Last Minute Fundraising Tips

Fundraising Success with the Event Less Than One Month Away!

With the Overnight Walk happening in less than one month’s time, we are busy helping all of our Walkers reach their fundraising goals and have put together some tips below for any Walker that needs a bit of a boost or is just starting out their fundraising campaign.

If you have only recently registered or are still working toward your fundraising requirement amount - don’t worry, you are not too late!

Most of our Walkers are able to reach their fundraising requirement amount within 3-4 weeks after launching a solid campaign under normal circumstances, and are able to accelerate that quickly as the event draws nearer. With just a few weeks to go until the event, it’s the perfect time to reach out to your fundraising supporters and ask them to help you hit your goal.

Kickstart Your Fundraising

Training Tips for the Final 3 Weeks

Get Moving and Keep Training for the 2013 Overnight Walk!

We are officially less than one month away from the 2013 Overnight Walk and our Walkers are training around the country on their own and in groups to better enjoy this amazing physical event!

Whether you have been training actively for the last several months with our E-Training Guide, or you have been intending to start and haven’t gotten into a regular rhythm, we have some tips and tricks to get you set up for success on event day.

 It’s Not Too Late to Start Training!

If you haven’t been doing much training and walking yet, there is still plenty of time to get on track and help your body get acclimated to the distance and physical rigors of the walk.

Start a training schedule today and get started with walks that increase in distance as we get closer to the event itself, join or start a Training Walk in your area, or walk with friends and family around your neighborhood after work each night – start walking today!

The physical portion of the Overnight can seem daunting at first, but with a bit of training and pre-event discipline, it will be a much easier experience on-event.

Walk Often, Walk Smart

Walkers who have participated in the Overnight before will tell you that preparation and training in the weeks immediately before the event make a huge difference in your overall experience. While the Overnight is not an endurance event, it is a much longer walk than most of us are used to and we are walking during a time period that our bodies are typically not used to physical effort and exercise.

Walk Often - Getting your body used to walking long distances is the single most important part of training, and incorporating longer walks into your daily and weekly schedule will help you do this. Walk often and increase the distances of your walks steadily and you will find that your body will begin to acclimate to the longer distances with less and less effort.

Walk Smart – Be sure that you are always stretching before and after walks to avoid injury and discomfort, always hydrate before, during, and after your walks to get your body used to the idea of taking in fluids while exercising and always be aware of your body’s condition during and after your walks. If you would like more training tips and best practices, click here and take a look at the training resources.

Quick Training Tips

• Make a plan and stick to it
• Walk regularly and increase your distance
• Sign up for the E-Training Guide for ideas, route advice, and training tips
• Join or start a Training Walk
• Always hydrate and stretch
• Call or email your Walker Coach if you need ideas or have questions

Need Training Help or Advice?

If you have any questions about training, need help from your Coach, or about the Overnight Walk in general, please contact us at 888-THE-OVERNIGHT (888-843-6837) or coaches@theovernight.org and we will be glad to help.

Help Us Make the 2013 Overnight Walk A Success.

Not Walking in the 2013 Overnight? Join us and Crew or Volunteer.

The Overnight Walk is made successful each year with the help of the many dedicated Crew Members and Volunteers that help us both on the route itself and at the Ceremony Site. Assisting Overnight staff with everything from Rest Stops and Route Safety to Check-in and Registration, our Crew and Volunteers are an integral part of the event.

Crew Members and Volunteers are often friends and family of Walkers participating in the event and these are a great way for everyone to be involved in different ways.

Take a look at the different roles we still have available at this year’s Overnight and let us know how you would like to help.

Join the 2013 Overnight Crew

Crew Members for the Overnight Walk are formed into smaller teams and help us with all of the safety and logistic aspects of the Overnight Route. Supporting Walkers throughout the night with water, snacks, medical help, and logistic support, the Crew Teams are greatly appreciated by the Walkers each and every year.

We’re still looking for Crew Members in:

• Licensed Medical Professionals for the Medical Team     (Should be licensed in Washington, DC)
• Midnight Snack, Rest Stops, and Quick Stops
• Route Marking and Clean-Up
• Motorcycle Safety
• And More

Get in touch with our Coaches at 888-843-6837 or email our Crew Coordinator directly at Roze.Mota@theovernight.org and get all the details about joining Crew for this year’s Overnight Walk.

Volunteer at the Ceremony Site

Our Volunteers are a small army of several hundred people who help the staff set up and manage the Ceremony Site on the day of the Overnight event. Volunteers can be with us for one shift on either Saturday or Sunday, or work with us throughout the night and be present for both Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

We still have Volunteer roles available:

• We need licensed Medical Professionals to help us check over Medical Forms at the Check-In area and Ceremony Site (Licensed anywhere in the U.S.).
• We’re still looking for Volunteers for a variety of shifts and roles on Saturday afternoon (lasting until about midnight) and Sunday early morning (from midnight until 6:00am).
• We’ll also need help in the week before the event to canvass all of the neighborhoods that the Overnight Route goes through. If you can spare a few hours during the week and can help us let the community know what to expect from the Overnight Walk, let us know.

Get in touch with our Coaches at 888-843-6837 or email our Volunteer Coordinator directly at Kimble.Snyder@theovernight.org and get all the details about Volunteering with us at this year’s Overnight Walk.

Fundraising Tip: Use Your Network for Fundraising Success

Expand Your Reach and Get Help from Your Friends

Excited about participating in this year’s Overnight Walk, but don’t know where to start with your fundraising campaign? Don’t worry, you aren’t alone.

In addition to fundraising events and creative fundraising ideas, utilizing the people and organizations you already know is a great way to raise funds while spreading the word about the Overnight and the cause.

Enlist the People You Already Know

One of the simplest (and sometimes overlooked) tools that all of our Walkers have at their disposal is their own network of friends, family members, business associates, and others close to them that can actually help them succeed in their fundraising campaigns.

Asking for help from your personal network in spreading your fundraising page link and your participation in the Overnight Walk is a great way to start and often starts a chain reaction that will help you get to your goal. Many Walkers have told us that simply asking their personal and business contacts for help in spreading the word has resulted in major portions of their fundraising goals.

We All Know Different People

2013 Overnight Walkers Make Headlines

Overnight Walkers Share Their Stories in Their Local Communities

All across the country, Overnight Walkers have been spreading the word, getting others involved in the Overnight and AFSP’s local activities, and helping to boost their fundraising campaigns at the same time by reaching out to local media outlets.

Articles in community oriented media sources help connect local residents to the larger cause and give them insight into what their friends and neighbors will be involved with when they journey to the nation’s capital this June. These articles published in their local newspapers and online help get the word out in their community and also help them with their own fundraising efforts in their hometowns.

Nationwide Overnight Press

Areas near Washington, DC have run pieces for Walkers like Thomas Sweet, who shares his personal experiences with suicide and his urge to make a larger difference for those in his community, and Chelsea Jackson, who is working hard to showcase the links between mental illness and suicide and help those suffering seek treatment.

New Jersey residents Kristen East and Marisa Fazio have been showcased in their areas and were able to tell a bit of their personal stories in the hopes that it would reach others and help them seek treatment. A fellow New Jersey resident, Hannah Benoit, shares the feelings of one who has lost a parent and her personal investment in advocacy for suicide prevention and AFSP.

From Christina Duncan’s article in Quincy, MA to Laura Matthiesen’s in Concord, CA, personal stories of the effects of mental illness and suicide are being brought Out of the Darkness to be more openly discussed and to hopefully help others in need.

Many thanks to our Walkers who have shared their personal stories and helped to spread the word about mental illness, the devastating affects of suicide, and most importantly, of hope and the many treatment options and methods of help available to those in need.

Hometown Press Release

Our Walkers most often use the Hometown Press Release, which can be found in the Resources section of your fundraising page to submit their inquiries and articles for publication. These templates are set up so that they can be easily customized to contain some or part of your own personal story as well as bringing to light many of the pertinent reasons the Overnight exists.

If you would like to see your local news outlets run stories about the Overnight Walk and AFSP, take a look at our Hometown Press Releases that will help you contact them and let them know that their community is interested in them reporting about this important issue.

Training Tips for Your Overnight Experience

Training and Preparation to Make Your Event Better

While the Overnight Walk is not a contest or race it remains an endurance event, and the distance itself (as well as the hours we are walking) are a bit more trying than many of us are used to in our everyday life.

We also walk with a purpose and as we move through the streets of Washington, DC we have the unique opportunity to share our experiences with others in the community.

The combination of these aspects makes for an event that is at once inspiring and tiring, and Walkers who have prepared themselves with a training regimen in the weeks and months leading up to the Overnight have a much better experience overall.

The Basics of Training for a Distance Walk

The Overnight route is designed to be a safe and simple route for our Walkers and is generally as accessible and simple as possible in each host city.

The main challenges that most Walkers face are:

• The distance of 16-18 miles
• The fact that we are exercising during irregular hours

Using Matching Gifts to Grow your Fundraising

Your Employer (and Your Donors’ Employers) Can Help You Fundraise!

Did you know that many companies offer gift matching programs that can double (or even triple) donations that their employees make?

This process is often a very simple one through the Human Resources Department and can really help your fundraising efforts. AFSP has made it easier for you to see if your employer participates in a gift match program by providing a database of companies and their matching gift offerings.

Simply visit http://www.matchinggift.com/afsp/ and type your company name into the search bar to see if they have a matching gift program.