Countdown - 5 more days!

 Mandarin MS Walk Countdown - 5 more days until the Mandarin MS Walk events on May 5!

“It’s really wonderful to go to the MS Walk and see people I’ve seen year after year and see new faces excited and passionate about doing what they can to help raise funds.” – Michelle

Quick Fundraising Tips

 
There’s only a week left until the May 5 Mandarin MS Walk events, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to do some great fundraising! Here are some fundraising ideas that are quick, easy and don’t take too long to prepare.

•    Countdown to the event. Keep track of how many days you have before the Mandarin MS Walk on your social media accounts. Let everyone know how much time they have left to donate!

•    Have a “How many candies in the jar?” contest. Place a jar of candy in a prominent place at your workplace, community centre or place of worship. In exchange for a small donation, people can make a guess at how many candies are in the jar. The winner gets the jar!

•    Wear a past MS Walk t-shirt to work or school. Wearing an MS Walk t-shirt to work or school can be a great way to start a conversation about the event with potential donors.

•    Ask a local business to set up a donation box on their counter. Attach a sign to the box that lets everyone know the money will be going to the Mandarin MS Walk. Even in a week, this can raise a lot of extra money!

Do you have any quick and easy fundraising tips? Share them with us on twitter and Facebook! To everyone walking on May 5, good luck with your last week of fundraising!

Get creative with your team’s costume!

With 10 days left until the May 5 Mandarin MS Walk events, there’s still time to plan your outfit or costume. Whether you’re wearing an official Mandarin MS Walk t-shirt or a costume that matches your team’s theme, there’s lot of potential to have fun and look great while walking! Remember, there’s an award for the best dressed team!

Fundraising Tip – The best of our fundraising tips!

With two weeks left until the May 5 Mandarin MS Walk events it’s a great time to share some fundraising ideas for the home stretch. Take a look at the best of the Mandarin MS Walk fundraising tips to get some inspiration!

Fundraise online with our fundraising tools.

Put the “fun” in fundraising by including your friends!

Enlist the help of your colleagues by fundraising at work.

Use these simple ideas to get donations easily!

Raise money while celebrating your inner artist!

Hold a trivia night with your friends!

Ask local businesses for support and donations.

Start you own team!

Grow your team to increase the amount you can fundraise.

Learn the best ways to keep your team motivated.

Don’t be afraid to self-promote!

Host a pancake breakfast!

Add a personal touch with hand-written notes.

Share facts about multiple sclerosis by playing a game of True or False.

Discuss why you walk with potential donors.

Do you have any fundraising tips of your own you’d like to share? Send us a tweet or post on our Facebook page. Good luck with your fundraising, and see you at the Mandarin MS Walk!

Happy National Volunteer Week!

April 22-26 is National Volunteer Week, and we’d like to take a moment to thank all the volunteers who make the MS Society’s fundraising events possible. To celebrate National Volunteer Week we’ll be recognizing outstanding volunteers all week. For inspirational stories about our volunteers and a special thank you video, head over to the new MS Community Blog!

Every year, countless volunteers show their support of the MS Society – Ontario Division and in turn the thousands of Ontarians affected by MS. On behalf of the Mandarin MS Walk team, thank you for all your hard work!

Sponsor Profile - Old Dutch!

We would like to take a moment to highlight the commitment of Mandarin MS Walk sponsor Old Dutch, 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 another year of Mandarin MS Walks throughout Ontario.

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

 About Old Dutch

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 by visiting their website.

Watch Mandarin MS Walker Michelle Silliphant’s inspirational video!

Michelle Silliphant has created a short video about why she takes part in the Mandarin MS Walk. This video is a great example of the innovative ways many people who participate in the Mandarin MS Walk or other MS Society fundraising events get the message out. Watch Michelle’s inspirational story now!

The Spring/Summer 2013 issue of MS Canada is out!

 MS Canada, the MS Society’s quarterly publication, is one of the best ways to keep up-to-date on advances in MS research, treatments and MS Society services and programs. The Spring/Summer 2013 issue focuses on living well with MS and includes features on occupational therapy, emotional support and physical activity. Click here to read it now!

Fundraising Tip – Motivating your team

Working with a team is a great way to get the most of your Mandarin MS Walk experience. Here are some tips on keeping your team motivated and enthusiastic about fundraising.

•    Keep your team informed. Use newsletters and/or emails to keep team members motivated and inspire them to keep fundraising.

•    Communicate openly with your team. Meet with your team, in person or by phone, periodically to discuss your team’s fundraising progress and plans for the future.

•    Create team business cards. Include each member’s name, the team name, the event, contact information and your mission. These cards are great tools for fundraising and recruitment.

•    Get creative with your team outfits. Plan to wear matching costumes, hats or colours while walking and during fundraising events to stand out from the crowd.

•    Organize friendly contests between your team members.  Compete to see who can raise the most in set amount of time or at a specific event.

How is your team’s fundraising going? Do you have any tips? Let us know on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Raise $500+ online and you could win an iPad Mini!

When you raise $500 or more online between April 11 and April 19, 2013,* you will be entered into a draw to win an iPad Mini!

Login to your account or register today and share links to your personal fundraising page and pledge yourself to get started.
Invite friends and family to participate in this incentive. Spread the word and encourage them to join you in the movement to end MS.

*Fundraise $500 or more online, over and above what you have already raised, between 12:00am on April 11 and 11:59pm on April 19, 2013 to be eligible for this incentive. Limit of one draw entry per registered Mandarin MS Walk participant. The recipient of the iPad Mini will be notified by the end of April.

Fundraising Tip – Recruiting a team

Forming your own Mandarin MS Walk team is a great way to increase your fundraising and have a lot of fun! The first step to forming a team is finding some recruits. Here are some tips to help you get the word out and grow your team!

•    Ask anyone and everyone. Ask your friends, family, neighbours and co-workers to join the team. Even if they say no, odds are they’ll support your team with a donation.

•    Ask each person who joins your team to recruit 4 additional members. If you start with only 4 team members, and they each recruit 4 more team members, and those people each recruit 4 new team members— you’ll have 64 team members!

•    Identify a co-captain who can assist you with recruitment efforts. As your team grows larger, consider appointing a committee in charge of recruitment.

•    Advertise you team on social media. It’s a fast way to spread the word and let people know you’re looking for members.

•    Create a recruitment pitch. Be ready to tell people why ending MS is important to you and how their help will raise even more money to help Canadians living with MS.

Now you know how to recruit team members, head over to mswalks.ca to register your team! If you’ve already registered for the Mandarin MS Walk and would like to join or create a team, please login to the Participant Centre and select the black "Join or create a team button" to complete a request form.

Let us know about your team on our Facebook and twitter pages and let us know what recruitment methods you’ve used!