It's a Marathon, not a sprint

Matt Trombly is running the ING New York City Marathon, November 7th, for his friend and neighbor who is fighting multiple myeloma (MM).

Matt has done an incredible job of raising awareness and funds needed for continued research to fight MM.  Matt treated the fundraising the same way he is treating the NYC marathon.......START EARLY!!!!!  Matt started developing his plan in April so he could execute the formulated plan with the fullest potential.  After the plan was set, Matt scheduled a conference call with the fundraising leadership at the MMRF, to ask questions and to get feedback on his plan.  He also fundraised in phases.  Corporate, traditional, and fundraising events(golf scramble & dinner).  Matt also made some noise buy contacting his local TV station to share his story.  He not only raised $12,000 for the MMRF but he lost over 85 lbs during the process.  Facebook, emails, and letters to potential corporate sponsors were also used to raise awareness and funds.

Matt realizes that his value on time pales to compare to that of his neighbor and friend Molly's value on time.  With her fighting MM, it is his job to help her fight it by raising as much as he can for the MMRF.

Social Media Queens

Brady Gervais (left) and Brooke Ortmann (right)

Social media is a powerful tool -- one that sisters Brady Gervais and Brooke Ortmann have not underestimated. They have shared their story about running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in honor of their dad through Facebook, Twitter and Blogspot.

To date, the pair has raised more than $4,400. Approximately 10 donations came from people Brady and Brooke had never met face-to-face. Brady credits the use of Twitter, where she updates other Tweeps about how running in her dad's memory has impacted her. Furthermore, Brooke and Brady have posted their fundraising page on Facebook. They also update their statuses to reflect on training and the support they have received. Their e-mail signatures contain a tagline with a link to their fundraising page.

Social media is not the only tool in their fundraising arsenal. Together, they write monthly e-newsletters, where they update friends, family and supporters on training, fundraising and other tidbits. These e-newsletters are well received, and Brooke and Brady have gotten positive feedback from recipients, who say they look forward each month to the e-newsletter.

They also have turned to print media. In April, Brady wrote an article for their hometown newspaper about how she and Brooke are running the Chicago Marathon in honor of their dad, who died of multiple myeloma at 46. The story ran the week of the 15th anniversary of their dad's death.

They also sold approximately 50 "Kicking Cancer's Butt...One Mile at a Time" T-shirts to spread the word about their cause. During a recent hometown celebration, their cousin sold 30 more shirts with $150 in proceeds benefiting the MMRF.

Small World

David Stevens is part of Team Aptuit and is participating in the MMRF's Corporate Challenge for the ING New York City Marathon.

David has been asking everyone he knows from high school friends, previous work colleagues, MBA classmates, and facebook contacts.  He chose to write directly to the recipients because it is difficult to ignore a request if it is addressed/written to someone individually.  He also personalized his message by mentioning his mom's Chronic Leukaemia.  He also described MMRF, the founders Kathy & Karen and their personal connection, and the great work that MMRF has done.  The MMRF has helped develop treatments for myeloma that is now being explore as options for other cancers, which a greater amount of people can relate to.  David asked others to forward his link to people that he did not know.  He connected with someone's brother who was diagnosed with MM 6 years ago and they gave David $100 and thanked him for making a difference.

This was very humbling and gave David extra motivation to train and fundraise.  No magic, just time and persistence has David at 41 donations totaling $2,260.

Couple gets creative, personal

Paul and Julie Turner's approach to raising money is to get personal and creative. They are running the ING New York City Marathon and are trying to raise $6,000. They have generated 32 donations already, totaling $3,419.26

The Turners have sent more than 120 e-mails to friends and family. They did not use a template e-mail; they made it personal to each recipient. The personal touch has garnered more donations. They used sponsor sheets, where people could donate money up front or donate after the race.

They also looked to their driveway. They had an old car, which they towed to the local scrapper and received $150 to be donated to the MMRF. The Turners are also planning to host a yard sale to get rid of old items. All money raised will be put toward the final goal of $6,000.

Educate and Motivate

Not everyone is going to have a personal connection to multiple myeloma but everyone has a story.

Abby Redmond is running the ING New York City Marathon and she stresses that you cannot be embarrassed to ask for money.  The money is not for yourself, it is for an important cause and it helps real people.  Abby found success in using Facebook to raise her money.  Updating friends on her increased mileage/training, she has seen donations climb, too.  If people cannot donate, Abby just asks that friends keep her in their thoughts during her training and race day.

Abby was motivated by a friend who completed an Iron Man, in July, with a time of 11 hours, 30 minutes and 59 seconds.  Only 17 months prior, Abby's friend suffered a stroke, robbing her of her speech.
Abby is also educating others about the MMRF. 

Personal Connection

Renee Ryan is running the ING New York City Marathon with one thing on her mind, her parents.

Her father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) in 1975 and passed away leaving his wife and five children to continue on without him.  Fast-forward to December 2008 when Renee's mother was diagnosed with MM. Faced with another parent being sick, Renee decided to use her personal connection to MM and raise awareness along with donations to continue making a difference in the lives of MM patients.

Renee's fund-raising efforts have been very successful and she has been emailing people from all areas of her life asking them to donate what is comfortable for them. With only 40 donations, Renee is at $4,246, or $106 per donation on average.

Renee's mother is receiving treatment and is in partial remission.