It was chilly and windy and sometimes it rained to beat all hell, but we made it through the Relay for Life!
35 family members and a couple of friends turned out, and we walked, and walked, and walked - and raised the impressive-for-having-only-been-at-this-for-6-weeks figure of $1350! Our oldest walker was 70 and our youngest was 9 months (well, he was in a stroller). We had a great time, even in the middle of the night when we were freezing and exhausted, and I am so proud of everyone on our team!
Things that worked: The bake sale, mentioned above. Selling inexpensive packages of candy, individual pickles, and ‘faith bracelets’ woven out of yarn by my 9 year old great-niece. Surprising how many people stopped and bought these.
Other teams sold food; they didn’t price it but asked for donations to keep the health department happy. Raffle items that did well included Mud Hens tickets, an Ohio State cooler and related items, and a large vintage-looking hope chest and hutch. Teams that donated items for the raffles received credit for the number of tickets (and corresponding amounts of money) entered for their particular items.
Things I’m glad we brought: A tent, a canopy with sides, coolers, crock pots, lots of chairs, blankets & sleeping bags, a portable heater, rain gear, wagons/strollers, and comfortable shoes (and a change of socks).
Things we’ll want next year: More signs - team name, better sale signs; sunscreen; a coffeepot or some way to heat water; more collapsible chairs; more items to sell on-site.
We are planning more bake sales over the next year, also we’ll have a table at our local festival with raffle items and items to sell, kids’ games and face painting.
My niece has good contacts with the area professional sports teams and she has already gotten promises of tickets and other items to raffle off. We think next year will go even better!
I know most of this doesn’t apply to your Relay, Kat, and I hope things turn out great for you. But if anyone was thinking of starting a team, or joining an established team, I thought this might be helpful information. Good luck!