One Day 'Til Kickoff: MWOY Campaign Updates

Kat Stouffer, Shawna Strine, and Kim Lehman
joined me at one of our first official team meetings!

Are We Ready For This??!!
We are just one day away from kicking off the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man and Woman of the Year (MWOY) campaign!

Since making this commitment, my Facebook Messenger has been firing off non-stop - and for good reason! My campaign team has been BUSY these last few weeks! Here are a few highlights of our pre-kickoff prep work:

• My amazing campaign team has grown to over 25 people! 
• I've heard words of wisdom from three different past candidates! 
• We confirmed our first corporate sponsor - Central Penn College!
• We finalized dates for eight different fundraising events!

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Our First Challenge!!

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has given us our first bonus challenge, and I'm going to need YOUR help to achieve it... On the day of the kickoff (Wednesday, April 1) I need to raise $500 on my personal fundraising website between 12am and noon. That's just 12 hours! Will you help?

I'll be sending emails and posting Facebook reminders early that morning. All you need to do is a make an online donation - and any amount will bring us closer to our goal! Remember that the donation needs to be made no later than noon in order to count toward the challenge!

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Upcoming Fundraising Events!!
Remember those eight fundraising events that I mentioned? Please plan to attend! We are working on Zumbathons, a poker run, a murder mystery, and MORE! We would love to see you there!

1. AROOGA'S FUNDRAISING NIGHT
Every Tuesday, April 7 - June 9, All day, any location! Just give this VOUCHER to your server and 15% of your bill will be donated to LLS.

2. ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT
Saturday, April 25 (2-4pm), Gold's Linglestown

3. BINGO/FUN DAY
Sunday, May 3 (2pm), Faith Church, Halifax
Looking for prizes and raffle donations!

4. YARD SALE AND FOOD TRUCK
Saturday, May 9 (7am-1pm), CrossPoint United Methodist Church, Harrisburg
Looking for sellable "treasures!"

5. ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT
Saturday, May 23 (1-3pm), Halifax Elementary School

6. POKER RUN
Saturday, May 30, Local 520 Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Hall, Harrisburg

7. BENEFIT DINNER
Thursday, June 4, The Conference Center at Central Penn College
Looking for a wine/beer sponsor!

8. ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT
Sunday, June 7, West shore - Location TBD

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Survivor Story: Matthew, Philadelphia
Stories like Matthew's (found on the LLS website) remind me of why this campaign is so important.

Matthew was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma and Leukemia in November 2008 at just two years old. After long and difficult chemotherapy treatments, Matthew achieved remission. He is now part of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia survivorship program.

Matthew finds time for his hobbies like making crafts and running make-believe restaurants and stores. He also stays busy playing baseball, swimming, and basketball. Matthew also enjoys looking for treasure in his backyard. When he grows up, Matthew wants to be a teacher or a restaurant owner because he loves people. 

LLS has invested more than $1 billion in blood cancer research. This research is improving treatments, increasing survival rates, and SAVING LIVES. By supporting LLS, we are ensuring that kid's like Matthew can continue their backyard treasure hunts and baseball games!!

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More than 1.1 million Americans are currently living with or in remission from a blood cancer. Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed. Every ten minutes, someone dies from these cancers. They are men, women and children of every race and every age. Learn more at lls.org. 

Look for event and campaign updates on my blog and on my personal fundraising page!

Don't Stop The Party

Wild West at Ladies Night Out

Legend has it that Beto Perez walked into his aerobics class one day and discovered (gasp!) that he forgot his music! So he grabbed some salsa and merengue tapes from his car and improvised the first ever dance fitness party (later named ZUMBA)!

Call it fate, call it magic - but since that day, the party he started has taken on a life of its own. You can now find Zumba classes at over 200,000 locations and in 180 countries!

If you know me personally, you know that I love a party - especially a party with a THEME (costumes are an added bonus)! Those 200,00 locations mentioned above have a theme (one of my favorites)... #zumbalove. Caring instructors, passionate students, and a whole lot of people wanting to make the world a better place. I wonder if Beto ever imagined the infinite number of lives he would affect with the creation of Zumba. The ripple stemming from that fateful class is mind-blowing.

This weekend I was lucky enough to be a part of three different parties for three very worthy causes (and lucky for me, they all had some awesome themes of their own)! Here's a recap:

Ladies Night Out:
For the 6th year in a row, Northern Dauphin County Human Services welcomed hundreds of women to Ladies Night Out. This year's theme? Wild West! The event was free and featured health screenings, a blood drive, and a canned food drive for the Northern Dauphin County Food Bank. Guests could also shop from a ton of vendors (I bought my first bag of fat-burning coffee! Too tempting to resist!) and enjoyed a variety of entertainment including line dancing, music, and more! My awesome Halifax students, dubbed the Halifax Hotties, came to help me share some of our favorite Zumba songs with the crowd!

Purple and Pigtails for Catie's Wish

Catie's Wish/St. Jude: 
In 2009, a beautiful 7-year-old girl named Catie lost her life to cancer. Her dying wish? To raise enough money to cover the operating expenses of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on her birthday, April 23rd. Her family, from Mechanicsburg, PA, works to raise over $1.4 million each year to make Catie's wish come true. Led by my original Zumba instructor and owner of Progress Fitness, Liza Smith, we teamed up to raise over $3,000 for the Catie's Wish Foundation! All while wearing our purple and pigtails!

Zum-bots for NHS Autism School

NHS Autism School:
Calling all Zum-bots (another fun theme)! The CDC's latest statistics show that 1 in 68 children have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). On Saturday afternoon, I participated in a Zumbathon Charity Event to support the NHS Human Services Autism School in Carlisle - a wonderful school that serves all students on the autism spectrum, ages 5-21. We even had a few awesome students join us on the stage!

Beto may have created Zumba unintentionally, but the power of the program is undeniable. One magical "mistake" has led to MILLIONS of lives being changed for the better. 

Beto, THANK YOU for inviting us to the party! 

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year Campaign Update! We are only one week away from the campaign kickoff! Learn more at www.mwoy.org/pages/cpa/hbg15/athoman.

The opinions and views expressed by this ZCOM Volunteer on this website are solely those of the ZCOM Volunteer and do not reflect the opinions or views of Zumba Fitness, LLC, its subsidiaries, officers, directors, employees and agents.

Prepping for the Hunger Games

Ok, you've seen The Hunger Games... Remember how (after volunteering as tribute) Katniss is whisked away to a training facility to get prepped for the games?

I'm comparing my current state in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Man and Woman of the Year (MWOY) campaign to that very scene. The games haven't started yet, but things are starting to get serious!

When Katniss was in training, she had an entire team to help her prep: Peeta, Effie, Cinna, Haymitch, etc. Well, I also have a cast of teammates ready to share in this adventure!

Peeta - I'm lucky to have a slew of "Peeta's" on my team in the form of wonderful friends who just said "yes" - no questions asked. Before I even had an idea of what I committed do, they were offering to help (they are either the most awesome people on earth, or crazier than I am - I know it's the prior). Seriously, I can't imagine a second of this 10-week campaign without this incredible crew: Kim Lehman, Mandie Levan, Shawna Strine, Steph Okuniewski, Darla Smith, Denise Zern, Rita Thoman, Beth Davis, Anita Lenker, Jen Apa, Caitlin Copus, Melissa Mahoney, Nicole Hate, Dawn Leeson, Kim Petrides, LuAnn Gallup, Lexy Ridgley, Kat Stouffer, and Natalie Deibler! I am so thankful for you all!

Haymitch - Those that have gone before me! Karen Richards, Sue Campbell, Dot Kuzo - former co-workers that have all competed in the "Games" before. When trying to decide if I should commit, I reached out to these incredible women. They made a few comments about lack of sleep, but they also clearly expressed how much the campaign meant to them and to the mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Thank you for the encouragement!

Cinna - Straight from Panem, I have my Cinna - also known as Ashleigh Pollart. Ashleigh is the Campaign Manager for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Since day one she has been calming my fears and arming me with an arsenal of tools to help me in this battle. Whether it's late night supply drop offs, letter editing, or responding to my (sometimes extensive) emails, she has been nothing but supportive. FYI Ashleigh - We should discuss costumes for the kickoff! How do you feel about fire? ;)

Primrose - Primrose was the WHY for Katniss, the reason she raised her hand and volunteered as tribute. I have my WHY, too. And since accepting my nomination, my list of WHY's have grown. Just this week I had two new conversations with families affected by blood cancers. Thank you for sharing your stories, your pictures, and your support (many of you have even joined my campaign team)! You are my inspiration! This is for you LuAnn,  Jessica, Larry, Lexy, Natalie, Kat, Barry, The Gangnam Style Kid, Dot, Karen, and all of the 1.1 million families that have been affected by blood cancers in the U.S.

“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear." 

Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

I'm not ready yet! Here a a few things I could use YOUR help with to get ready for the "Games."

Donation cards - These are the cards that are sold for $1 (or more) in local restaurants and stores. Do you have a contact at a local business that you could ask on my behalf?

• Donation Card Request Letter
• Donation Card Sample 

Corporate sponsorships - Corporate sponsorship levels are established by LLS and levels range from $1,000-$20,000, although sponsorships of ANY amount are welcome and appreciated. Is this something your business or organization would consider?

• Sponsorship Request Letter
• Sponsorship Packet

Silent auction items and prizes - We are working on events that will include silent auctions, raffles, etc. We need donations of all kinds including artwork, show tickets, electronics, whatever! Do you have a prize that you would be willing to donate?

Campaign begins April 1!

#somedayistoday #MWOY2015