Thursday, October 21, 2010

October Walk News


Ron Santo at the Lisle Walk with Mike Molinaro,
a top fundraising Individual Walker
Thank you for your support of the 2010 JDRF Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes on Sunday, October 3rd!

We appreciate your dedication to our mission.  It's not too late to collect contributions.  Help us meet our $5 million goal.  Online donations are still accepted at
www.walk.jdrf.org or you can mail in your donation in an official collection envelope or to our office (see side bar).

Every dollar raised brings us closer to the cure!
We are still working hard to process and enter in all the donations received on Walk Day, but you will start to see your team's total rise in the coming weeks.  We will send out a notification when the totals are finalized and they will also be posted at www.jdrfillinois.org under the Ron Santo Walk page.

Please be aware of three important upcoming deadlines:

1. Incentive Prize Deadline - If you want your donations to count towards your incentive prize, have your donations in by November 1, 2010.
To choose your prize level online or to indicate that you do not wish to receive a prize, log-on to your Walk Central account at http://www.walk.jdrf.org/.

• Click on the ‘My Profile tab’.
• Click on the ‘Prize Selection’ tab.
• Select your prize level and confirm by clicking on ‘Update Prize Selection’.

Note:  You are only able to select the prize level you qualify for, not a specific prize.  Gift catalogs will be delivered to each eligible Walker within ten weeks after the prize deadline. The catalogs will include a prize redemption code that can be redeemed by mail or by going to www.jdrf.org/greatprizes.  Enter your redemption code in the log-in page to order your specific prize selection.  Items from the gift catalog will be delivered to walkers within two weeks after they place their order.Check out all of the award levels and prizes at www.jdrf.org/greatprizes.  One prize per walker.

2.  T-Shirt Contest Deadline - If you would like to enter your team's shirt into our T-Shirt Contest, please send it (smallest size preferred) to our office by November 1st.  Winning shirts will be signed by Ron Santo and framed and presented at the January Awards Ceremony!  Details on how you can vote for this year's winning t-shirts is coming soon!

2. Team Total Deadline - Striving for a team award?  All donations turned in by December 6, 2010 will count towards your team goal.  JDRF Illinois celebrates all participants and recognizes those individuals who raise $1,500 + with the annual golden sneaker award.  Eligible participants will receive a mailing about their award in December.

Team awards are presented at the annual January Awards Reception (details to come).  Team awards levels are below:

Team Award Levels
$3,500 - $9,999 - Bronze
$10,000 - $24,999 - Silver
$25,000 - $49,999 - Gold
$50,000 - $99,999 - Platinum
$100,000 - $199,999 - Diamond
$200,000 + - Ron Santo Award

MATCHING GIFT REMINDER! 
Don't forget to ask your donors if their company has a matching gift program.  Many corporations and foundations will match, double, or even triple an employee's personal donation!  Include your paper matching gift form in your collection envelope or send it in to the JDRF Illinois office with a note that it is for your team, and the Walker name where the gift should be credited.  If your company has an online system, submit your matching request and JDRF will receive a notification to verify your gift.  Matching gifts are an easy way to help you reach your goal!

Post-Walk Fundraising Ideas  
Looking for ways to raise additional funds for research and help reach your personal fundraising goal?
  • Send a post-Walk communication to all your contacts who were unable to join you on Walk Day or who haven't sent you a donation yet.  Watch your total rise!
  • Get out and support your local community while boosting your team total.  Partner with local restaurants and stores through their dine to donate programs and shop & share days (i.e. Applebee’s, Chili's, Carson’s, Oberweis).
  • Sell raffle tickets or auction off the best parking spot or a “free” day off work. Make the parking spot available for the cold winter months!
  • JDRF Casual days! Sell a JDRF casual day punch card for $20, in return participants can wear jeans, sneakers, or shorts for 5 days at work.
  • Looking to spice up the office this fall? Gather teams of two and host a chili cook-off! $5 entry fee per team and everyone in the office can partake in the tasting for a mere $2.
  • Combine two of your favorite things: shopping and raising money for JDRF! Host a girls night shopportunity! Contact your local in‐home jewelry experts like: Silpada, Jewels by Park Lane, Stella and Dot and host a jewelry party with proceeds benefitting JDRF.
These are just a few ways to raise additional funds.  Get creative and help bring us closer to a cure!

Central Illinois Walk News

Special thanks to Rob Kelch of Kelch Chiropractic, a new $500 sponsor, for the Central Illinois Walk site.  Thank you for your support of JDRF!

SAVE THE DATE
for the Central Illinois JDRF Awards Celebration - Wednesday, January 26th at the Embassy Suites.  More details coming soon!



WALK TEAM NEWS 
Check out what these teams are doing and see how they will inspire you:
 As a way to thank their donors, Alex’s Army sends a handwritten personal note.  What’s so different about this?  Instead of personalized note cards with their name on them, they have a message printed that says:  “We’re one step closer to a cure….thanks to you!”.
Gary Boswell, of the Northern Trust Walk team, raised $275 by shaving his head.  Thanks for thinking outside the box to raise additional funds for a cure, Gary! 

October 3rd was a busy fall weekend for team Go Katie, but they still wanted to help in the fight for a cure. The last weekend in September, friends and family met at a local park and held their own mini-walk.  They made signs and brought balloons for the festive event.  After the walk, they served cookies and lemonade and played around the park.  Go Katie was able to raise over $1,500!


The LoPriore Family held their 4th Annual AJ and Zach say "Go Away Diabetes" Fundraiser on Saturday, September 25th and ended up raising an incredible $11,000 to benefit their Walk Team.  The event featured a silent auction & raffle, face painting, great food and lots of fun!  Congratulations on another hugely successful event, LoPriore Family! 
In addition to holding their fundraiser, the LoPriore's also reached out to their local Chili's restaurant in Round Lake and were successful in getting the Chili's to agree to donate 10% of all sales for the entire months of October and November to their fundraising efforts!  Visit the Round Lake Chili's to support JDRF - click on the below flyer to download the voucher needed for your bill to go towards this JDRF promotion.  


TMO's TroopA first time walk team success story.  The Moser Family was determined to get involved in 2010 in order to support 9-year-old Timmy Moser in his effort to fight type 1 diabetes.  TMO's Troop, led by Tim's sister Mary Grace, along with help from her whole family, ended up raising over $15,000!  Mary Grace spearheaded the online family appeal letters sent out by each family member and also organized a 50/50 raffle.  They convinced Dad, Dave, to be the guest bartender at Il Poggiola Restaurant in downtown Hinsdale. It was a fun night for all and a very successful event!  The Moser/Lynch family and friends came out on walk day in Palos Hills in full force in their matching TMO's Troop camouflage t-shirts and had a great time!  Thank you to TMO's Troop and their supporters for a successful fundraising year!


School Walk News
Ferson Creek Elementary in St. Charles, IL raised nearly $9,000 using the Kids Walk programMelissa Laskey and her hard working team worked with the school administration to coordinate a fun and well-organized Walk that was held on Friday, October 1, 2010.  Congratulations, Ferson Creek!

Jerling Jr. High School in Orland Park hosted their 2nd annual Character Counts Walk on October 8th. JDRF longtime supporter Lisa Danczak organized the JDRF participation and will be presenting JDRF with a check for $2,500 on October 22nd!  Thank you Jerling Jr. High students, faculty and Lisa for your fantastic effort and support to find a cure!

For more information about the Kids Walk program, visit http://jdrfillinois.org/walk/schoolProgram.html.  If you would like to speak with a parent who has organized a Walk, please contact your local Walk Manager.



Sneaker Sales 

Hy-Vee will be selling JDRF Sneakers in all their locations until Sunday, October 31st.  For a list of Hy-Vee locations, please visit http://www.hy-vee.com/.

 
Walgreens will once again be supporting JDRF by selling JDRF sneakers from October 28 through November 30 in more than 7,500 Walgreens pharmacy locations. Walgreens has raised more than $17 million in support of JDRF research since the 1995.  Buy a JDRF sneaker during your next trip to Walgreens and please thank your local stores for their support of JDRF!  Help us let Walgreens know how much we appreciate their incredible contributions to type 1 diabetes research.  For more information about the Walgreens campaign, please visit www.walgreens.com/giving

Join Westfield Ford for their "Concert for a Cure" benefitting JDRF and Malia's Mission.  The event will be held at the Westfield Ford in Countryside on Saturday, October 23rd from 1:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and will feature a great line-up of bands, a people's choice chili cook-off and an exciting raffle!  For more information, please contact Allison Quatrochi, Westfield Ford, at 630-625-2300.

What a great event to raise additional funds!  Thank you, Ford!

Dish Network and JDRF
Order Dish Network and $100 will be donated to JDRF.  For full details, visit www.dishnetwork.com/jdrf or call 888-383-3845 and mention offer code 03JDRF.

SILPADA Fundraising
Ramp up your fundraising $$ after the Walk and just in time for holiday gift giving!  Silpada is partnering with JDRF once again!  Contact Amanda at 773-251-3148 or email amandaguilarte@yahoo.com to learn how you can host a jewelry party with proceeds benefiting JDRF and your Walk team!  View the jewelry collection online at www.mysilpada.com/amanda.feliciano

CALLING ALL ARTISTS
JDRF is looking for little artists to help us thank our generous sponsors, in-kind donors and top contributors by creating a one-of-a-kind thank you picture.  Your child’s art could also appear on the 2010 Team Awards!  Send us your "thank-you" picture with your child's name and age on it to our JDRF Illinois Chapter office by November 30th.   

Questions?  Please contact your local Walk Manager
Thank you for your support of JDRF!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Thank You!


Thank you for your support of the 2010
Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes
on Sunday, October 3rd!

We appreciate your dedication to our mission.  Please continue to collect contributions to help us meet our $5 million goal.  Use an official collection envelope or visit us on-line at www.walk.jdrf.org.

Every dollar raised brings us closer to the cure!