Today Marcie and I walked around the track and field area, and checked out the potential course that could go along the back of the school...

 I decided it would be better to have everything more condensed, simply because I have never hosted an event before, namely a 5k, and neither has she. We want to be able to set up, clean up, and run the event smoothly with as little bumps along the way as possible. That said, I decided that although some people might find it repetitive or potentially a little boring, the track would be a better place for the run, along with two boynton miles.

The upside about the track, is everything is very reachable, meaning our water stations will all be accessible, and we wont have to drag tables out to that many far off locations - Just the half mile mark on the boynton course, which is at the crosswalk/streetlight post at the Boynton parking lot.

We ran into Mr. Bryant while we were out at the track, who I had just been looking for! I asked him about the sound system, and if we could use the speakers for music, and announcements. He said he needs to get back to me, (he said that a long time ago) and that I should come by his office next week. Well next week is cutting it kind of short... as the race is next Sunday. Ill try and hunt him down tomorrow just to get things going faster, though he might not know the info by then. I'm going to try and find Mrs. Bryant in the morning too, and ask if she knows, because she does the announcements for soccer games sometimes apparently.

Besides that, we planned out where my tables would go. Registration will be right at the entrance to the track, where there will be posters and signs.
               - I've been trying to reach the tech department to let me print on their huge printer. If I cant i'll try the main office, and if they say no I'll go to Kinkos on Saturday.

Anyways, once people are registered they will walk into the track and right before they enter the turf, there will be a food table which will have baked goods for sale, and pizza (starting at 11), and a donation jar (posted the picture last blog). Then as runners walk onto the turf, they can get their Tshirts.

I NEED TO FIND MR BERNSTEIN to ask about a gun for start of the race!! and the cards!! and timing!! I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND HIM but these are VERY important!!!

I also need to hear back from Bangs if they can come at 10 instead of 11 (just nice to have them there a little earlier)

On Saturday, (I'll be out of town tomorrow for a concert in Buffalo,) I'll go to Michaels and get safety pins, sharpies, scissors, tape, pens, cups, etc.

Sunday morning I'll need to be there around 730, mr bryant will tell me where I can go to get all my stuff when I get there. Hopefully my volunteers will get there soon after, and I am thinking about collecting baked goods the day before.

Todayyy!!

Today, I went to the bank and deposited two checks into my Strides for Sarah account; both were $50. One was from Alternatives (bank) who decided to sponsor my event, and one was a donation from one of my aunts.

That was a nice feeling, because the tshirts are just under 350 dollars, so that makes it under 250.

I went to Shortstop to request a giftcard or coupons, and THEY GAVE ME 4 CASES OF WATERBOTTLES! That means 100 prefilled waterbottles, which will certainly be enough for our runners!! Of course, we still need water coolers to provide water for the runners in dixie cups as they run by, but this helps a TON!!!

I'm meeting with Marcie tomorrow at 12:30 to finish up the details about the course, and then start collecting marking materials. I made the donations jar today, it looks good :)

Songs for a New World

Today I had the privilege of going to Emily's musical production of Songs for a New World. It was nothing less than outstanding, which in itself,  is an understatement.

The amount of work that she put into that production was evident / crystal clear in every move an actor took, in every note a singer sung. It was beautifully choreographed, with each actor moving in tune with the melody and in sync with one another. Seeing Emily's project play out so very nicely makes me both excited, determined, anxious, and nervous for Strides for Sarah. I haven't been able to do much these past few days because I've been so busy during my birthday weekend / Marcie has been away. But, I did set up an account for the donation money and received a small amount from Alternatives, (50 dollars) .. but at least it's something!!

I talked to Liam Cody, who is a cross country runner and IHS alumn, and he says my course sounds fine -  two laps around the track, two boynton miles, two more laps around the track, but he suggested doing what I had planned last week, which is two extended boynton miles (the picture posted below) Each of those is about 1.58 miles.. but those trails will be harder to mark and lead people through. So tomorrow I am hopefully meeting with Marcie if she is back and going to IHS to plan together.

Besides that, our shirts are ordered, bib numbers are ordered, we have volunteers signed up, almost 70 attending on facebook, a helium tank for balloons, probable pizza from tops, and our various prizes.

A few things we still need

- traffic cones (markers)
- the final mark up of the course ( one of two plans)
- word back from mr bryant about playing music / announcements
- bakesale sign ups

extra

Tonight, an IHS student I barely know sent me the nicest message on facebook. He said he knows we aren't particularly close, but he really appreciates what I am doing to honor my cousin, that his family recently lost someone to cancer, and that he would love to help in any way he can, and his family will donate. I am really touched by this, it's the little things like this that make me happy
:)

Hey all,

Sooo today was the sample presentation. Wow, it was quite something. Katherine Barden sure knows how to speak. Even though it seemed ( and was later revealed in her evaluation) that she had rushed at the end of her preparation and wasn't totally sure about how her project would go, she really commanded the audience and captured their attention. Her project was "SteamPunk" and that was certainly new to me. From what I understand after seeing her WISE presentation, steam punk is a sort of fantasy style, that incorporates renaissance-esque detail into metals, fabrics, and gadgets. It's an edgy style, a creative style. Katherine showed her progress well by showing that she began without really doing much, at least nothing hands-on, but ended up with four polished and diverse outfits, and many objects and jewelry pieces.

From this presentation, I learned that it is really important not to feel too rushed at the end of the WISE process, because it can really affect your work. There are a lot of written pieces and things to polish up and  all of that must be done well and diligently. AND then there is preparing the actual presentation and being able to talk for 30 minutes and then answer questions (wow...) I have never made a speech that long, so I am definitely going to need to practice a lotttttt...

I'm excited though, I think it's gonna be good!

I'm using prezi for my final presentation... which will look awesome

the route

Here is some idea of how the route might go... i've been trying really hard to map it using the Nike running app on my phone, but I'm not sure how reliable it is. I drove the part of the course that I could drive, and it seemed pretty comparable with Map My Run, a website that maps routes. SOO here is the most promising route.

This would be a full route, this is 1.58 miles. If doubled, that would be 3.16, which is a little longer than a normal 5k, at 3.1

"MapMyRUN." Map Your Runs. Web. 20 May 2012. <http://www.mapmyrun.com/my_home/>.

OMG

OOOOOH MYYYY GOODDNESSSS

I just made the Facebook event for Strides for Sarah, and I am overjoyed. After 10 minutes, almost 30 people had already RSVP'd!!! This is the part where things start to come together a bit I think, in terms of my mental health at least hahaa.

Of course the whole time I have been so happy to do this project in honor of my cousin, but at times (often) I've felt very overwhelmed. Planning this event, along with all my final exams and AP tests, preparing for graduation and senior week with the rest of Student Government, planning and holding the Rock the Arts festival, Yearbook, dealing with the sadness in my family due to the death of three of my closest family members this year, has been very stressful / overwhelming. I always had the idea that the spring of my senior year would be a time of relaxation and ...boredom (in a good way). However, it is exactly the opposite. I'm stressed out constantly, always on the move, and never bored.

I was the one that got myself involved in all of these extra-curricular activities, none of them were forced upon me or required. Even though I wanted this spring to be relaxing, I think I sub-conciously didn't, in a way. When I'm productive or helping the people around me in one way or another, I'm happier than when I am doing nothing.

That said, I think I overloaded myself this semester.... Oh well, I'm not a quitter.

I've got a LOT to do by Thursday. On Thursday Marcie and I are ordering tshirts. We decided to wait til Thursday instead of doing it today, because I'm putting up flyers tomorrow at school and around town, and waiting to see how many people RSVP via. Facebook.

Thursday before our meeting I'm going to sit in the cafeteria with some registration forms and hope that people will buy tickets!!

I'm really getting excited about this...

Camp Good Days

http://www.campgooddays.org/

Here is some information about Camp Good Days and Special Times, the organization that I am donating seventy-five percent of my profits to.

"About Us

Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc., a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life challenges through summer camping experiences and year-round events and activities. 

Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc. was founded over 30 years ago by Gary Mervis to provide a residential camping program for his daughter, Teddi Mervis, and 62 other children with cancer from Upstate New York, and has grown to become one of the largest organizations of its kind in the world. Camp Good Days was the fourth program of its kind in the country and the first to be started by a layperson.

What was started to provide a residential camping experience for Teddi and 62 other children with cancer from Upstate New York (21 from Rochester; 21 from Buffalo; 21 from Syracuse) in 1979 has grown to become one of the largest organizations of its kind in the country. Many of the programs and services started right here at Camp Good Days have been used as models for cancer treatment centers and organizations throughout the United States and Canada. This past summer, over 1500 children, including children with cancer from several foreign countries, participated and experienced the magic of Camp Good Days firsthand at our own beautiful Recreational Facility, located on the shores of Keuka Lake.

All of the programs and services at Camp Good Days and Special Times, provided to many children and their families, are offered free of charge for the participants. The only reason we are able to continue doing this is because of our many successful fundraising events and the generous donations from very special individuals and organizations in our community.

Camp Good Days maintains our own Recreational Facility, located on the shores of Keuka Lake, where the residential camping programs take place. The Camp Good Days' Headquarters & Volunteer Training Center is located in Mendon, NY and Camp Good Days also maintains offices in Buffalo, Syracuse, and Ithaca, NY."






"Camp Good Days - About Us." Camp Good Days - About Us. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.campgooddays.org/AboutUs/>.






The website offers more information, about Camp Good Days retreats, family programs, adult oncology programs, volunteer opportunities, event listings and news, etc. Check it out and get involved!!!

Its been a while!

Hey y'all...

Sorry its been almost a week. My grandfather passed away on Thursday, and we immediately went to Philly to see our family. We got back late yesterday, and today I was on the commons all day working at Rock The Arts, a local music festival.

Anyways, while I was in Philly Mr Bryant called and said he is concerned that the youth bureau might have scheduled a lacrosse practice to be on the IHS turf on sunday june 10.....

PROBLEM PROBLEM PROBLEM

I am meeting with Mr. Bryant tomorrow at 1:15 to discuss this potential problem... He will hopefully have it figured out by then...


EEEEEK

Meeting with mrs gergely and wise class tomorrow as wel...

Wegmans just called me and said they have accepted my request for donations! That is great news.

What I really need is fund though. As it is now we don't have any money to pay for our tshirts. My meetings with HSBC and M&T seemed to go well though, so hopefully they will contribute.

We have a few things for a raffle though, which is really nice. But the t-shirts are more important.

Mrs. Gergely couldn't meet today, which is unfortunate especially because we need to discuss the date of my presentation and evaluate my progress. Hopefully we will meet this week.

This project is kind of a huge endeavor, so pulling it off last minute is really really stressful, but I think I can do it. I'm constantly running around going to different businesses asking for donations, and im still trying to track down Mr. Redmond or Mr Bryant. I really need to hear back from the ambulance company (bangs) so that we can be sure of our cost for medical aid. Hopefully it will be nothing...

Once Bangs has agreed to be there, we can sign the building use form saying we have AED certified representation at the event. Also, I made a poster and I'll sit in the lunch room starting Wednesday to advertise the event, and tomorrow after my meeting with Marcie I'll make a facebook group with the final details.

Logo!

We now have a logo for the run!!
Here it is!! Credits to Lily Armstrong-Davis for helping me!

Uppppddaaatesss

SO !

Today, I met with Marcie at her office again. I told her about everything I have accomplished since Wednesday, which is really a lot!!
Here is a list of things I have done!

- Letter to sponsors
- Filled out and turned in donation forms to Wegmans, CTB/ IB, Greenstar
- Met with people at HSBC, M+T, Alternatives, Bangs Ambulance
- Turned in the building use form, though we don't have official confirmation from Bangs yet, so it might not go through until we do... have to talk to mr. bryant about that (athletic director at IHS)
- The girls lacrosse team has decided to help/ all run the 5k!!! That is a lot of girls in different grades and friend groups (great publicity)
- Buffalo Wild Wings has agreed to do a fundraise where I get one night and everyones meal that night gives me 15% of their profit, but Im not sure I'm accepting this offer, because Marcie says she hasn't made much money doing those.
- Maurices gave me 2 bags full of fun things like perfume, a stuffed animal from the american cancer society, and candy etc., and I'll auction those off in a raffle. Their staff would like to volunteer on race day!
- Finger Lakes Running Co. gave me 2 25$ gift cards as well, also used for a raffle I presume!!!


I'm making posters tomorrow to advertise in the cafeteria during lunch periods, and designing the logo tonight and this weekend so we can get flyers out asap!!!

more soon!

Confirmation.

I can hear the loving sobs from downstairs as I write this post: I know I have picked the right project. I have never been happier to create and become involved in something. This project means more to me than almost anything, because it honors one of the most loved people that has ever been or will ever be in my life.

I just called my Aunt, who immediately began to cry when I told her about the details of my project honoring my cousin. The official name is now "Strides for Sarah" (approved by her mother) and my family might even try to come down for the run. I will give 75% of the profit to Camp Good Days and Special Times, and 25% to the Sarah Dekker Memorial Art Award. :)

Tomorrow I talk to Mr. Powers, Mr. Redmond, and go to Alternatives, Boatyard Grill, Wegmans, etc..

This is consuming me... and I love it!

Meeting with Marcie!

Today I met with Marcie, the regional director of Camp Good Days. I could not be more lucky. Marcie is amazing!  She has agreed to help me with whatever I need to make this 5k a success. She said that because she just finished with two big events, she has enough free time in her schedule to do this with me! We talked for about an hour about how we are going to attack this and make it a success in about a months time.

Technically, we should have started planning in February; this would have given us PLENTY of time to get the course established, get permission and clearance from the school district, city, and get insurance, sponsors, donations, etc. However, my project was somewhat halted until I got the permission I needed from my family to host a race in my cousin's honor.

Now that I have their consent, I'm diving in!

One big thing I need to decide is if Marcie is just helping me because she has volunteered her time, or if I am doing this via. Camp Good Days  - this means they can help publish flyers, get the event info in the newspaper, etc., AND makes our T-Shirt (etc.) orders tax exempt. (Big plus...)

At this point, because I am starting the actual action part of the project a lot later than would have been ideal, I think my best option is to go through Camp Good Days. I really like the organization, and am definitely considering sending all of my proceeds there. Though Marcie still says even if I do it via. camp good days I only need to donate a small amount to the organization. 


Some things we discussed ... 


I need to talk to Mr. Powers and figure out what parts of the land around the school actually belong to the school vs. Tompkins County/the City of Ithaca... I'd like to keep the run on school property so that I don't need to get the idea approved and insured by the city ($$$).

I have the building use form, so I need to fill that out and turn it in, and talk to the athletic directors (they have to sign it too).

Marcie will check if anyone she knows has a tent we can put in the middle of the track and have our tables under. I requested tables and water coolers from the school, as well as a few chairs.

While Marcie and I were talking, a women Marcie knows came in and ended up helping A LOT. She is a cancer survivor, and has organized several 5k runs in the past. She wants to meet with me on Friday back at Marcie's office (so so so happy, such a big help).

Marcie and I are going to try and reach out to the Bangs funeral home service and ask them if they might like to donate their time (give us an ambulance) for race day. Hopefully this works out, because if it does it will save a lottttt of money.

Thats the big big thing. Sponsors. I'm going to my bank, Alternatives, and asking if I can meet with someone and tell them about my event/cause. If they donate over $50, they can have their company on the back of the T-shirts we are making. This same policy goes for everywhere we ask for donations. Of course, some places will only donate, for example, a $25 giftcard, in which case we will raffle those prizes off, or give them to the first place runner.

I'm drafting a letter after this blog post that will go out to the businesses I contact about donating and sponsoring. Marcie gave me some sample letters to look at from her past events, which will help.

My T-Shirts are going to be white (5/ 5.50 per shirt) with orange font, and sponsors on the back.
I kind of wanted a colored tshirt but that costs 6 per shirt which will end up being significantly more. I'm doing this through PSP, because they are very efficient and easy to work with.

Right now, we're looking at needing at least $500 for shirts... assuming we get 100 of them.. though this is something I have time to think about... perhaps 75 is a more realistic number.
The shirts need a name and a logo on them, both of which I am thinking about now. It's hard though, I don't know whether or not to include my cousins name in the name of the event... or what to call it... right now the best I can come up with is Run Against Cancer.. Oh!!! What about Strides for Sarah?!?!!!? That one's good.... I'll have to ask my Aunt if having my cousins name in the title is Ok.


I'll need to make a Facebook event, advertise it in the halls with flyers, word of mouth, and bakesales- I'm going to recruit my friends to bake and I'll sell the baked goods in the cafeteria during 5 and 6 lunch periods (when I have free). I'll have forms for pre-registration there, and give people information about how to pre-register even when I'm not in the cafeteria. At this same time, I'll have a sign up sheet for volunteers as well, as we will need people helping with timing, water, food, handing out shirts, etc..

I'll be speaking to coaches and sports teams about running the 5k as a team, or just in groups. The girls lacrosse team has already shown interest.

Much to do, next meeting with Marcie and Beth on Friday...!! !! !!