Sponsor Profile - Medavie Blue Cross

Medavie Blue Cross has expanded its six-year partnership with
the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society of Canada to include provincial
sponsorship of the MS Walk in both Ontario and Quebec. For the
past six years, Medavie Blue Cross has been the Atlantic Presenting
Sponsor of the MS Walk and is now proud to be supporting the MS
Society in each of the provinces where it does business.

“Medavie Blue Cross has a long history of working with the Multiple
Sclerosis Society of Canada to raise awareness and funding,” said
Ruth Rappini, Medavie Blue Cross Vice-President of Organization
Development. “Since 2006 we have supported various MS fundraising
initiatives in the six provinces in which we operate including our role
as Presenting Sponsor for MS Walk events taking place in the four
Atlantic Provinces. We are very excited to expand this community
leadership role to include provincial sponsorship of the MS Walk
in Ontario and Quebec. I encourage everyone to help us make a
difference by getting involved in an MS Walk in their area.”

As provincial sponsor, Medavie Blue Cross will assist the MS Society in
raising funds to provide information, support, services and other resources
for people living with MS and their families. Proceeds also support
groundbreaking research to help fight the effects and challenges of
multiple sclerosis and to ultimately find a cure.

Contributing to communities is not new to Medavie Blue Cross. In fact, it’s
one of the organization’s core values. Through the organization’s Building
Healthy Communities™ program, Medavie Blue Cross supports a number of
charities dedicated to improving lives and supporting healthy outcomes in the
communities where it does business.

“It is a pleasure to work with a company that prides itself on building
healthy communities and is willing to put the time and energy into changing
the lives of people living with MS,” said Michelle Capobianco, Director
of Business Development at the MS Society.  “Medavie Blue Cross is an
outstanding example to corporate Canada of the positive work which can be
accomplished when organizations work together for a better world.”

Sponsor Profile - Old Dutch Foods

This morning we would like to highlight the commitment to the MS Walk of Old Dutch Foods, a Canadian company with a long history of contributing directly to local, active community projects through grass-roots sponsorships. We are happy to have them on board with us for this year’s MS Walks throughout all of Ontario.

We appreciate and welcome the gracious contributions of Old Dutch and we know the walkers will too! Everyone is encouraged to support those companies who support us in our goal to end MS.

Please take a moment to learn a little bit more about Old Dutch Foods:

Old Dutch first started in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1954 as a small potato chip company before achieving great success over the years with staple products such as the twin-pack box of potato chips, and its long list of flavours.  Retailers and consumers have come to know Old Dutch for its variety of snack food products and identify the windmill logo as a seal of quality that they can trust. Old Dutch acquired Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods in 2006 and today has national distribution of the premium Old Dutch Potato, Dutch Crunch Kettle, Restaurante Tortilla, and Arriba Tortilla Chips, as well as Chip Dips, Salsas, and Meat Snacks.

You can learn more about Old Dutch foods by visiting their website.

P.s.: Be sure to check out their video gallery of historical tv ads. We’ve posted our favorite one below!

Fundraising Tip of the Week: Don't Forget to Pledge Yourself!

This week’s fundraising tip is about pledging yourself. Sometimes we get so caught up in our fundraising, asking our family, friends and coworkers for pledges, that in the 11^th hour before the walk, we realize that we haven’t even pledged ourselves!

Here’s an easy way to prevent that last minute surprise from creeping up on you.

In the last month leading up to the walk, try using only paper money for your purchases. Keep all of the change you receive from your transactions separate and obtain a large jar (or piggy bank!) in which to save it. Remember, only the change! At the end of the month, either put the coins in change rolls and cash them in at the bank, or if available in your area, use a change machine (they’re often located in grocery stores) in which you deposit your change, and it will be sorted and counted for you. You’ll be surprised how quickly that pocket change can add up into a sizeable pledge! You can also encourage your teammates, friends and family who are walking with you to do the same.

Here’s another great idea: place a big glass jar in your lunch room at work and ask for specific donations of pennies, nickels and dimes. You’ll be amazed how quickly your jar will fill up!

Alternatively, if you would like to give yourself an even more substantial pledge, instead of pocket change, put all of your loonies and toonies aside at the end of each day.

Remember, with change comes change – your dedicated fundraising, including personal pledges, will change the course of history, we will end MS. 

              Let us know on the MS Walk Facebook or the MS Walk Twitter page if you try this tip!      
              Not yet registered? Click here to register for your local MS Walk.

          

TeamMS Week Online Fundraising Challenge – Sir/Madame, Your Limousine Awaits You!

The first team to raise $2000+ online* between February 21 and 25, during TeamMS Week ,will be chauffeured to their local MS Walk in style with complimentary limousine service for the entire team!

It’s not too late to register for an event and join TeamMS.

Remember, it is not too late to join or create your own team and experience the camaraderie and excitement of TeamMS.

TeamMS participants are provided with a secure online team fundraising page, a TeamMS handbook packed with fundraising tips and strategies, and are eligible to receive bonus team prizes!  Forming or joining a team is an excellent way to connect with friends, family and work colleagues to create a larger impact in the fight to end MS!

Begin to craft your fundraising strategies for next week’s TeamMS Week!

If you require some fundraising tips from which to draw inspiration, follow the links below.

Fundraising tip #1 – Use the snow blues

Fundraising tip #2 – Play games

Fundraising tip #3 – Start your own team

Fundraising tip #4 – How to raise $500 in 9 days

Fundraising tip #5 – Think big

Fundraising tip #6 – Get people involved

Fundraising tip #7 – Embrace the holidays

Fundraising tip #8 – Mix it up

Fundraising tip #9 – Host a 'Make believe tea party"

Fundraising tip #10 – Get personal

Fundraising tip #11 – The little things

Fundraising tip #12 – Auction off

Fundraising tip #13 – A bakeless bake sale

Fundraising tip #14 - Lunch break

*Fundraise $2,000 online, between February 21 to 25, over and above any previously raised funds, in order to be eligible for this incentive.

Fundraising Tip of the Week: Lunch Break

As our cold winter continues unabated, why not offer your co-workers a delicious, belly-warming meal this week in exchange for some fundraising support. Think hearty soups, stews and chilies, charging $5 to $10 a bowl.

Obtain an estimate of the number of hungry bellies you will satisfy by sending out an office wide email or posting a notice on your office announcements board. Include the date(s), choice(s) of meal, and a note explaining why you’ve decided to participate in this year’s MS Walk. Obtain responses and plan your servings accordingly!

This is an easy and effective way to share your cause with your colleagues while giving them a break from having to pack their lunch, or even worse: having to venture out into the cold to purchase one.

Not yet registered? Click here to register for your local MS Walk.

Let us know on the MS Walk Facebook or the MS Walk Twitter page if you try this tip!

Warning All Walkers: System Maintenance this Weekend.

Please note that we will be conducting routine system maintenance on Saturday February 12 and Sunday February 13.

During this time you may not be able to access the mssociety.ca website or the online fundraising system.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Service will resume fully on Monday February 14.

Fundraising tip of the week: A Bakeless Bake Sale

Instead of asking people to contribute time and effort into organizing and preparing food for a bake sale, invite them to a bakeless bake sale. At a bakeless bake sale no one needs to prepare anything! Instead, they can donate the money they would have put into the preparation of a baked good to the MS Walk. One way to conduct your bakeless bake sale is with the following invitation:

Fast comes the day,
Of excitement and hoorays
A bakeless bake sale
Is heading your way.

No need to fuss, mix or heat up,
No measuring of items in a bowl or a cup.
Instead, put in an envelope, a dollar or five
Perhaps equal to the cost of a cupcake or pie.

It is pledges for the MS Walk that I am raising
No need to bake! Think of the time you are saving!
So please donate in dollars and cents,
To help make my bakeless bake sale a great success!

Not yet registered? Click here to register for your local MS Walk.

Let us know on the MS Walk Facebook or the MS Walk Twitter page if you try this tip!

Raise $250 online and receive a free $10 Tim Hortons Gift Card!

Every walker who raises $250+ online between February 7-11 will automatically receive a free $10 Tim Hortons Gift Card*! Keep those hands warm and cozy with a nice hot coffee or tea as you train for this spring’s walk. You can even invite friends and family to participate in this incentive as well! Forward them this post and encourage them to join you in this week’s fundraising drive in the fight to end MS.

Fundraising online is an easy and secure way to collect pledges from your donors, and we will set you up with everything that you need, including your very own personal webpage.

For more about the benefits of online fundraising, check out page 3 of our latest newsletter, Footnotes 1. Also, learn the reasons why your pledges really matter and about all the great rewards you can earn fundraising for this year’s walk.

Start fundraising online today!

Create or login to your account to begin collecting pledges now!

*limit of one $10 Tim Hortons gift card per registered MS Walk participant

Need some fundraising tips? Follow the links below for some creative ideas to help you reach your goals.

Tip #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12

Read Footnotes 1 Online!

The MS Walk newsletter, Footnotes 1, is now available to read online. In this edition you will find details on how easy and rewarding it is to organize and register a team for this year’s walk. You can also discover last year’s top individual fundraisers and teams (is your name on the list?), as well as some great fundraising tips and a breakdown of this year’s prize structure.

Also, check out the inspiring story of Kosta Makrostergios, diagnosed with MS at age 30, who is now the newest member of the 2011 London MS Walk organizing Committee.

Read Footnotes 1 online now!