How the Houston Hot Undies Run Raised $9000

Carissa with Undies Run Poster

This entry was written by Roxanne Thomas.

The inspiration for the Houston Hot Undies Run came from a fellow CTF supporter named Chad Leathers. He helped organize Cupid’s Undie Run in DC back in February. When I saw Cupid’s Undie Run on the NF blog, I thought, “Wow! That looks wildly fun and a little bit crazy!”

How did our Hot Undies Run come to be in Houston, Texas? My daughter and I are an NFE “team”. Carissa is a 5th year graduate student in the MD/Ph.D program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. In the fourth largest city in the country, we hoped there would be many people who would agree that an undie run sounded wildly fun and a little bit crazy. I called Carissa and she loved the idea.

Our next step was to find sponsors. Carissa and I are members of Brian O’Neill’s (BON) Running Club in Houston. BON Running Club’s president Dave Lee, and Brian O’Neill’s Irish Pub loved the undie run idea and enthusiastically agreed to host, sponsor, and help us organize the event. We were fortunate to be chosen as one of four charity events they organize each year.

The inaugural Hot Undies Run took place on August 21, 2010. The 2-mile, non-competitive course was run in a 110-degree heat index, but that didn’t stop 500+ participants from coming out to support the Children’s Tumor Foundation. The undies theme was embraced with a wide variety of undies and creative accessories. Many groups competed for a “Best Dressed Group” prize. Two other pubs along the route joined in on the fun with “hydration stations”. At one point, a fire department crew cruised by and noticed the run. They stopped, and all the firemen got out to cheer on our runners!

The runners really enjoyed a great after-party with music, food, drinks, and raffle prizes. One of the most touching moments was meeting two young ladies and one young man in their own NF jersey and CTF t-shirts who came out to walk the event with our runners. All three had an NF touch in their lives.

Creative costumes on the course

Carissa and I had never organized an event before, but we were able to raise over $9000 for the Children’s Tumor Foundation. We were so fortunate that many people jumped in to help us. (Especially Dave Lee, with his experience organizing races.) Organizing an event of any kind does take a lot of time and energy. The pre-event jitters can certainly compare to, or top, pre-race jitters! If you can, share your fundraising idea with someone who is experienced, can work with you, and help you learn. Carissa and I couldn’t have done this without the many people, sponsors, and volunteers who helped us.

We are grateful for all our NF Endurance team members who support and empower each other by sharing ideas and working together towards ending NF, rather than just living with NF. We are very glad that Chad Leathers and his friends shared their idea and truly appreciate the always supportive and fun staff at NF Endurance, who keeps us all running strong.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the hearts in Houston were especially big that day!

Roxanne and Carissa Thomas

See more pictures at:

http://mynfenduranceteamphotoblog.shutterfly.com/

9 Secrets of Fundraising on Facebook.

Photo by Vivianna_love (Flickr)

Picture this. You are preparing for your next fundraiser and say to yourself, “I know I can handle the training, but how can I do a better job of fundraising?”  The answer is to work on your storytelling.  Every day we are bombarded with ads, news, emails, tweets, and pokes. There are many things that catch our attention, but few things that KEEP our attention. When we invite people to hear our story, it is important to remember emotional connections lead to donations.

Facebook has taken an increasing amount of our already limited attention spans. This leads many people to think, “Great! I can just repeatedly post about my fundraising efforts on Facebook, and people are sure to donate!”  As with everything in life, it is a bit more complicated than that.

Yes, Facebook can be an effective fundraising tool, but you can’t approach it in the same way you might approach a written letter. Fundraising on Facebook is about telling your story in an engaging way and inviting your donors to be a part of that story. All the Facebook apps in the world can’t replace the power of the story only you can tell.

Here are a few quick tips to help you get started:

Use Facebook to regularly update friends and family on your training and fundraising efforts. Don’t put the same message up on your Wall every time. Let your friends and family know where you are in your training and fundraising. Be excited about what you are doing! People want to see their friends and family accomplish great things. It inspires them to do great things themselves.

Example of an effective update.

Tell your story using photos and video.

Have you fundraised using Facebook? Share any tips, tricks, or ideas that have worked for you in the comment section.

Q&A with Leigh

Leigh sporting her NFE tri-top.

Leigh is among our growing rank of triathletes. We asked her 10 questions about herself and her experience with the team.

10. When you were 5, what did you want to be when you grew up?

At five, I was very interested in the animal world. I liked butterflies and frogs and rolly pollies. Horses were my passion, but I never owned one. I was not aware of careers at 5 years old, but over the next few years, I learned about ‘animal doctors’ and for many years I thought about going to vet school. Although I did not be come a vet, I still love animals and am curious about how biological systems work.

9. What is your favorite quote?

This is a tough question! Most of the quotes I know and think about are from the Bible, but I also love English poetry from about 1600 to 1800. Something I say to encourage myself is “Trust in the Lord and do good.” This helps me gain perspective by focusing on the present and not to focus on worries or things out of my control.

8. What was your most embarrassing moment? (Or the most embarrassing moment you are willing to share.)

I don’t really have an answer about a “most” embarrassing moment. However, I am pretty clumsy, so I have lots of little embarrassing moments. Sometimes I run into things, fall up the stairs, or spill my coffee on something important.

7. How did you hear about NF Endurance?

I learned about NF Endurance through my sister Tracy Draper who joined the team in Florida for the Disney marathon events. She was a team member, then became a captain and now is an employee and participant in many events nationwide. Her enthusiasm for the work, the teams, the organization is just fantastic.

6. Could you tell us a little bit about your hero?

Joshua Velasquez is my hero. Joshua loves video games, soccer and the Man Versus Food TV show. He was diagnosed with NF at 10 months when café-au-lait spots appeared. He began some therapies right away and  has been monitored frequently every since. Currently, there is evidence of UBO’s (“unidentified bright objects”) on his brain and many café-au-lait spots on his body. Also, he has a plexiform neurofibroma on his chest. Joshua has annual exams to monitor his condition, but thankfully, his health is good and he is leading a typical teenager’s life!

5. Why did you choose the Iron Girl Triathlon in New York??

I decided to do this race because I had hurt my back muscles on a few occasions last winter. I decided, “Enough! I must get in shape again!” I had been a cross country runner in high school and enjoyed many different kinds of sports. My dental hygienist mentioned that she was entering the race. I checked it out and decided it was just the fitness goal that I needed. I started training in May with the race in early August.

Leigh posing with her medal.

4. How did the race go?

The race was tough! I did well for a short training season though. I finished 147 out of about 730 women. The swim was chaos, the bike was great, and the run was misery… I had a great time. It had been 28 years since I did a triathlon so I was happy with the result.

3. Any plans for your next race?

I might try the Iron Girl again or another local triathlon in summer 2011. The Iron Girl event was very well organized, and it was fantastic racing with all those women. The encouragement and team spirt was great — and still the competition was very strong. I hope that the next triathlon I try has no lake weeds to swim through!

2. What is your favorite brand of running shoe? Why?

I honestly do not have one. Twenty years ago I would have said Saucony because they had the coolest tread. Now, I am not familiar with the different brands or their relative strengths. What do you prefer? Any advice is welcome! (Share your favorite brand in the comments, and we’ll get your suggestions back to Leigh.)

1. What does being a part of this team mean to you?

For me, it means racing for a purpose larger than just self-improvement. I wanted my efforts to have larger benefits beyond my own physical fitness. As soon as I registered for the event, I contacted my sister who works for NF Endurance and asked how I could run to raise funds to fight NF. It was truly my pleasure to help by raising awareness among my colleagues about this cause and wearing the NF Endurance tri-top to spread the word among the other athletes.

Keep an eye on the NF Endurance events page for our growing list of official triathlon events. http://nfendurance.org/events