the front yard of unsuspecting donors...request a donation for them to be
removed, an additional donation for the homeowner to pick whose yard they
are to be placed next, and another donation as "insurance" that they don't
wind up back in their yard.
Promote Yourselves: Call your local newspaper and let them know what your
team is doing. Send a letter or press release about your team with a photo.
Your company can also write a newsletter article about you and other
employees involved in the Buddy Walk®. Publicity helps generate donations.
Brown Bag Lunch Day: Encourage employees to bring their lunch to work and
hold a brown bag party. Ask them to donate their lunch money to you. The
money saved from not going out that day can be contributed to the Buddy
Walk.
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Fundraising Parties: Schedule a fund raising party to benefit the Buddy Walk.
You can have it at your home, office or partner with a local restaurant or bar
to sponsor the event by donating food or the space. Promote the party to
everyone you know and charge a cover. The restaurant/bar will benefit from
the free publicity and the money you raise will go toward your goal, not to
mention it’s a lot of fun!
Don’t forget to get pledges from people who have supported your loved one.
Colleagues, doctors, dentists, dry cleaners, hairdressers, and places where you
are frequent patrons.
Contact Us
For more information, not contained in this packet, or questions, please contact
our Buddy Walk planning committee!
dssmobile.org
facebook.com/dssmobile
[email protected]
(888) 454-0317
Good luck to you and your team! Happy Buddy Walking!
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