Walker Welcome Packet

Walker Welcome Packet

Welcome to the FARE Walk for Food Allergy! We are so excited you have decided to help us say FAREwell to food allergies. Whether you are walking for your health or in honor of a loved one, your fundraising efforts and support will make a difference! More than just a walk, the FARE Walk for Food Allergy brings together thousands of Americans seeking a safe world for those living with food allergies. Your time and hard work will make a difference in the lives of those who live with food allergies. Your participation will not only be fun, but will also help Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) continue to fund education, advocacy and research in an effort to fulfill our mission: to ensure the safety and inclusion of individuals with food allergies while relentlessly seeking a cure. FARE works on behalf of the 15 million Americans who have food allergy, including all those at risk for life-threatening anaphylaxis. This potentially deadly disease affects 1 in every 13 children in the United States or roughly 2 in every classroom. We walk for them. A study has shown that the number of children living with a peanut allergy has nearly doubled from 1997 to 2002. We walk for them. In the United States, food allergies send someone to the emergency room every three minutes. We walk for them. The FARE Walk for Food Allergy raises resources and support to ensure a safer world for those living with food allergies. We walk alongside you with the knowledge that our combined effort will change lives. As staff of FARE, we are here to support you throughout the coming months as you commit yourself to this cause. We will provide you with the tools, tips and encouragement you will need to be successful. And we will be there with you on the day of the walk to celebrate your accomplishments along with hundreds of others! We look forward to working with you over the coming months! Sincerely, Food Allergy Research & Education

How to Set up and Utilize your Participant Center After registration, each participant will receive a personal fundraising page. Setting this page up can sometimes be a little confusing, so we ve included instructions to help you in this process. Personal fundraising pages are vital to the success of your efforts and we strongly encourage you to utilize all they offer. If you have further questions about how to personalize your page please contact your local staff. Updating Your Personal Page 1. Click on the My Webpage tab to begin edits on your personal fundraising page. 2. Click on Edit Personal Page to make updates to the page your supporters see when they visit to make a donation. 3. Click on these links to view what your personal page will look like to the public or to edit your team page. You will only have access to editing the team page if you are the team captain. 4. Click in these boxes to update the name of your page. Feel free to add any text that grabs the attention of your visitors! 5. You can select here to display a picture or video on your page. If you ve participated before share a picture from last year s walk. Consider sharing a picture of your reason for walking, maybe your children or brother or sister! 6. Here you can choose to upload a picture of your own or one from our library of images. You can also place a caption underneath your picture. For example, Johnny and I at last year s walk. 7. Click in this box to update the text visitors to your page will see. We encourage you to share your personal reasons for participating!

Utilizing Email Center 1. Click the My Email tab to create and send emails to your friends and family. 2. Click the Address Book Import to import your contacts from your personal email account. 3. Click the Email History Log to see all the emails you have sent previously. 4. Enter the email addresses of those you would like to ask for support. You can also customize the greeting they will see based on the recipient. 1. Choose the template you would like to send. We have created emails for your use or you can create your own email and share your story! 2. Edit the subject line of your email here. Make sure to include something that will motivate your supporters to open the email! 3. E d i t t h e body of your email here. Remember to include your personal reason for participating and to share your story! This is going to your contacts so they will support you because this cause means something to you! 4. Click on the Send Email tab to send the email you ve created to all those you added in your recipient list.

Fundraising: Step One Now that you ve set up your personal website it is time to get fundraising! Fundraising is an important part of fulfilling our mission and achieving our vision of a safer world for those living with food allergies; in fact it is key to funding vital educational programming, increasing awareness, and supporting cutting edge research. We have found that the most successful fundraising plans are built around an online giving campaign. In your participant center you will find sample emails. We have included one here as well for your use. As we all know there is still power in a hand written letter, so if you prefer that method you can utilize these same samples! Dear, I am writing you today to let you know about an exciting event I am taking part in, the FARE Walk for Food Allergy. The vision of Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) is to make the world a safer place for those who live with food allergies. They are dedicated to ensuring the safety and inclusion of individuals with food allergies, while relentlessly seeking a cure. Beyond raising funds for a vital reason, the FARE Walk for Food Allergy is a fun event for the whole family! I am asking for your support in my fundraising efforts. I have made a commitment of raising $X and I am very excited to be able to reach that goal. I hope that you will help me say FAREwell to food allergies! I walk because, <insert your personal motivation for walking here.> I also want to share with you some very important facts about food allergies: As many as 15 million Americans have food allergies, including 5.9 million children that s 1 in 25 adults and 1 in 13 children under age 18. Food allergy occurs when a person s immune system mistakenly attacks a food protein. Symptoms range from mild (rashes, hives, itching) to life-threatening (trouble breathing, loss of consciousness). Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death. Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a potentially deadly reaction. Food allergens are life-altering for the entire family and require constant vigilance. The most common allergens are foods we encounter every day: milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish. The FARE Walk raises vital funds so that those statistics will change in the future. Dollars raised by FARE Walk, and all their fundraising efforts, go to research and education in local communities as well as advocacy efforts on local and national levels. Your donation and support will make a difference in those who live with food allergies. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation you can do so on my web page at: <insert URL for fundraising page here>. You mail also mail checks, with the walker and team name (insert team name here) to: Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) 7925 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 1100 McLean, VA 22102 Thank you for your support! Sincerely, Your Name Here

Social Media Fundraising As we all know social media has become one of the most powerful outlets in today s world. We encourage you all to utilize this new form of outreach to help you succeed in your fundraising efforts. We have included some sample messages you can post to your Facebook profile, Twitter page, or LinkedIn profile. Social media networks reach far more than a phone call or email will and we know you can make a difference reaching out to yours! Message One, after registration: I ve registered for year s FARE Walk for Food Allergy. I hope you ll join me in saying FAREwell to food allergies. I walk because <insert your reason for walking> and I m asking for your support. Visit my webpage to learn more <insert hyperlink to your personal page here>. Message Two, throughout campaign: Did you know that food allergies affect 15 million people? I m raising funds to do something about that! Visit my webpage <insert hyperlink to your personal page here> to learn more and support my efforts! Message Three, throughout campaign: I m half way do my goal, and only need $x more to reach it! Will you help me? Visit my page and make your donation today <insert hyperlink here>. Message Four, throughout campaign: It s only two weeks before this year s FARE Walk and I am so excited to participate and make a difference in the lives of those who live with food allergies. <Share your personal reason for walking here>. Please support my efforts and visit my personal webpage to learn more! <insert hyperlink here>. Message Five, after walk: Thank you so much to everyone who supported my efforts to say FAREwell to food allergies. The walk was this past weekend and we had a fabulous time! I was able to raise <$> and in <insert walk location> we raised a total of <$total of walk>! Thank you for your help and check out my page if you want to learn more about FARE. <insert hyperlink here>. Key Points to Remember when utilizing Social Media: Always include a link to your personal fundraising page. Don t be afraid to post frequently. Remember how quickly messages end up on the next page with everyone sharing their own statuses. Make your posts regular and frequent. Publicly thank your donors on your page: Thanks to Jane Doe for her donation. Your support is so appreciated! One last great idea to utilize all your communication! Include a link to your webpage in your email signature: I m participating in this year s FARE Walk for Food Allergy, help us say FAREwell to food allergies. Visit my page to learn more and support my efforts <insert your hyperlink here>.

More Fundraising Ideas! Fundraising can be a lot of fun and there are many easy ways to raise money. We want you to enjoy your experience so we ve provided a few great ideas to jump start your efforts! Some of these ideas are quick and easy, some might take more time, but they will all be worth the investment you make! If you have another idea, but need some help making that idea a reality, please contact your local staff member and they will do everything they can to support you. Online Fundraising Campaign After you register, you will be able to set up a personal website where donors can make secure online donations. Send an email to your address book with a link to your website. There are even templates provided in your Participant Center that you can customize to share your reasons for walking! Coordinate a Dress Down Day At your office, ask colleagues to donate $5 to your fundraising efforts and then as a reward work with HR to ensure that everyone who donates can dress casually on the designated day! Corporate Matching Gifts Corporations will often match gifts given to you by employees. This is a great way to double or triple your fundraising efforts. Contact your HR Department for more information. Ask each donor if their company matches. Spaghetti Dinner or Potluck Host a spaghetti dinner or potluck in conjunction with your school, work, and faith-based or neighborhood organization. Don t forget to put out a donation jar for those who stop by and don t purchase anything. Go Greek Contact your local sorority/fraternity chapter and tell them that you are an alum (we re assuming you ll have to prove this with some sort of secret handshake). Ask them if they would do one of their philanthropy/charity events for your cause. Or just ask them for help doing volunteer work for your event (have them bake cookies for your bake sale, for example.) Concession Stand Take-Over Many sports venues and high school stadiums allow groups to work the concession stand to raise funds for charity. Look into the arenas near you. Or, if your child s little league does not have a concession stand, ask if you can sell water and treats! Restaurant Night If you have contacts at a local restaurant or bar, or even if you are just a frequent customer, see if they would let you plan an event. Maybe they donate a certain percentage of their sales, maybe their tips, or you could organize a celebrity bartending night. Use your passion! Host a clothing or book swap. Baby sit. Pet sit. Proofread and edit resumes. Make cakes or cupcakes. Anything goes and can be turned into a powerful fundraiser!

Create a Plan We are here to make sure your FARE Walk for Food Allergy is a success! Below we ve provided sample plans to help you reach your fundraising goals. After you ve set your goal, pick a plan that you think will work with your life and community. Feel free to mix and match until you ve come up with a plan that fits perfectly to your goals! Raise $250 Ask 4 relatives for $25 $100 Ask 5 friends for $10 each $50 Ask 3 co-workers or neighbors for $10 each $30 Sponsor yourself! $25 $255 Raise $500 Email Campaign: Recruit 5 team members who will commit to sending out 25 emails asking for a donation of $25. Even with a return rate of 25% you will raise more than $100 per team member. $500 Raise $1000 Email Campaign: Recruit 5 team members who will commit to sending out 25 emails asking for a donation of $25. Even with a return rate of 25% you will raise more than $100 per team member. Partner with a Vendor: Work with a vendor (i.e. Mary Kay, Stella & Dot Jewelry, Tastefully Simple) to set up shop in your office lobby for the day or host a party at your home. Ask for 20% of the sales to come back to FARE. Casual for a Cause: Host a dress down day at your office charge $5 to participate. Game Watch: Invite 10 friends over to watch the Super Bowl, March Madness, Stanley Cup (or whatever sport you all love) and ask for a $10 donation. Provide snacks and drinks and it will be a party everyone will remember for a great cause! $500 $300 $100 $100 $1000 Or combine some of your favorites, contact your local staff and make your own plan! We re to make sure you succeed!

Who Do You Know? We find that the most successful fundraisers are those who aren t afraid to ask their friends and family for support they will want to help you because this cause matters to you! This process can be overwhelming, so we have created the below diagram to help you sort out who to contact. Start with the easiest people to reach your family and friends. Next, reach out to those who you do business with or acquaintances from community organizations. Before you know it, you will have a complete list of people that you know!

Frequently Asked Questions What is the FARE Walk for Food Allergy? The FARE Walk for Food Allergy brings together thousands of Americans seeking a safe world for those living with food allergies. The Walk is a family-friendly event that takes place in over 65 communities nationwide to fund food allergy research, education, advocacy and awareness! This special day will include fun activities for the entire family. With strong support from corporations, individuals and teams, the event raises more than $3.5 million nationally to support the mission of Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE): to ensure the safety and inclusion of individuals with food allergies while relentlessly seeking a cure. How are funds raised by the Walk used? Funds raised support national and local initiatives that help support those living with food allergies, including a nationally recognized website, school-based training programs, cutting edge research and advocacy at the highest levels of government on behalf of the food allergy community. How do I participate? You can form or join a walk team, participate as an individual walker, be a local sponsor, or donate to the cause. Take your first step and register today (link to registration). Is there a fee to participate? No, but we encourage each person to make a personal donation and raise funds to support our mission. Those who raise $100 or more will receive the official FARE Walk for Food Allergy t-shirt. Walking is the culmination of your efforts, but raising funds will help us to continue to ensure the safety of those living with food allergies while relentlessly seeking a cure. Can I walk as a team with friends and family or my company? Absolutely! In fact, most FARE Walk for Food Allergy participants form or join a team. If you have already registered to walk and would like to start a team, contact your regional FARE office. Register today at www.foodallergywalk.org. How long is the FARE Walk for Food Allergy? Distances vary by route and city. Most FARE walks are between one mile and three miles. How much are the t-shirts? The t-shirts are our fundraising incentive; therefore, they are $100. All participants who raise $100 or more will receive the official FARE Walk for Food Allergy t-shirt. If you would like to receive a t-shirt you may make a $100 donation. Need more fundraising ideas or help with your personal page or just have a few questions? Please contact your local staff today.