Tips for Team Captains

As a Team Captain there is a lot you can do to grow your team and meet your goal! Check out the tips below to help your team this March for Babies season.

Use your online resources:

-          Personalize your team page with your story and/or photos. When you share your mission connection and explain why you chose to participate in this years walk, people want to support you! To make it easier  when emailing out your team page, you can change the URL for your team page to be the name of your team: www.marchforbabies.org/teamname

-          Email your friends and family to let them know you’ve started a team. Use email to invite people to join your team and also to give them updates on your progress. If people cannot donate to your team, you can ask them to support you by becoming a walker on your team! Trough emails, your friends and family can learn about your story and journey. You can also go to “Spread the Word” on marchforbabies.org to attach an email tag or send e-cards to remind people how important this cause is to you!

-          Use social media! Post your story and progress to Facebook and Twitter. Social media makes it very easy to share links and pictures, so let your friends know about this cause and ask them for support.
 
-          Create a photo montage. Remind friends and family of the journey your family has been on by creating a photo montage of your child’s life on www.onetruemedia.com . It is free if you use the basic montage and you can send it to as many people as you like and you can also post it on your March for Babies team page.

Write letters:

-          If fundraising online isn’t your forte, send handwritten letters! Personal letters and updates can be very effective. Let us know if you would like sample letters to help you get started.

Ask for Community Support:

-          You have many community contacts who would love to support your team. Don’t be afraid to ask your Neighbors, Church group, co-workers, dentist, pediatrician and co-workers. If there are any local businesses your family frequents, you can ask them to be a family team sponsor. You can also talk to your employer about matching gift donations!

 Celebration Donations:

-          Have any big celebrations coming up? Why not ask family and friends for a donation to your team in lieu of birthday or other special occasion gifts? Last year we had a couple create a team for their wedding registry! You can send them directly to your marchforbabies.com webpage to donate.

Be a Host:

-          Host an event, be it a fundraiser at a restaurant or local business or a game night at your house. It’s a fun way to get people involved and a great way to raise money for your team! If you need any  March for Babies supplies for recruitment or team events, contact sbhat@marchofdimes.com for a Materials Request form.

 

These are just some ways of getting people involved and making sure you reach your team goals!  What are your tips for other team captains? Comment below!

MFB 2013: What's new this year?

We are so excited to have our family teams with us for 2013, our 75^th anniversary. Whether you are a new or a veteran family team, we thought we’d take some time to talk about what is new this year!

Family Team Sponsorships

We have some exciting news! This year, we are offering official Family Team sponsorships! Family Team Sponsorship an opportunity for Family Teams to promote local businesses while also adding to your Family Team total! You can participate by contacting  local businesses and asking  if they would consider sponsoring your Family Team at one of the sponsorship levels. Once they agree, they make a tax-deductible donation to the March of Dimes. This donation is credited to your Family Team total! The local business receives advertising at the event and satisfaction of supporting a great cause.

Sponsorship Levels:

Platinum: $750

Gold: $500

Silver: $250

Bronze: $100

For more information on Family Team Sponsorships, email sbhat@marchofdimes.com.

 

Butterflies

The March for Babies Butterflies may not be a completely new thing for our veteran walkers, but this year we are revamping our Butterfly Garden! Butterflies are a beautiful way to honor all babies at the walk, those born healthy, prematurely, with a birth defect, and those who have passed away.

In the past, we have displayed the butterflies in a “Butterfly Garden” but this year they will be in a more visible area of the park, for everyone to see! Butterflies can be purchased through the Austin Butterfly Garden Team Page, and the donation can go towards a your team's overall goal. The colors of the butterflies are:

Purple- Healthy Baby
Yellow- Baby born with a birth defect
Green- Baby born prematurely
White- In memory of a baby

For more details, or to purchase a butterfly, visit:   marchforbabies.org/team/austinbutterflygarden

Mentorship from Past Top Teams

This year our Family Teams Committee, made up of a friendly group of team captains from past top teams, is reaching out to all of our new teams. These committee members have can help you set goals, recruit team members, brain storm fundraising ideas, and more! If you are not a new team, but would like to talk with one of these team captains, please email sbhat@marchofdimes.com to get connected with a team mentor!

Be Your Best Challenge

For the 75^th anniversary, March of Dimes national is hosting a “Be Your Best Challenge.” Details for the challenge will be coming very soon!

March for Babies is less than 100 days away! We hope these new changes will help you reach your goals and have a fantastic  March for Babies season. Are you excited for the 75^th anniversary?