Walk Diary: Scarborough Mandarin MS Walk

In addition to the Toronto Mandarin MS Walk, staff member Katelyn V. was also honored to lead the Scarborough Mandarin MS Walk. Read the details of her experience below!

The 2013 Scarborough Mandarin MS Walk took place on Sunday, May 5 at our new start/finish location, Willow Park Junior Public School. With just over 210 participants we had a beautiful day for the event, with sunny skies across the GTA. 

CTV’s Colin D’mello graciously acted as the emcee and after the event announced that the participants had raised over $47,000! It was a great day to end MS. I especially enjoyed hearing participants say, “it was inspiring to see all the different people out doing the event and supporting people with MS in our community”. We can’t wait to see what next year will bring!

Come back next week for Jessica C.’s account of the 2013 Belleville Mandarin Walk!

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.

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!

Fundraising Tip - Start Your Own Team

If you’re a seasoned Mandarin MS Walk participant, or even a new one, why not try starting your own team? It’s easy to get started. Just gather four or more friends, family members or co-workers and start fundraising. Working with a team means you’ll have more support and encouragement. Click here to register your team today!

Here are a few tips for a creating a successful team:

• Build a network. Ask your friends, family, neighbours and co-workers to join the team.

• Come up with a team name. Wear team hats or shirts with the team name on them for your fundraising events.

• Keep your team informed. Pass on newsletters and emails to keep your members motivated and inspire them to recruit others.

• Create a fun atmosphere for your team before and after the event! Encourage everyone to come up with fundraising ideas and work together to make them a reality.

• Hold fundraisers as a team. It’s a lot easier to organize a fundraising event or activity when you have help! Cooperate with your fellow team members to think up fundraisers you can all contribute to.

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

Let us know on the Facebook page or twitter page if you try this tip!