Lights

Get familiar with your Leader's Kit

Sign up to be a Leader and we'll send you a Kit. It has posters you can use to promote your event, a Leader Guide that's full of helpful suggestions and lists, Donation Sheets, a DVD to help get your group motivated, and more. It's one of the most important Famine resources you can have.

Get support from your administration
and local sponsors

First things first. Depending on where you're planning to hold your Famine event, you're going to need the consent and support of either your school or your parish. So let them know about your plans as soon as you can. Use the Admin Letter templates under the Forms tab.

Organize a 30 Hour Famine planning team

Gather a team of dedicated participants to help you out. You may want to appoint:

• A public relations person: they get the word out to local businesses, the media and the community (find helpful PR tools on the Promote your Famine page)
• A promotions/marketing person: they generate excitement and sign up participants
• An administrator: they collect all donations and make sure they're tracked.
• A special events person: they organize the Famine activities and any special equipment you need.
• A media person: they take photos and videos during the event, and can upload them online to Facebook or Flickr.

Set a date and a fundraising a goal

The national 30 Hour Famine is on April 16-17, 2010, but your group can choose to do the Famine any time. Plus it'll help keep your team motivated if they have a clear fundraising goal to work toward. Use the Goal-tracking poster in your Leader Kit to keep up with donations.

Recruit group members and keep them on track

Arrange a sign-up booth in a high traffic area and collect participants email addresses along with their information.

Once participants are signed up, give them their Donation Sheets, a Collection Envelope, a Volunteer Form (if it applies) and a Disclaimer & Release form. Be sure to keep track of the money your group members raise using the Track-It-All sheet, and send them emails to keep them motivated (you'll find Group emails, additional Track-It-All sheets, Volunteer and Disclaimer & Release Forms under the Forms tab.

Create deadlines for yourself

To keep everything organized, create deadlines for yourself and mark them on your calendar. Or if you'd prefer, use our Leader checklist – find it under the Forms tab.

Raising money can be challenging, so we put together a few ideas to help you out:

• New this year - Beginning February 14th, you can create a personal profile page on famine.ca to collect donations online
• Encourage everyone in your group to create their profile pages too
• Send a link to your online profile to everyone in your contact list via email and twitter

• Post a link to your online profile on your facebook page
• If you wear uniforms at your school, ask your teachers if you can sponsor a dress-down day, and if students want to participate, they have to make a donation to your Famine fund
• Approach the school band about throwing a benefit concert
• Throw a bake-sale - it may seem old-fashioned, but who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies?
• Contact local businesses and ask them to make a donation or match your fundraising goal. Use the Support Letter template under the Promotion Tools.
• Use the Goal-tracking poster to show how your group is doing – keep people motivated
• Host a book sale – get people to donate their old books and sell them for a few dollars each
• Let people know about the Famine via your facebook page or your twitter feed and ask them to donate
• Organize a team of snow-shovellers, then head out into the neighbourhood and ask people if they'd like their sidewalk cleared in exchange for a donation
• Offer incentives to top fundraisers (these could be anything from donated gifts to having lunch prepared for them by the rest of the group)
• Organize an auction – get a few team members to donate time for tutoring or cleaning out lockers
• Set up a piggy bank at the end of the cafeteria line and encourage people to donate small change
• Host an art sale – get people from your school or community to donate homemade masterpieces
• Buy a Pinata and charge people to have a whack at it – whoever breaks the Pinata wins the candy inside

Don't be afraid to ask someone to help a child in need. Thank them for whatever amount they can give

To make it unforgettable, it's a good idea to have some activities prepared ahead of time (that way if you need any special props or equipment, you'll have it on-hand).

To help you keep everyone busy for 30 hours, we've got loads of activities you can try out, as well as a sample schedule to see how everything could come together:

Famine Activities Sample Schedule

Make the nation-wide Famine broadcast
an important part of your event

For 2 hours on April 16, 2010, we're going to be uniting groups across the country for one big Famine event. Join thousands of other Famine participants across the country and see how your efforts are helping transform lives around the world.

Find out more info and what equipment you'll need

Here are a few more tips to get you through those 30 hours:

Drink as much water and fruit juice as you want. Try to avoid milk, caffeine, and chewing gum because they will only make you hungrier.

If you feel uncomfortable, light-headed, faint, or ill, have a cup of steamed plain white rice. Not only does rice contain many essential nutrients to give you energy but you will also get an idea of what many children only have to eat on any given day.

To make things easier, we’ve put together the forms you’ll need to organize your event.

Rally support for your Famine event. Inform your school or church or your plans: Download the School Admin Letter Download the Church Admin Letter

Keep your Famine group members informed and motivated: Send a Welcome Email Send a Reminder Email

Signed up a few extra participants?
Download the Disclaimer & Release Form
*Remember, every group member needs to hand in a signed Release & Disclaimer form in order to participate.

Keep track of donations and how close you are to your goal: Download the Track-It-All Sheet (Excel version)

Make sure you and your group members log your volunteer or community service hours (where applicable): Download the Volunteer/Community service Form

Need help keeping everything organized? Download the Leader Checklist

If you need extra Donation Sheets, please contact your Famine rep at 1-888-8FAMINE and we’ll mail them to you. Or email us at famine@worldvision.ca