To Team, or Not to Team, That is the Question

A few members of Chapman University’s first year team, The Argyros Panthers.

There’s no wrong way to support Komen Orange County’s mission to educate and save lives, but there are choices when it comes to participating in the 22nd Annual Susan G. Komen Orange County Race for the Cure. Whether you choose to join a team, race as an individual, or volunteer on race day you will be contributing to saving lives. This year we are excited to have a number of passionate first-year participants, like Chapman University’s Argyros Panthers team spearheaded by their MBA Alumni Association and in honor of two faculty members who have battled breast cancer. For those who don’t already know, we’re happy to shed some light on what is expected of a team, how to start one, and how to meet specific team goals!

1.      Pick a team captain. Your team captain should be someone who is committed to the Komen Orange County mission of increasing education and saving lives, and to making your team a success! They should be organized and able to inspire participation through leading by example, which means having the ability to answer questions and encourage the team to be active in fundraising, leading up to the race, and participating on race day!

2.      Come up with a creative team name and register. Whether you want to be funny, inspiring or representative of your company’s participation during the race make sure you pick a team name that your team members and donors will remember. Chapman University is keeping their school spirit alive by naming their team the Chapman Argyros Panthers and friend and family teams often come up with names to honor the person who inspired their team to Race for the Cure. Or come up with a team name that will inspire a chuckle when others walk by your tent in Teamland. Once your team is named, you can register on the Komen Orange County website.

3.      Fundraise, Fundraise, Fundraise! The Race for a Cure is a moving event that inspires hope and action from a whole community through its participants, but it’s important to keep in mind that the goal of the race is not only to inspire, but also to put that inspiration to work by raising funds for community programs that help women and men and save lives. Komen Orange County offers mammograms, diagnosis and treatment programs to people who would otherwise be ineligible to receive such care. By fundraising with a team, every single team participant is directly affecting the treatment and diagnosis available to members in our community who are fighting breast cancer. Many teams, like Ware Malcomb Warriors host a number of fundraising events leading up to the race, which they promote on their Facebook and Twitter pages. For other fundraising tips and ideas, or to see if your team is a top fundraiser visit the Komen OC Race for the Cure website.

4.      Set Goals. At Komen Orange County we challenge every participant to raise $125, the cost of one mammogram, but every bit of participation helps. Each team should set clear goals, whether they are monetary or participatory, the team participants should know what is expected of them, so create goals that will get participants excited!

5.      Teamland. Teamland is a great place for your team to meet before the race, grab some breakfast and gather support for each other at the start of race day. It’s also a place to celebrate or remember the people that have inspired your team to raise and gain emotional momentum that will last the whole day! Reserve your spot in Teamland by September 6.

6.      Race Day.  Many teams show their spirit by coordinating their gear, having shirts made, or just picking some fun accessories that are sure to stand out. Team watching on race day is part of the fun and a lot of teams flex their creative muscle when coming up with their race day attire! There are three different race times for teams to participate; we encourage everyone to participate in whichever race works best for them. Throughout the day there are a number of other events recognizing survivors, or remembering loved ones no longer with us.

Race Day Participants show their spirit at the 2012 Race

We would love to hear from our established or new teams in the comments section. Share with us what works for you leading up to the race or any information you think 2013 teams should know!

Check our detailed race day schedule for all the events happening on September 22 and we look forward to seeing everyone then!

Upcoming Events:

September 22^nd – The 22nd annual Komen Orange County Race for the Cure will be held at Fashion Island. If you haven’t registered yet, click here to join a team, start your own, or just support the race! We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at the starting line!

Komen Tissue Bank Comes to Orange County for One Day Only

Orange County Komen supporters Angela Acevedo, Charlene Kazner, and Jane Ka’ala travel to the Komen Tissue Bank in Indiana.

At Komen Orange County, we’re proud to fund and support studies that result in groundbreaking breast cancer treatments for women and men. One initiative we’ve been working closely on is understanding breast health and healthy breast tissue behavior. That’s where the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at The IU Simon Cancer Center comes in.

On Saturday, November 2 the Komen Tissue Bank is coming to Orange County to host a first-of-its-kind donation drive west of the Mississippi. In order to understand breast cancer, we have to understand normal – to transform the way we do research and increase our knowledge and awareness about the fight against breast cancer.

The Komen Tissue Bank is currently the only repository in the world dedicated to the study and collection of normal breast tissue. While the tissue bank has had much success collecting samples in Indiana, it is lacking some key demographics, from those of high-risk populations. By coming to Orange County, the tissue bank hopes to increase the diversity of tissue samples they currently house.

Recently, Komen Orange County hosted an informational webinar for interested tissue donors. Among those in attendance were three Orange County residents, Jane Ka’ala, Charlene Kazner and Angela Acevedo. The three women shared their first-hand experience as Komen IU tissue donors.

Jane, a 70-year-old retired nurse whose husband is a breast cancer survivor, shared details of her procedure and the ease of the entire process. Angela, a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange, has been active with Komen OC since its inception. She went to Indiana to be able to use her experience to encourage others in her community to take part in the tissue bank when it arrives in Orange County. Charlene commented on how organized the tissue bank was and how organization made the entire experience seamless. All three women commended the Komen Tissue Bank on how unobtrusive the procedure was and how little discomfort they felt afterwards. They encouraged those in attendance to sign up and learn more about how they can help as a tissue donor, volunteer or medical assistant.

The tissue bank drive will be held at MemorialCare Medical Group in Fountain Valley on November 2 from 7:30 am- 4:30 pm. For more information and to add your name to the donor sign up list, click here .

Upcoming Events:

August 9th– Damsels of Destruction. Join us at the OC Fair at 8:00 for an all-female car derby sure to be fun for the whole family! Free Fair Admission is included with the ticket price so put on your favorite pink shirt and come over for a fun night that helps benefit Komen OC! To purchase tickets, click here.

August 15th– Susan G. Komen Orange County Breast Health Education Series. Spend the evening with expert, Lisa Curcio, learning how a healthy diet can benefit your health and may reduce the risk of breast cancer. The event will be held from 6:00- 8:00 pm at the Norman P. Murray Center in Mission Viejo. For more information click here.

September 22nd– The 22nd annual Komen Orange County Race for the Cure will be held at Fashion Island. If you haven’t registered yet, click here to join a team, start your own, or just support the race! We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at the starting line!

Enter to Win a Pink Prize Package for Race for the Cure

Happy Friday to our Komen OC community! Tomorrow, Saturday, August 3 marks 50 days until the 22^nd annual Susan G. Komen Orange County Race for the Cure!

As a way to say “thank you” to our wonderful and supportive community, we’re launching an interactive contest on Twitter this weekend only and will give away a pink prize package, perfect for Race prep.

We’re hoping that if you haven’t already, you’ll REGISTER for Race for the Cure and let everyone know! If you already registered, GREAT! We hope you’ll make at least a $22 donation (and let us know)! That way, you’ll be entered to win!

Just follow the steps below:

1.       Follow us on Twitter @KomenOC:

2.       Check our Twitter page after 9:22 a.m. on Saturday, August 3^rd  to uncover the UNIQUE hashtag to use in order to win!

3.       Register for the Race, or make a donation of at least $22, between 9:22 a.m. on Saturday and 12:00 p.m. on Monday.

Then… PROVE IT!

4.       Take a screen shot of your proof of registration, like this:

Or of your confirmation email, like this:

 

Or even this:

 

Just some form of proof that you registered or donated to Race for the Cure this weekend!

                 How do you take a screenshot? It’s easy:

·         On a Mac: hit Command + Shift + 3 on your keyboard- now it’s in a png. file on your desktop!

·         On a PC: hit the Print Screen/ Sys RQ button on your keyboard – now you can paste it in a document!

·         On an iPhone: Hold down the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time and release them- now you have an easily uploadable shot

5.       Tweet the screenshot using the unique hashtag that we will reveal this weekend on  our KomenOC Twitter  page.

·         An example of a tweet could be:  “I just registered for Race OC #??? With only 50 days left, you should too!”

6.       Enjoy the rest of your weekend and check back Monday night, when we announce the winner via Komen’s Facebook and Twitter pages!

   We know that the anticipation to see whether you won will be very exciting, so to pass the time, get outside this weekend and start training for the Susan G. Komen Orange County’s Race for the Cure. After all, now you’re registered and only have 50 days until the race!

   Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for the special hashtag and to receive updates on what is going on with Komen Orange County!

Upcoming Events

August 5^th – the 11^th annual Red White and Greens Charity Golf Classic participants will be held at Aliso Viejo Country Club. Participants will take part in breakfast, a scramble golf tournament, wine and food tastings every 3 holes, auctions that cover a variety of prizes, and a chance to spend the day supporting Komen OC.

August 6^th – As a continuation of our Breast Health Education Series, there will be a presentation on Demystifying Breast Cancer by a dynamic team of cancer experts that will discuss known risk factors for breast cancer, and provide screening recommendations and risk reduction strategies at St Jude’s Centers for Rehabilitation and Wellness in Brea.

Team Captain Kickoffs Bring Team Captains, Old and New, Together for Inspiration

On Tuesday, we hosted another Team Captain Kickoff event and the turnout mimicked our community: strong. We were happy to welcome captains from a number of our Race teams to our OC office for a fun, informative planning session that was rife with tips, information on the programs we fund, suggestions for fundraising and race day logistics from successful Komen OC teams from past races.

The information was interesting and abundant, but our team captains and supporters gave our mission heart. In keeping with the theme Inspired, our team captains in attendance shared their own inspirations for participating in the race and how their lives have been affected by breast cancer and touched by Komen Orange County. There were tears, laughter and support for each other — and these team captain kickoffs speak to what amazing participants we have.

The captains were introduced to our T-shirt design for this year’s race, and were provided with a number of pamphlets and materials to distribute to their team members. Our veteran captains were eager to share tips on what has worked for them in the past, and our freshman captains were enthusiastic to take it all in and expressed any concerns or questions they had.

Here are a few great fundraising tips shared by our Race captains:

• Host a community car wash to raise awareness and support for your race team
• Post Komen logos with the name of race participants and hang them throughout your office to let everyone know who is involved with the race
•  Bake Sales can include all ages, can be done at work or socially and serve as a delicious way to increase awareness for your team the race (and gives you another reason to run or walk that 5K on Sept 22!)
• Dress Down for Donation Day at work has worked for corporate teams in the past. They’ve charged $5 for the comfort of a dress down day and donated the money to the team’s funds        
• Reach out to your friends on your favorite social network by posting a link on your wall that will bring friends directly to your personal fundraising page where they can leave an inspiring message and donations

We would love to hear what has worked for you or what you are planning for this year, in the comments section of this post. Together we can make this year’s Race event a huge success to support Komen’s mission to serve people and save lives!

Upcoming Events

August 5^th – The 11^th annual Red White and Greens Charity Golf Classic participants will be held at Aliso Viejo Country Club. Participants will take part in breakfast, a scramble golf tournament, wine and food tastings every 3 holes, auctions that cover a variety of prizes, and a chance to spend the day with the wonderful Komen OC community.

August 6^th – As a continuation of our Breast Health Education Series, there will be a presentation on “Demystifying Breast Cancer” by a dynamic team of cancer experts will discuss known risk factors for breast cancer, and provide screening recommendations and risk reduction strategies at St Judes Centers for Rehabilitation and Wellness in Brea.

Inspired to Race for the Cure

Last week, we held our Race for the Cure committee meeting where we talked about event logistics and creative ways to ensure the success of this signature event. At Komen Orange County, we’re always so inspired by the countless number of volunteers who not only donate their time and energy but share our passion toward the fight against breast cancer. That’s why we think this year’s Race theme, “Inspired” is so fitting and we’re inspired by the thousands of women, men and children who come out to celebrate a day that honors those whose lives have been touched by breast cancer.

Thank you to all who have been inspired to Race with us this year. If you haven’t registered for this year’s Race for the Cure on Sunday, Sept. 22, we encourage you to do so today. Join us in support of Komen’s mission to serve people and save lives.

 

 

Upcoming Events:

July 23^rd – We’ll have our next Team Captain Kickoff at 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. at the Komen Orange County office, 3191-A Airport Loop Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Learn more about Susan G. Komen Orange County, the upcoming Race for the Cure and fundraising tips while mingling with other team captains.

July 24^th – Komen OC in partnership with MemorialCare Medical Group and Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center will host a tissue bank information session from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Learn about the Komen tissue bank drive’s local efforts in Orange County on Nov. 2. This will be the first event of its kind west of the Mississippi!