Websites

Hi Everyone,

I want to touch upon 3 key websites that should be able to assist you as you build your campaigns.

1) My Blog -- I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking my blog, because if you're reading this. . .then you've found my blog. That's good!

I do like to highlight what different work sites are doing, so send me your story, or a picture or two. I'll get your story posted. And off to the right hand side there are links to both the local United Way website and the Community Health Charities website.

2) United Way of Lincoln & Lancaster County -- http://www.unitedwaylincoln.org

This site has had a major facelift recently. It's much more user friendly and designed to help get campaign coordinators and their committees to the information they need. Just click on the "Campaign Managers" tab in the upper left hand corner. From there it's a quick click on the "toolkit" tab, and you'll find just about everything you need for your campaign.

3) Community Health Charities of Nebraska -- http://nebraska.healthcharities.org

A great resource for information when building the health care component into your campaign. This site has direct links to the agencies supported by CHC. There is also a "Success Stories" tab, that gives you stories about people who have benefited from the CHC organizations. Share these stories during your campaign.

Take a few minutes and look around each of these sites. There's a lot of great information and tools at your disposal.

Thanks for your continued support of United Way and Community Health Charities. Talk soon, Dave

Trade Show Training Next Week!

Many of you should have received an invite to this training next week. There will be another training later this Summer for campaigns running in the Fall. Regardless of if you did receive, or didn't receive. . . if you're part of a Lincoln/Lancaster County United Way Campaign, we'd love to see you there next week!

Please call the United Way Office at (402-441-7700) or e-mail info@unitedwaylincoln.org with a "Yes! I'd love to come!" Hope to see you there.

Thanks for your continued support of United Way and Community Health Charities. Dave

How to Have a Hot Dog Eating Contest

I'll probably post this again later this summer -- but I just received this and wanted to get it out quickly. Carrie Myers, Union Bank and Trust, put together instructions on how to organize a hot dog eating contest. UBT had their initial "dogfest" last year -- it generated both excitement and buzz.

The picture is Brian Wachman, Executive Director of UW Lincoln and Lancaster Country. Brian participated in UBT's contest last year. If you can't tell from the picture. . .he's struggling.

As always, thanks for your support of United Way! Dave

Steps for Setting Up a Hot Dog Eating Contest

• Develop Committee
• Schedule Date/Time/Location
• Do you want to serve snacks or lunch?
• Select Hot Dog Eaters: this is the most important part as these individuals have to have fun with the process. They will be your pledge collectors and need to have lots of support behind them. For the first year, look at selecting department heads and ones that are willing to make fun of themselves.
• Rent tables/chairs if neededRent tent for outdoor contest
• Purchase good quality hot dogs, not sale product…hot dog eaters will appreciate good versus bad dogs
• Rent Grill…Boiling is too salty
• Develop Marketing Technique (some ideas include):

1. Emails taunting competitors (this happened naturally among our dog eaters). They really got each other motivated to collect pledges
2. Pictures & Bios of Hot Dog Eaters…How they trained, etc.
3. Email reminders to employees to get them excited about hot dog event
4. Develop internal website (intranet) and post pictures & bios.

• Determine atmosphere for event…fun, lively, music, no music, etc.
• Use CEO to introduce the competition
• Encourage departments to route for their employee…make signs, make-up cheers, etc.
• Find a photographer/videographer to document the event
  
  
  

Was My Last Post 6 Weeks Ago?

Man -- 6 weeks ago? That's bad! Really bad. That said, I'm going off United Way script for a minute and give you a little update about what's going on with me. Am I making excuses? Maybe. . .but even I can't come up with an excuse good enough to explain no post in 6 weeks. . .

I started a new job with Novartis in April. I'm now managing raw materials for Novartis Consumer Health on a global level. So before my focus was primarily materials used at our Lincoln plant (by the I-80 Waverly exit). My new job still includes supporting Lincoln, and basically everywhere else on the globe we make product. . .which is a lot of places. I'm traveling a bit more, and I'm still on a learning curve. So work has kept me hopping.

Towards the end of February I thought maybe I should go to graduate school. Now, I've been out of college for 20 years, and it hasn't been all that long ago that I quit having recurrent nightmares of having a test that I forgot to study for. So, in March I decided I'd take one class. Statistics. Just ended last week. I am sooooo glad. No class this summer. So school has kept me hopping.

Spring. The season of new life. The season of annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, flowers and dirt. I have a compulsion (well, I have several). . .but one is non-stop planting. This also includes regular "nursery trolling". . . you can find me at every nursery, big box store, grocery store or pharmacy parking lot in the greater Lincoln area every Saturday and Sunday. When not at the nursery, I'm usually digging a hole. This season has been very busy. I even put an in-ground fountain in. I've dug so much that I broke my shovel. So, the yard has kept me hopping.

Cancer. My Mom has it. Breast. She noticed the lump in March. Three surgeries later, she started chemo a week ago. I'm going to spend a little time talking about her treatment in the months ahead. Call it inexpensive therapy. I need to find words to explain what it feels like when you're sitting with someone you care about at a chemotherapy infusion center, watching poison go into that person. Life saving poison. I need to find words about what it feels like to pick your Mom up after having her head shaved and fitted for a wig. (It actually looks good.) I need to find a lot of words. My Mom is in my Top 2 Favorite People in the World, and her cancer has kept me hopping.

Man. . .that was SOOOO coming up with excuses. But no more excuses. I have a good job, and the class is over, and there's no place left in the yard to put another plant, and my Mom is alive. Now it's time for you and I to raise some awareness, raise some dollars and, hopefully, have a little fun doing it.

Be thinking about your campaigns. If they start in July (like some Pacesetter campaigns) -- do more than think. Thanks for your support in the 2009 United Way - Community Health Charities Annual campaign. Your efforts make our community a much better place to live.

Talk at you soon. Thanks, Dave