The
Bark For Life is a 1 mile dog walk that is held prior to the Relay For Life.
It is an event that promotes and contributes it's fundraising
efforts to the mission of the ACS through the local Relay
For Life.
The Bark
for Life is set up on the same regulations and format as a
Relay For Life. It is held at a separate location from
the Relay for 3 important reasons:
- Most school & college tracks do not allow dogs
- Another location, central to the community that the Relay serves, invites an extended and new public participation
- Holding the Bark For Life prior to the Relay For Life promotes the Relay and it's ACS mission in advance of the event
How to hold a Bark For Life, Bark For Life:
- Canine teams & participants register to fundraise online
- Canine team packets of fundraising, survivor, and event information are distributed to canine teams and people interested in being involved with the Canine events
- The Canine Relay, Bark For Life is scheduled with a central community location and a date, time, place is announced to the public
- The Bark For Life committee organizes and presents at the Bark For Life:
- Registration for canine teams and new community participants is available prior to the beginning of the walk. Bandanas are given to canine participants & available for a $10 donation to non-participating dogs.
- Doggie "pick up" bags are distributed to participants & available to all dogs
- Canine Relay t-shirts are available to the public for a $10 donation
- Opening ceremony:
- Introduce the survivor Grand Marshall & their dog
- Celebrate survivors, caregivers, the community, sponsors, & participants (PA Gov. Rendell letter of congratulations to the Relay & Canine Relay was read to the public in 2007)
- Blessing of the animals
- The Grand Marshall of the Bark For Life - a cancer survivor and their dog leads the 1 mile walk as it begins - water is available to all the dogs that participate in the walk
- Relay & Bark For Life teams set up fundraising tables
- Sponsors & supporters are invited to set up tables to offer products & services as fundraising
- Relay, Canine Relay, & ACS information tables are set up
- DJ plays "Who Let The Dogs Out?!" and fun music
- Canine games/contests invite participants.
- Musical Sit (like musical chairs only the last dog to sit is eliminated)
- High jumps
- Frisbee throws
- Roaming entertainment: EX: jugglers, balloon dogs for children, caricaturists, painted dog scenes that invite people and dogs to peak into the setting for photos, etc.
- Food vendors contribute to the fundraising and atmosphere of the event
Beginning
with registration, all the way to the end of the Bark
For Life, the people and dogs enjoy each other, meet
other cancer survivors & caregivers, and havethe opportunity
to contribute to the mission of the American Cancer Society.
This Canine Relay will be developed to reflect the personality
of the individual community is serves - just like the Relay
does each year.
The profits raised by all the canine activities are a growing portion of the Relay For Life fundraising total. |
For more information
about starting a
Bark For Life
in YOUR town contact
JoAnn McKiernan
|
