Hello Oakland Zoo Walk Teams!
We are in the home stretch. This year’s Walk to Cure Diabetes at the Oakland Zoo is but a mere week from today. Hard to believe, huh?
We’ve currently raised 35 percent of our fundraising goal so we really need to hit the pavement and work together to make up the difference. Our Walk has the lofty goal of bringing in $624,000 to help JDRF find ways to cure and better treat the more than 3 million American kids and adults with type 1 diabetes. There are a few easy steps that each of us can take to reach our goal.
Get Those Letters and Reminders Out
I know I sound like a broken record, but the best way to raise money is to send a letter to absolutely every single person you know. Keep it brief. Explain how diabetes affects you, your family, or loved one and why a cure is so important. Be sure to include the link to your Walk page so people can make online donations. If you need some inspiration, check out the sample letters other Walk participants have shared on the JDRF blog. There are also templates ready to be customized in your Walk Participant Center.
If you have already sent your letter, great! But please send out at least one reminder. People have good intentions, but busy lives. A couple of reminders will bring you a whole bunch of new donations. I guarantee it.
The email tool in the Participant Center has a feature that makes it easy to send emails to only those folks who haven’t yet donated.
Double or Triple Your Fundraising
Be sure to ask folks to check with their employers about matching funds.
Prizes!
Don’t forget that JDRF offers a whole slew of nice incentive prizes for your fundraising efforts. The more you raise, the better the prize. Click here to take a look at the many prizes from which you can choose. (One prize per walker.)
We’ve added another cool fundraiser to this year’s Oakland Zoo Walk. We’ll be offering tickets for a $10 donation to be entered in a drawing for a free family membership to the Oakland Zoo – a $99 value. A zoo membership gets your entire family into the zoo for free for an entire year. You also get free parking, free coupon rides and much more. Click here for more details.
Important Details About Walk Day
Just a couple of reminders for this year’s special walk at the Oakland Zoo – no dogs and no noisemakers. We must be mindful of the safety and serenity of the zoo animals. Thank you for your cooperation.
We have a long way to go to reach our Oakland Zoo Walk goal, but I know we can do it. Don’t panic because the Walk is just a week away. Once the fun of Walk day is behind us, your online walk fundraising pages will remain active for several months. That’s right, folks. You can continue to think of fun and creative ways to reach your fundraising goals.
Thank You
Let’s knuckle down and put our noses to the grindstone to reach our fundraising goal. If we all work together, we can help JDRF cure diabetes.
A big THANK YOU to each and every one of you for registering for this year’s Oakland Zoo Walk and so generously supporting JDRF.
Most sincerely,
Zoe Francis
Oakland Zoo Walk family team leader
Mom of Hannah, 18, diagnosed at age 5, and Emilie, 14 (almost 15)
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi,
Kevin and I would like to come early to help with set up and stay after the walk to help with clean up. Can you use two sets of extra hands??? Please email us at the above address to let us know. I am an adult and Kevin is 13 and we’d love to participate in this capacity! Looking forward to hearing from you or the person(s) who would know!!! All the best! Eileen Hoffinger