Award Application - 2011

ALL AMERICAN AWARDRecognition of American Cancer Society Relay For Life Events

Description: The All American Award recognizes growth, retention, Relay branding, diversity, and leadership in incorporating the 5D’s within Relay events and

throughout the year. The 5D’s include: Fundraising Development, Event Development, Leadership Development, Team Development, and Survivorship Development.

To qualify: ● Events must meet National Relay For Life standards Events must show overall growth Events must demonstrate successful implementation of the 5 D's Events must use proper event branding/signage with current RFL logo Events must show connection between RFL and ACS Events must demonstrate outreach efforts to diverse group(s)

To Apply: Applications including any attachments (photos, forms, clippings, etc) must be submitted electronically to your Chris Reichert by August 15, 2011. Divisions must submit final nominations to chris.reichert@cancer.org by August 15, 2011. Division winners are announced during the September Division Relay Summit. National winners are announced to Division lead staff in October & awards will be sent to Region Relay Manager.

Because of the large numbers of applications to be reviewed, we encourage you to submit your application soon after the completion of your event. You may include up to two photos for each of the 5D’s (no more than 10 photos total).

For questions, please contact Chris Reichert.

Thank You!

Award Application - 2011

ALL AMERICAN AWARD

Name of Relay For Life Event: Allegheny College Date of Event: 4/30/11

Division: East Central State: PA

County: Crawford County Population: 88,521

Lead Volunteer: Carly Braden Lead Staff: Emily ParrocciniPhone Number: 412-780-6803 Phone Number: 814-723-5781Email Address: bradenc@allegheny.edu Email Address: Emily.Parroccini@cancer.org

Growth in the following three areas is a key indicator of your Relay’s success. Demonstrate your event’s growth from last year by filling in the amounts requested below.

2010 2011

Income (dollar/per cap) _6__ _10_Teams (number of teams) _36__ _37_Survivors (3% calculation) _4__ _16_

Team retention is also a key indicator in your Relay’s success. How many of your teams are returning teams? Please list the number and percent of total teams. (Example: 40 teams returning with 100 total teams in 2011 = 40% retention.)

23 teams returning = 62% retention

Implementation of the 5 D’s is critical to your Relay’s success. Describe how your Relay implemented each of the 5 D’s in 2011.

Leadership Development (Establishing a Business Culture, Focus on Building Relationships, Chairs & Co-Chairs for Sub-Committees, 2 Year Transition of Leadership, etc.):

1. Does your event have 20 or more committee members?

□ Yes

□ No

2. Does your event have a 2-prong structure (growth & production)? Please describe.□ Yes - The “growth” chairs are considered the Exec. Board and meet year round on things such

as Fundraising, Team Development, Survivorship, Sponsorship, Advocacy, and Online. The remaining committee positions join the group at the beginning of spring semester to begin the actual planning of the event.

□ No

3. Does your event have a succession plan? Please describe.

□ Yes – Each chair is responsible for selecting his/her own replacement from their subcommittee. This year, we are attempting to move to an application process to allow the Event Chairs some say in next year’s committee.

□ No

Additional activity/comments:

Team Development (Team Development Committee that includes Team Recruitment Chair, Team Retention Chair, Team Mentoring, Data Collection, Outreach to diverse groups, etc.):

1. Retention percentage _62%

2. Number of new teams_14 new teams

3. Describe your outreach efforts to diverse groups: The Team D. committee went above and beyond this year, going to one chapter meeting for each of the groups on campus. If they were a returning team, the presentation was centered around signing up again online and increasing their team total; if a new team they were targeting, the committee brought a short video and some giveaways for the new team captain. They had great success.

Additional activity/comments:Halfway through the year, after noticing a drop in online registration, the Team D committee hosted a “Web Party” in the computer lab on campus. Teams were invited to come in, get a walk-through in getting registered online, enjoy some popcorn, and watch Spiderman with the committee.

Survivorship Development (implementation of National Survivorship Model – Year round survivor recruitment, collection of survivor data, honoring survivors and caregivers, involving survivors in committee and on teams, providing volunteer opportunities in ACS programs, involving survivors throughout the year):

1. Describe how you involved survivors year-roundThe committee had year-round touches with survivors in the area: holiday cards and valentines were sent to survivors from previous years, as well as “Happy Birthday” and “Just Because” cards that we delivered to the local cancer care center. All local survivors were invited to Kick Off and also to Rent-A-Friend, Allegheny’s biggest, campus-wide fundraiser.

2. Describe how you involved survivors in/at the eventAfter the survivor lap, the survivors and virtual survivors were welcomed back inside for a luncheon catered by the campus. They are also given tickets to enjoy some of the events on campus and were the judges of the Miss Relay pageant later on in the day.

3. Did you provide caregiver recognition at the event? Please describe.As most of our survivors were virtual survivors, we did not recognize caregivers with their own lap or ceremony. They were, however, thanked and applauded at the beginning of the survivor ceremony.

Additional activity/comments:

Fundraising Development (focus on fundraising as a priority, ensuring that fundraising tips reach all participants, encouraging letter writing for fundraising):

1. Did you promote fundraising year-round (including online if applicable)? Please describe.

Yes. From the first meeting with the committee, the focus was on coming up with one major fundraiser per month leading up to the event. Online fundraising was considered mandatory to receive committee and team captain t-shirts

2. Did your event include onsite fundraising? Please describe.Yes. Each team is required to have an onsite fundraiser that accompanies the event’s theme.

3. Did you offer fundraising incentives (for individuals and teams, i.e. fundraising club, early bird etc.)The incentive flier was included in each team captain packet. There were also little giveaways handed out at team captain meetings and bank nights for those individuals who turned in money.

Additional activity/comments:

Event Development (effective emotional ceremonies, well planned survivor lap and activities, well planned Luminaria ceremony, caregiver recognition, fun event):

1. Were your ceremonies emotional, engaging, entertaining, powerful, and diverse? Please describe. Every ceremony was given a “face lift” this year after last year’s surveys suggested that they were getting stale. The survivor ceremony included a student’s personal story (one that she had never shared with her classmates before), the Luminaria ceremony was enhanced with a glowstick ceremony before the names were read, and the Fight Back ceremony was a balloon release with the fight back pledges tied to the balloon strings. Each ceremony was well thought out and included a creative, new twist that reinvigorated the spirit of Relay at Allegheny College.

2. Was your event engaging all throughout the night? Please describe and submit program / schedule. Schedule of events is attached below. The students were engaged, participating, and having fun from opening ceremonies until closing. The activities committee did an excellent job of keeping the schedule diverse and rolling at all times.

3. Was your event properly branded with the current RFL logo and does your event connect RFL to ACS? Please describe. All balloons, banners, and yard signs were Relay and ACS branded and throughout the day, between activities and music playing, the committee took turns giving “ACS PSAs” over the PA system. Each PSA included plugs for programs and services, the 800 number, and ACS CAN.

Having a clear plan and vision for your Relay is also critical to its success. Does your event have a plan that incorporates future goals? Share details of your plan for income, teams, and survivors in upcoming years.

The committee has clear goals of (in the next few years) surpassing the $50,000 mark, having one team from each group on campus, and getting survivors in the area to come to Allegheny’s Relay as often as they go to Meadville and Titusville’s Relays. With their charisma, determination, hard work, and genuine passion for our cause, I don’t see any reason why Alleghey College shouldn’t be capable of achieving these goals.

Additional Comments/Photos:

Relay For Life of Allegheny College 2011 Schedule9:00 a.m. Opening Lap9:30 a.m Mummy Wrap

10:00 a.m. Relay Trivia Lap

10:30 a.m. Donut On A String

11:00 a.m. Bingo Lap

11:30 a.m. Dance Themed Lap

12:00 p.m. Survivor Lap12:30 p.m. Black Jack Lap

1:00 p.m. Tricycle Race Lap

1:30 p.m. Pie Eating Contest

2:00 p.m. 3-Legged Race Lap

2:30 p.m. Water Balloon Toss

3:00 p.m. Egg On A Spoon Lap

3:30 p.m. Frozen T-Shirt Contest

4:00 p.m. Fight Back Ceremony4:30 p.m. Miss Relay Competition

5:00 p.m. 60’s Music

5:30 p.m. Musical Feet

6:00 p.m. Blindfolded Battleship

6:30 p.m. Limbo Lap

7:00 p.m. Songs On Repeat

7: 30 p.m. Buddy Lap

8:00 p.m. Luminaria 8:30 p.m. Closing Ceremonies9:00 p.m. Clean Up

Fight Back Ceremony- Balloon Release

Miss Relay Competition--Finalists