Corporate Team Captain Kit

www.runforautism5k.org

April 13, 2019

Run, walk, raise money, and celebrate with us!

Last year, Run for Autism 5k raised over $130,000 to support critical programs that

make a difference in the lives of children, families, and citizens affected by autism in

Central Virginia. We’ve made huge strides in helping families live happier, safer, and

more productive lives, but there is still more work to do. Your participation in the Run

for Autism 5k is critical to helping the Virginia Institute of Autism offer life-changing

services to our community’s most vulnerable members.

• 1 in 59 children will be diagnosed on the autism spectrum in his or her lifetime

• 1,000 new students in Virginia need autism services each year.

• 500,000 young adults nationwide will age out of school-based services over the next 10 years.

Please spread the word and encourage people to join your team!

Timeline for a Great Race

ORGANIZE(NOW!)

RECRUIT & GET STARTED

(Jan)

GET READY(Feb-April)

RACE DAY!

• Name Company Team (something fun and connected to your organziation’s values).

• Get ready to start Couch to 5K Progam. Pick a day of the week that works for everyone. Find run leaders (may want different levels of running, slow & fast). Pick a time (morning before work, at lunch, or after work). Ideally, hold at least one offiical run day during the week. Use our Race Director’s Couch to 5K advice as a guide.

• Personalize your team page: www.runforautism5k.org and set your fundraising goal. You want to BEAT the competition!

• Continue to sign up runners and walkers to your 5K Team. You’ll find a sample recruitment message in your Participant Center that you can personalize and send to invite team members.

• Hold Kick Off Party - explain training program and fundraising for team.

• Start your Couch to 5K team, distribute program to runners and hold company run days.

• Encourage runners to start raising money for VIA (give runners the Tips to Fundraise packet).

• Keep Fundraising- remember highest fundraisng levels will win • recognition!• Keep up weekly Couch to 5K program runs• Keep Recruiting Runners. Discounted registrations apply until March

13, 2019.

• Come with your t-shirts and team ready!• Team will be assigned area to connect before and after race.

www.runforautism5k.org

ORGANIZE

Create Your Team:

In your web browser, navigate to: www.runforautism5k.orgChoose the blue button (midpage) that reads: FORM A TEAM.

Personalize Your Team Page:Your Participant Center includes tools to personalize your Team and Personal fundraising pages.

1. Tell your team story: You are an important part the Charlottesville Community - let others know why this event is so important to your company. 2. Add a picture: People respond to visual images. Gather the team together and capture all who are making a diff erence in this eff ort. 3. Set your team fundraising goal. If you want to change your goal, please contact the race coordinator at run4autism@viaschool.org and we can change it. 4. Communicate your company participation: use internal communication such as Slack, Yammer, Intranet, etc.

Follow VIA on Facebook for details

on the 2019Run for Autism 5K

Community Kick Off

RECRUIT & GET STARTED

As you Build your Team :

• Navigate to runforautism5k.org, and use your discount code to register team members. Each runner will need a unique email address, but you can use your company mailing address to register everyone. Members who register after the team is formed, can still use the discount code, but will have to register individually by choosing “JOIN A TEAM” on the race homepage.

• Ask your team members directly for help reaching team fundraising goal and to spread the word to their colleagues. Co-workers who don’t want to run can participate by donating.

• Co-workers who can’t make it on race day can still be members of your team: They can sign up to be Virtual Runners and receive a mailed t-shirt before the race!

• Inspire and encourage your team by sending them weekly email updates with the latest 5K information, fundraising ideas or any fundraising success stories from their fellow team members, or a countdown to the race!

4 Tips to Recruit Team Members: 1. Spread the word – Share information with everyone. Use the email tools in your Partici-pant Center at runforautism5k.org to get the word out.

2. Market your team – Go beyond email. Use company newsletters, listservs, flyers, Face-book, Twitter, brochures, emails, and lunch room bulletin boards to market your team.

3. Kick-Off Party! – Host a party or lunch to sign up team members. Attempt to register ev-eryone who attends. Contact the Race Coordinator at run4autism@viaschool.org to receive 5K registration forms, flyers, posters, and forwardable email content.

5. Enjoy! - Your team members will share your enthusiasm and excitement when you demonstrate your commitment. Consider making special team swag or sending your team members prize packs.

FUNDRAISETips for Fundraising Success

Create a fundraising goal: We encourage team members to raise at least $2,500. Set your goal higher for an even greater challenge. The more money that is raised, the more families we can help in our community.

It is easier to raise $2,500 than you might think. Here are some ideas to share with your team:

All the fundraising tips your team needs are contained in the Fundraising Packet. Be sure to give a packet to everyone who joins your team.

Ask each team member to commit to raising between $100 and $500.

Start Now! The key to successful fundraising is to start early.

Establish a departmental challenge: Challenge other departments to raise money. Have a jeans Friday at the office — everyone who contributes $5 or more can wear jeans! You can do the same thing with a “Team Day” by encouraging everyone to wear his or her favorite team jersey and bring a $5 donation to VIA.

Set a deadline: People are always motivated by deadlines.

Offer a prize to the first team member to raise $100, $500 etc.

Host an Ice Cream social: For every team that raises $1,000 or more, VIA will bring Ben & Jerry’s ice cream on a pre-arranged day in April. Use that to your advantage to encourage participation and contact run4autism@viaschool.org to set it up.

www.runforautism5k.org

How can I help my team raise

$2,500?

Recruit 5 additional Teammates, and ask each person to raise

$500!

How can I help my teammates

each raise $500?

Suggest each member ask 5 friends for $10, 10 friends for $25, and 4 loved ones

for $50!

Help your team members make a list of who they can ask for support. Help them

think about who cannot say “NO” to them, and make sure

they are on the the list!

RACE DAY

Race is held rain or shine at Charlottesville High School.

Team Captains pick up packets (team shirts and bibs) Friday before Race Day at James C. Hormel School (1414 Westwood Road, Charlottesville, VA).

Please hand out bibs, shirts, and pins to your teammates on Friday at work and let your group know where to meet you on the CHS Track infield.

Race Starts promptly at 8:00AM, but parking can be tough. Please plan to arrive by 7:30AM to avoid any issues.

Prizes are awarded starting at 8:30AM, and Company Challenge Prizes will be awarded no later than 9:00AM.

Plan to come to the post-race party starting immediately after the race. Location will be announced.