Seven million feet and an elephant = Relay for Life

What has seven million feet, one great big heart and won't sleep at night! You guessed it the American cancer Society''s fundraising & inspiration juggernaut RELAY FOR LIFE ~ and with over 4,700 events in 2008 they are surely coming to a town near you!

Everything about Relay for Life is "bigger than life" -- 3.5 million walkers, innumerable blisters, countless volunteers, courageous survivors and of course gazillions of dollars raised -- $406 million in 2007! [according to a study by the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council]

Whew.... so if you are a veteran Relayer you know the ropes and you've been a part of something amazing -- but what if this is your first Relay For Life or your trying to cajole five friends or coworkers into joining your team -- well that's a different story and it can all be a little daunting, a bit frustrating and even scary -- heck you might be thinking I can't even keep my eyes open past 9 how am I going to walk all night?! Don't worry there is a sea of contagious spirit and camaraderie awaiting you at each and every Relay for Life Starting line ~ that I can guarantee!

Maybe it's the other elephant n the room.... the fundraising part! There are two crazy truths about fundraising #1 it's not easy but #2 it's not as hard as it might seem. You can do this!

I started my company Buttons of Hope for just this reason and I am honored to be working with several Relay for Life teams and individuals to help them engage, motivate and inspire their teammates, their donors and most importantly themselves!

Heather Pusateri's team Purple Rocks of Calvert County MD is putting a face on their 2008 Relay -- Heather and her family are walking with and for her son Brandon who is in remission(yeah!!) in a courageous battle with hodgkins lymphoma. Heather had this to say about the using custom photo buttons as a fundraising tool...

"If you take a look at the site[Buttonsofhope.com], it's really nice! You can create a photo button of the person/people you "Relay" for. The man in charge is really great [awww] and easy to work with! I got my buttons in the mail today and they are absolutely perfect, exactly what I was looking for!"

We set up a "makehope" button gallery for Purple Rocks [see it here] and we will be adding more buttons of Team Purple Rocks heroes  so everyone will know not just why but WHO we Relay For!

I hope you will consider using custom photo buttons here's how to inspire your Relay for Life team or just make one for yourself. For about the price of a Starbucks latte you can honor a loved one or support a friend by "putting a face on your cause" ~ there are no minimums and one dollar from each button is donated back to Relay for Life -- now thats a sweet deal!