Santa Paws
Canine pictures were taken with Santa at 2 different public locations, on 2 separate Saturday dates, early in December. 10am - 4pm gives most people the opportunity to groom their dogs and travel to the locations.
It is important to have a Santa that enjoys and can easily relate to all sizes of dogs. Multiples of dogs in one family and large dogs can have ideas of their own that do not include pictures with Santa. A dog-loving Santa can ease the dogs into a beautiful picuture and control them when they decide to make friends with a dog waiting for a photo.
Giving the people who have their dog’s photos taken the picture at the time of the Santa visit is exciting for them and cost effective for the event. The photos are put into paper frames and given to the dog owners following their photo with Santa. Extra result: When they go home they show their photos to friends and family and the next Santa Paws date is even more successful than the first date.
A professional photographer volunteers his time to take the photos in return for his name being promoted. Additional volunteers are necessary to set up the Santa photo area, greet, receive donations, print out & frame the photos, and to keep the dogs moving through the photo process.
Doggie & people treats for visiting Santa are optional.
Each photo is a $10 donation with more than 1 dog in the photo being a donation of $15
Local media loves to promote this event with quotes and photos.
The ACS Canine Relay benefits from the PR, the fundraising, and the good will this event brings to the community. Cancer survivors and caregivers who have not previously participated in the Relay are attracted by the opportunity to share an experience with their canine companions. Survivor stories are new and bring people who sometimes do not have a strong family base to support their cancer experiences. The Canine Care giving stories are important and heartwarming. When the odds seem too great, people survive cancer with their loyal and loving dogs by their sides.
2008 Santa Paws Flyer attached
A story shared at Santa Paws: 3 Apostles
Top Dog Contest
The Top Dog Contest rewards canine teams that are fundraising on line and takes ACS fundraising to the larger local community.
Two weeks prior to the Canine Relay, Bark For Life, in April, the top 40 online fundraising Relay dogs are featured in the local newspaper for the entire community to vote for their favorite dog. The photos submitted to the newspaper are the same photos that are on the ACS online fundraising page of the dog.
The newspaper publishes the photos with a check box next to each dog so that a vote can be submitted for the chosen dog. The newspaper with the checked doggie box and a contribution is sent to the newspaper to be tallied. Each vote = $1.00. The dog who receives the most votes/dollars is the winning TOP DOG
The votes/dollars are received & counted by the newspaper for the 2 weeks prior to the Canine Relay. A booth is set up at the Canine Relay for people to cast last minute votes and to see which dog is in the lead. A competition for votes/dollars determines the final winner.
The winning dog is announced in the newspaper the week following the Canine Relay with a photo & story about the dog & the dog owner & why they support the ACS & the Canine Relay. The 2008 Pottstown TOP DOG winner is Miss Maggie and her owner, Shirley Patterson who is a cancer survivor. Miss Maggie and Shirley rode as special guests, in a PT Cruiser convertible, in the Pottstown 4th of July parade.
Waggin Tails and Cocktails
Everyone enjoys being involved with canine events so much that a social/fundraiser was created to extend the growing interest in canine support of the ACS. The entire community is invited to enjoy lunch on an outside restaurant dinning deck - with their canine companions. The restaurant offered a menu for people and a menu of doggie treats from noon to 4pm on a Saturday afternoon. An adjacent shopping village gave the diners and their canines a place to explore following lunch on the deck together.
The restaurant created a cocktail with no name for the luncheon. All of the proceeds from people ordering the drink were donated to the ACS canine fundraising. For a $5.00 donation lunch guests could submit a form to "name the drink". At 4pm the restaurant manager and his staff reviewed the cocktail naming entries and decided on the winning drink name - The Tail Wagger. The Tail Wagger appeared as a new cocktail on the restaurant menu for the remainder of the summer and the outdoor dinning season.
For a $10 donation, a caricaturist was set up to draw caricatures of the dogs that came to lunch. Wildly popular!
The Canine Relay & Relay teams were invited to fundraise for their teams at the luncheon. Tables were set up to offer doggie cloths, toys. Food, etc. Fun!
Volunteers presented ACS & Relay literature to people who attended; a singer saw the event and volunteered to entertain for the afternoon.
Relay volunteers decorated prior to the noon lunch by displaying Relay banners, hanging doggie balloons, and setting up the tables for information.
A GREAT time was had by all - many new friends of the Canine Relay joined the effort to support the mission of the ACS.
Waggin' Tails promotional insert
Waggin' Tails re-tail sign to point to the team fundraising tables is attached
Every Dog's Dream Bone Drop
Rubber toy dog bones were each numbered 1 - 150.
Each numbered toy bone was a donation of $100
That equals $15,000.
A hot air balloon was tethered at the Relay For Life and dropped the 150 bones onto a target
The bone that fell closest to the center of the target won $5000. The Canine Relay donated $10,000 to the ACS
The bones were made available at TC meeting, fundraising events, through mailings, and by word of mouth. The final available bone numbers were claimed at the Relay and about 6pm the bones were dropped.
Individuals can donate to bone numbers for $100 each or teams can go together to own a bone number. EX: 5 people @ $20 each = $1000 each if the number wins
A hot air balloon is a beautiful visual at a Relay. If there is not a hot air balloon donation or space available, a fire truck with a ladder, or a bucket truck work very well.
The bones can be used every year & the hot air balloon company, fire company, or truck company appreciate the publicity for their support.
Every Dog's Dream order form for numbers
Every Dog's Dream poster to record the numbers is available upon request
4th of July Parade
The Pottstown community celebrates the 4th of July with a parade and a community activity day in their park. The Canine Relay entered the parade to showcase their canine teams. Miss Maggie, the TOP DOG contest winner rode proudly in a PT Cruiser convertible. Canine team members and Relay participants walked together in the parade. A Canine Relay banner identified and led the group.
Save the date (5*7) cards were distributed along the parade route for everyone interested in joining a canine team, starting a canine team, or supporting the up coming canine events that are listed on the card.
Double Dip: Dog Wash & Ice Cream!
On a Sunday in July from 1pm to 4pm, a local ice cream parlor offered the surrounding lawn and parking lot of the property to transform into a "doggie wash". On the day of the dog wash, the ice cream parlor also donated a percentage of the proceeds of the ice cream sold.
Baby swimming pools were set up to wash the dogs with hoses, volunteers, and diluted shampoo. A towel drying group was ready for the dog washing follow up and a groomer was available for optional services - nail trims and trim-trims.
The groomer volunteered to donate the grooming proceeds to the Canine Relay.
A cartoonist was available to draw a cartoon of the dogs for $10 each as they waited for their $10 dog washing & ice cream cone.
Double Dip signs that fit on to the ACS yard signs advertised this fundraiser along popular intersections and at the ice cream parlor prior to the event.
The same graphic & information were printed onto 2" x 3" pads and distributed throughout the community.
Posters with the same information were distributed to vet offices and dog service companies.
Double Dip sign
Up To $100,000 Community 50/50 Raffle
This raffle raised over $48,000 (over $24,000 to the ACS & to the winning ticket)
Set the raffle goal as high as the ACS allows in your area. Our total available is $100,000. The raffle ticket offered – a 50/50 raffle that could pay the ACS & the winner “Up To $50,000” for the winning ticket. The total went to $48,356!
A permit must be obtained from the county of the Relay
Tickets were a $2.00 donation. The more tickets sold, the greater the winning amount & the greater the excitement.
Tickets were available to the community through banks and local merchants. There was a central pick up location for teams. Ticket sales were credited to the teams that sold them.
A public location was chosen to pull the winning number. The community was invited to pick up last minute tickets and to watch the winning number be pulled from a large drum by the Grand Marshall of the Pottstown Relay For Life.
Very exciting and very profitable!
Dog Day at the Ball Park
Dogs are invited to a baseball game! The Reading Phillies have a baseball game that is open to our Canine Best Friends. The baseball game ticket sales are credited to the Canine Relay teams. The night of the ballgame, your doggy is invited to join you at the game. The park area is dedicated to picnic dinners and dogs while you watch the Reading Phillies play ball...and meet new canine loving friends.
Fun for teams & their friends - profitable for the ACS!
Dimes Make A Difference
The Dimes Make A Difference program began in 2007 when a 6 year old kindergarten student, named Carlos, honored his teacher as a cancer survivor by giving her a dime that he found "To cure cancer". That year $26,000+ was raised by the Pottstown community to support the spirit of one small boy who wants to eliminate cancer.
The Canine Relay has also supported the Dimes Make A Difference program with doggie fundraising:
- Put a dime in a jar as reward to the owner when a puppy gets a treat as he/she is being trained
- Save the dimes that you get as change when you purchase doggie supplies
- Collect dimes at canine sponsor businesses
- 16 oz water bottles hold $92 worth of dimes. When you are finished walking your dog, and your water bottle is empty, fill it back up with dimes and return it to the Bark For Life
