Meet Rosie at CHICAGO Dance Marathon - One Week From Today!!!

At right: Rosie (right) gives her big sister, Bella, a hug.


It takes a special child to remain cheerful in the face of a life-threatening disease. But 5-year-old Rosie Colucci has little time for self-pity, despite her daily battle with neurofibromatosis, which has resulted in an inoperable brain tumor and more than a half dozen chronic conditions. She's too busy raising money for pediatric research and collecting toys for the kids treated at Children's Memorial Hospital.  And she'll be at CHICAGO Dance Marathon one week from today!!!  Read Rosie's full story.


See a special message from Rosie!




There's still time! Sign up today at www.chicagodancemarathon.org!

All You Can Drink This Friday!

Another opportunity to meet up with fellow CHICAGO Dance Marathoners for a great cause!

When:
Friday, February 26, 2010
10 p.m. - 1 a.m.


Where:
Waterhouse Tavern and Grill
3407 North Paulina Street
Chicago, IL 60657

$25 all you can drink! See you there!

Come Tailgate at Kirkwood this Sunday!

Iowa or Indiana?!

Come cheer on your team (and bring your friends!) at Kirkwood Bar and Grill this Sunday, February 28th. A $30 drink deal includes domestic draft, wells and wine!!!

What else would you rather be doing on a nice Sunday afternoon?

When:
Sunday, February 28th
4-7 p.m.

Where:
Kirkwood Bar and Grill
2934 North Sheffield Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657

For the Kids!  www.chicagodancemarathon.org

Happy Hour for the Kids!

Please join us for a happy hour and fundraising event for CHICAGO Dance Marathon this Friday, February 26th at The Kerryman!  We will be located on the second floor in a reserved area just past the bar.  Your $30 wristband will include all-you-can-drink domestic drafts and bottles, wine and well drinks from 6-8 p.m.  All profits from the event will go directly to Children's Memorial Hospital via CHICAGO Dance Marathon.  Hope to see you all there - feel free to bring guests!

When: 

Friday, February 26th

6-8 p.m.

Location:

The Kerryman

661 N. Clark Street

Chicago, IL 60610

For the Kids!  www.chicagodancemarathon.org

Did You Know?

• If you raise $500, that could buy 68 packs of preemie diapers for the NICU.  Each year, Children's Memorial Hospital goes through 119, 200 diapers!
• If you raise $500, that could buy 125 packs of band-aids.  Each year, CMH goes through 298,000!
• Did you know that CMH treats one out of every eight kids in the Chicago area?  Every dime you raise helps Chicago's kids get better!

See you soon at Chicago Dance Marathon!  www.chicagodancemarathon.org 

Come Hang with Big D at CHICAGO Dance Marathon!

Fundraising Tips of the Day! (Part 5 of 5)

Happy Friday, everyone!  Here are some more great fundraising tips to round out the week!

• Perform a free service for donations: Shovel snow, baby-sit or walk dogs. Friends, family and neighbors are always looking for some extra help. Lend a hand in exchange for their donations.
• It’s Party Time! Host a party at your home or at a local restaurant or bar with food and/or drinks. Charge a cover to guests and put the proceeds to your campaign. Entertain your guests by having card, drinking or fun games or tournaments.  There are tons of bars that will let you do a package "All You Can Drink” wristband and they you can charge over this cost to have the profits assist in your dancer total!
• Lastly, look into Employee Match Programs: Lots of time places of employment will have a matching gifts program.  If so, you can easily double or triple your fundraising dollars.  Ask your donors as well; they may have a program through their own employer.  Companies encourage their employees to participate in the community.  Lots of times it is a simple paper form that is very easy and your company appreciates your involvement.

For the Kids!  www.chicagodancemarathon.org

Prizes!!!

You know what's better than dancing all day long for the kids at Children's Memorial Hospital? WINNING PRIZES while dancing all day long for the kids at Children's Memorial Hospital!

Here are the just-announced awesome prizes that all of you can win if you hit these different fundraising levels:

Every dancer that raises $750 - $1,000 gets put in a drawing for...

• A Playstation 3, a Flip Camera, and more!
• 2009 signed football by the Penn State Nittany Lions
• Joe Paterno Autographed Mini-Helmet
• Gift Cards to Chicago's favorite bars, restaurants, and night clubs
• And more!

Every dancer that raises $1,001 - $1,449 gets put in the drawing for the above prizes as well as...

• 46" Plasma HDTV
• Phil Mickelson Signed Pin Flag
• Bentley Car Service and room for one night at the Westin Michigan Ave.
• And more!

Every dancer that raises $1,500+ gets the chance to win...

• 5 night / 6 day stay at any Hilton Caribbean hotel or resort in the Caribbean
• And more!

We'll see you on the dance floor!

Fundraising Tips of the Day! (Part 4 of 5)

More fundraising tips!

• Parking space contest: For those who have strict parking at your office building, hold a contest to see who can raise the most money in one week. Whoever wins gets to park in the best parking space available. You can determine whether the person parks there for a day, week, or even month! 
• Eating marathon: Have a pie eating, hot-dog eating, or ice cream-eating contest. You can charge people to participate or to watch, or you can make all participants obtain pledges. 
• Guess the number of coins in a jar: The winner receives all the coins and your group makes money by charging people for guesses.

For the Kids!  www.chicagodancemarathon.org 

Dancing for Harlow - and All the Brave Kids at Children's Memorial

Little Harlow hasn’t even turned two yet, but has endured more than most of us can imagine – 12 weeks of chemotherapy, 100+ overnights in the hospital, 40+ blood transfusions, eight surgeries, two stem cell transplants and much more – all to treat an extremely rare and life-threatening tumor in her abdomen. (Click here to read Harlow's full story).

To honor her daughter’s brave journey, Harlow’s mom, Jamie, is taking part in the first-ever Chicago Dance Marathon on Saturday, March 6.  This high-energy 13-hour event will raise vital funds for Children’s Memorial Hospital.  

More dancers are needed! Hurry, sign up today at chicagodancemarathon.org. You can help save a child like Harlow!

Fundraising Tips of the Day! (Part 3 of 5)

Looking for some more fundraising tips?

• Theme party: Decide on a fun theme such as a masquerade ball, 80’s party, or dress as your favorite movie star. Charge an entrance fee to cover any food/beverage expenses and explain where the remainder of the money is going.
• Games Night: Organize an evening of board games or a night of trivia and ask for a donation from those who attend.
• Book sale: Ask all your co-workers, friends, and relatives to donate their old books.  Advertise your book sale by means of posters and flyers. Set up a table and sell books. If there are leftovers, you can always give them to a needy library, shelter, or school.

For the Kids!  www.chicagodancemarathon.org 

Fundraising Tips of the Day! (Part 2 of 5)

More great tips for fundraising success!

• Last one in: See if you or your boss can charge those who come to work late a small fee. Keep this up for a month and you will have raised a great deal of money! Also provide a prize for those people who arrive on time everyday for that month such as a free lunch or leaving work early.
• Raffles: Contact local shops about donating raffle prizes, and sell raffle tickets. Make sure you let the local shops know that their donation is tax deductible! Or talk to your company personnel about raffling off an extra day off or a long lunch break.  Check with someone from CHICAGO Dance Marathon (email chicagodancemarathon@gmail.com) before you move forward with organizations.  
• Jellybean count: Fill a large jar with jellybeans and have people donate to guess how many there are in the jar. You can put this out at lunchtime, at a meeting, or even at the front desk so people notice when entering the building.

For the Kids!  www.chicagodancemarathon.org 

Fundraising Tips of the Day! (Part 1 of 5)

Check back in on the blog all this week for great tips for fundraising success!  Here are a few to get us started.  Find one that will work for you!

• Dress-down day: If you work in a corporation that does not allow jeans, see if you can allow one day where you can dress down and wear whatever you like. Charge each person who wants to participate—$5-$10 is a good amount. 
• Pancake breakfast: Gather your CHICAGO Dance Marathon team together and make a pancake breakfast at your work cafeteria, place of worship, or even your own home! Charge others to enjoy your home cooking! 
• Coffee morning: Encourage a nearby coffee shop to come in for the morning and provide coffee and treats to your co-workers. Everyone who wishes to relax and enjoy the coffee must pay a flat fee. Arrange that the coffee shop donate some of the profits to the CHICAGO Dance Marathon. Plus, the coffee will energize everyone for a productive day at work!

For the Kids!  www.chicagodancemarathon.org

Less Than One Month Until CHICAGO Dance Marathon!

Hey DMers!  The countdown is officially less than one month until CHICAGO Dance Marathon!  We'll be dedicating the blog this week to lots of tips and tricks to help you with your fundraising.  Remember: each participant is required to raise a minimum of $500.  As part of the team incentive, your individual fundraising requirement moves to $400 when you participate in a group of five or more.  (Click here for more details about team incentives). Although the event is March 6th, the fundraising deadline isn't until April 2nd so there's still plenty of time to rake in the dough!  If you have questions regarding fundraising or just need a bit more clarification, please don't hesitate to email Jess Cole, our recruitment director, at jcole@chicagodancemarathon.org.  And don't forget to encourage your friends to sign up!  Register today at www.chicagodancemarathon.org!

Start Today! 

Start your fundraising as soon as possible – if you haven’t already, set up your website today! By getting the majority of your fundraising out of the way early on it will take the burden off of your shoulders and let you hit higher goals to help the kids, as well as win excellent fundraising incentives! The more people you contact, the easier it will be to reach your goal. You will be surprised by your results, and your contacts will feel privledged to support your efforts for such a worthy cause.

Just Ask!

Make sure you ask everyone you know for support. Friends, family members, coworkers, doctors, real estate agents, financial advisors, CTA Guard – everybody! Don’t make the mistake of assuming people will not donate – you never know who will be touched by your commitment to helping Children’s Memorial Hospital!

Follow Up.

“It takes the average person 9 times to hear something before they take action.”

It’s natural for people to read your first email and forget about it. Make a follow-up creative by adding stories or pictures– your dedication to your fundraising goals will be apparent, and people are more likely to respond after they’ve heard from you more than once.

Let your donors know why CHICAGO Dance Marathon matters to you! 

Let your supporters know why you are dancing for CHICAGO Dance Marathon and how their contributions will help children at the local hospital. Keep them updated with your progress after they donate so that they’re not only hearing from you before donating – enroll them in your goal! The more connected they feel, the more they will support you.

Be specific.

Don’t limit your donors, but ask for a specific range - $10, $20, $50, or whatever their budget will allow. You can even break down your fundraising minimum per hour, and ask donors to sponsor each hour you dance! You also need to be specific with yourself—set a fundraising goal. What if everyone gave $10? What if everyone gave $20? Set your goal high and reach for the stars!

Give a 10-day deadline for a response.

People respond when there is a sense of urgency. In your email messages, tell people they can simply click the “click here to donate” link to make their donation online quickly and easily, and ask them to do so by a specific date. It will greatly help the call to action, as well as your follow up after that date.

This Is What It's All About

Register for CHICAGO Dance Marathon today: www.chicagodancemarathon.org

For the Kids...

Dance Marathon Wristband Night!

Mark your calendars and join us this Saturday, February 6th for Dance Marathon Wristband Night at STATE!

Wristbands are $30 with $10 from each wristband going directly to our fundraising efforts. For your money, you'll not only have access to an open bar (excluding premium liquor and Red Bull) and passed hors d'oeuvres for three hours, but you'll also have another chance to come together with a bunch of other CDMers and have fun as a group.  Come join us!

Where:

STATE - 935 W. Webster, Chicago

When:

Saturday, February 6th

9 p.m. - Midnight

If you haven't already, register today for CDM!  www.chicagodancemarathon.org!