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Happy Birthday is a victory song American Cancer Society Birthday Celebration Guidebook

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Page 1: Happy Birthday - Relay For Life | Cancer Walk | Cancer ...relay.acsevents.org/site/DocServer/2009_MS_Birthday_Celebration... · Happy Birthday is a . victory song. American Cancer

Happy Birthdayis a

victory song

American Cancer SocietyBirthday Celebration Guidebook

Page 2: Happy Birthday - Relay For Life | Cancer Walk | Cancer ...relay.acsevents.org/site/DocServer/2009_MS_Birthday_Celebration... · Happy Birthday is a . victory song. American Cancer

Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 1

Creating a World with More Birthdays To most people, birthdays are just a reminder that they’re getting older. But at the American Cancer Society, “Happy Birthday” is a victory song, because a world with less cancer is a world with more birthdays. And that is definitely something to celebrate.

More than 11 million Americans who have survived cancer – and countless others who have avoided it – will celebrate a birthday this year, thanks to the progress we’re making together to help people stay well, get well, to find cures and fight back.

Stay Well • The key to celebrating more birthdays is to stay well. • We save lives by helping people everywhere take steps to prevent cancer or detect it

early, when it’s most treatable. • Whether it’s helping you quit smoking, providing information on what cancer screening

tests are right for you, or through simple tips to live a healthier lifestyle, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do about it.

Get Well

• Whether it’s the middle of the day or the middle of the night, we’re in your corner around the clock to guide you through every step of your cancer experience.

• The American Cancer Society saves lives by helping people get well by providing information to help make decisions or free services like transportation to and from cancer treatment or a free place to stay while receiving treatment far from home.

• We know that every cancer patient is a fighter – and we’re in the ring with you through every round. We help you fight for more birthdays.

Finding Cures

• We have a long history of saving lives by helping find cancer’s causes and cures. • Whether it’s discovering medications that help people live longer and better than ever,

or pioneering and promoting the most promising cancer prevention or screening tests, we’ve been involved in nearly every major cancer breakthrough in the last century.

• As the world’s largest private funder of cancer research, we support the best ideas of the brightest cancer researchers, who with each discovery are getting us closer to a world with more birthdays.

Fighting Back

• At its core, the American Cancer Society is a vigilant grassroots force of citizen-soldiers –passionate volunteers who tirelessly seek to save lives from cancer.

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Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 2

• We work with lawmakers everywhere to make this world a healthier place to live and we rally communities around the globe to join our fight.

• Whether it’s passing smoke-free laws, increasing funding for cancer research, improving access to quality health care, or inspiring communities to take up the fight, we fight on all fronts, because the lessons we learn from one battlefield can mean victory on another.

• Through community events like Relay For Life®, we mobilize the world’s largest movement to defeat cancer once and for all.

Expressive Themes

• Happy birthday is a victory song. • A world with less cancer is a world with more birthdays. • There’s no such thing a too many candles. • Join our global movement to create a world with more birthdays. • We have miles to go, but we celebrate our progress along the hard-fought way. • The American Cancer Society is 100 percent focused on saving lives.

Birthday One‐liners

• When you’re in the thick of the fight against cancer, every new age is a cause for celebration – a sign of a battle won, and of an enemy defeated.

• When you do the kind of work we do, you realize how special a birthday can be: a celebration of life, a marker of progress.

• At the American Cancer Society, we’re working to create a world with more birthdays – where cancer never steals another year from anyone’s life.

• We’re fighting for every birthday, threatened by every cancer, in every community. • We use the wisdom gained from our century of experience to fight for everyone – and

our passionate resolve means we get results. • As we save lives from cancer, what we are really doing is giving people more of their

most precious resource: time. More time with their families and friends, more memories, more celebrations … and more birthdays.

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Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 3

Post Event Birthday Party Celebrations We believe every birthday is cause for celebration, and that every celebration can help people live longer, healthier lives. As we look at ways to raise more money so we are able to fund our mission we thought what better way to than to have a large Birthday Celebration in your community. This may be different in each community but here are some suggestions to make sure your Birthday Celebration is successful. Work with your Relay committee to help plan and put on a Birthday celebration in your community. Remember to keep your expenses low and get as much as possible donated (location, cake, decorations, entertainment, etc.)

Birthday Party Celebrations

• Make It Fun: Make sure you make this party/celebration fun for all your attendees. Birthday parties are full of fun and excitement.

• Celebrate a Life: Recognize and honor survivors and caregivers as they have fought and won this battle and are able to celebrate another birthday.

• Provide education for survivors and caregivers about American Cancer Society programs and services.

• Engage caregivers and survivors in the American Cancer Society by highlighting who we are, what we do, and how they can more get involved with us.

• Give each survivor and caregiver an opportunity to get involved in Relay or other American Cancer Society programs and give the opportunity to donate while at the event.

When: The Mid-South’s Divisionwide Birthday Celebration is Aug. 14-24, 2009. Location: Pick somewhere that is free or that you can get donated. Make sure that it is a place that is easy to decorate and is easily accessible to everyone. Who to invite: Cancer Survivors, Caregivers, Team Captains, Team Members, Committee, Event Sponsors, Legislators, Mayors, Community Leaders etc. When you invite your guests, explain why the American Cancer Society is the official sponsor of birthdays! See attached Invitation

Food: Get a large birthday cake (donated if possible). Make sure you get enough to feed everyone. Have someone provide drinks. Maybe ask students or youth groups to serve the cancer survivors and caregivers.

Publicity:

• Work with your publicity chair to contact the media, including local newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, billboards (donated).

• Publicize in your Relay newsletters and on your event website. • Try to get your local TV stations and newspapers to cover your event.

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Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 4

Sponsorship Opportunities: • Sell Sponsorship Banners for $1,000 for the opportunity to be the official sponsor of

birthdays in your community. Sponsorship opportunities range from $200-$1,000. You could have five $200 sponsors – just make sure the banner is sold for a total of $1,000.

• The banner should be displayed in a prominent location in the community (e.g., court square, school, drug store, any area that is heavily traveled). Candles for the banner can be purchased for $10 dollars and can be signed in honor or in memory of someone.

Fundraising Opportunities:

• On the invitations, each attendee/invitee will be asked to raise $100 through family and friends or ask 10 people for $10 or 20 people for $5 and bring the donations to the birthday party celebration.

• Silent auction with birthday themed items (e.g., baskets with birthday supplies, bouncy houses, gift certificates for cakes or parties, gift baskets for gifts, etc.)

• Get a photographer to come take pictures and sell for $5 each a picture. Suggested photos include survivor/caregiver pictures or survivor and family pics.

• Send the letter in the file attached below to ask for donations. Survivor Recognition: Recognize survivors by letting them tell how many birthdays they have had since being diagnosed. Ask one of the survivors to speak about how much it has meant to them to have more birthdays. Have survivors/caregivers sign a big birthday card.

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Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 5

Suggested Decoration Items and Survivor Gifts:

• Birthday Branded Balloons – ACSgiftshop.com, pack of 4 $1.50

• Mylar Balloons –Ice Box, $.99 (while they last)

• Graphic Bucket –Ice Box, $.99 (while they last)

• Hope Tent Card – James Wesley, $.85

• Round Tablecloths – Turnkey, $3.35

• Rectangular Tablecloths – Turnkey, $3.90

• Napkins –Turnkey, $3.00 pack of 125

• Star Rally Signs on Stick – James Wesley, $.75

• Survivor/Caregiver Euro Stickers – Peter Kleine, $.10

• Caregiver Button Ribbon/Survivor Button Ribbon – Relay Gear, $.77

• Awards Ribbons – Ice Box, $.99 (while they last)

• Survivor Sash – SSFC, Code 7547.10, $.71

• Caregiver Sash – SSFC, Code 7547.1, $.71

• Celebrating 25 Years of hope Table tents, SSFC, Code 7547.85, $2.60

Suggested Music:

• “Happy Birthday”

• “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang

• “Birthday” by The Beatles

• “Celebrate” by Earth, Wind and Fire

• “I Just Want to Celebrate” by Rare Earth

• “Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder

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Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 6

Sample Script Begin the celebration/kickoff by lowering the lights, play high energy music and start the birthday commercial video. This type of opening is a little out of the norm and will get audience attention. Think of concerts you have attended that started off with a bang – no introductions or welcome – the lights went down, the music began, visuals came into focus and the show was on. You were focused and interested, waiting for what was going to happen next!

The script on the following pages should be read by your master of ceremonies – your community’s Relay Chair, Co-chair or other appropriate volunteer.

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Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 7

Welcome to our ________ County Birthday Celebration. We are so glad that you

are all here with us – our celebration is all about you tonight! We celebrate those

that have fought and won the battle against cancer. We remember the loved

ones that have lost their battle and we fight back so a cure can be found.

To most people, birthdays are just a reminder that they’re getting older. But at

the American Cancer Society, “Happy Birthday” is a victory song, because a world

with less cancer is a world with more birthdays. And that is definitely something

to celebrate, isn’t it? [Pause for applause]

More than 11 million Americans who have survived cancer – and countless others

who have avoided it – will celebrate a birthday this year, thanks to the progress

we’re making together to help people stay well, get well, to find cures and fight

back. Here’s a short video to show you just some of the things we’ve

accomplished together: [Show the 2008 Year In Review Video]

This year in _________ County we want to celebrate another birthday. The

American Cancer Society Relay For Life began 25 years ago with one man in

Tacoma, Washington, Dr. Gordy Klatt, who walked and ran around a track for 24

hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. 25 years later, the

American Cancer Society Relay For Life has raised over $3 billion dollars! Can you

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Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 8

believe that? This is in part thanks to all of you, so thank you for supporting the

largest single fundraising event in the world! [Pause for applause]

But there is still more work to be done – more people everyday hear the words

“you have cancer,” and while we have made great strides in the fight against

cancer we still have a battle ahead of us.

At this year’s Relay For Life in __________County we raised $__________ with

___ teams and _____ survivors at the event. Thank you to all of you who were

involved with our event from the planning committee , team captains, team

members, survivors, caregivers and especially our corporate sponsors. Our goal

was to raise $______________ and we hope that with your help and the support

of the community we will reach our goal. Please make sure you visit our silent

auction tonight. Lots of great items for everyone! Also, if you have any other

money or “birthday gifts” to turn in, please do so before the party is over.

Look at all these survivors in the room. If you are a cancer survivor, please stand!

[Pause for applause]

We want to see who has celebrated the most birthdays as a survivor. If you have

been a survivor for 5 years, please remain standing. 10 years? 15? 20? [Keep

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Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 9

going until you find the one person who has survived the longest]. We want to

invite you to come up and light the first birthday candle!

Now, we would like to invite [INSERT NAME] to share about HIS/HER birthday

celebration. (If you have a Hero of Hope in your area, this would be a great

opportunity to let them speak or make sure you use a survivor who has been

directly affected by the work of the American Cancer Society ).

We want to recognize our caregivers as well because you have lots of reasons to

celebrate more birthdays too. If you are a caregiver, please stand. [Pause for

applause]

Please welcome XXXXX caregiver to the stage to share HIS/HER story.

Thank you to [INSERT NAMES] for sharing their stories. Now let’s get this birthday

celebration started…

[Fun/exciting music comes back up and the cake is cut. Make sure you serve your

survivors and caregiver first.]

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And to get everyone excited, I’m thrilled to announced that we have raised

$_____________ here tonight. Thank you so much for being here and for your

support. Happy Birthday!

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Mid-South Division Birthday Celebration Guidebook | Page 11

Birthday Party Celebration Sample Agenda

(Make sure you register your survivors and caregivers)

• High Energy Music Playing

• 2 minutes: American Cancer Society Birthday Commercial

• 5 minutes: Welcome from Relay Chair/Co-chair

• 8 minutes: 2008 Year in Review Video

• 5 minutes: History of Relay For Life

• 10 minutes: Local Relay For Life event info

• 10 minutes: Survivor recognition

• 5 minutes: Survivor speaker

• 10 minutes: Caregiver recognition

• 5 minutes: Caregiver speaker

• Wrap-up and serve cake

Other Events If you have other fund-raising events planned, please include the birthday celebration and honor those survivors and remember those loved ones that we have lost! Suggestions of events that may be planned that you can include this celebration in are:

• Celebrity Waiter Events

• Wine Tasting/Auction

• A Taste of the Town

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To most people, birthdays are just a reminder that they're getting older. But at the American Cancer Society, “Happy Birthday” is our victory song, because a world with less cancer is a world with more birthdays. And that is definitely something to celebrate! That's why we are the “Official Sponsor of Birthdays.” More than 11 million Americans who have survived cancer-and countless others who have avoided it- will celebrate a birthday this year, thanks to the progress we're making together to help people stay well, get well, to find cures and fight back. As a volunteer for the American Cancer Society, I am asking you to join me in this fight against cancer by making a donation to the American Cancer Society. If not because I asked, do it for the survivors you know. Do it for those you know who have lost their battle with cancer; do it for you, and do it for your children, friends and family who could be affected by this dreaded disease. Be a part of the cure. Won't you join me? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the world had more birthdays? Sincerely,

Please mail all donations to:

American Cancer Society

Dear

In Support of:Closest ACS Office:1100 Ireland Way, Suite 301Birmingham, AL 35205