The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Shinerama Planners: (AKA) Planning a Logical Shine Day

Howdy, Shinerama lovers extraordinaire! Hopefully this blog post finds you well. At the very least, hopefully this blog post finds you on the edge of your seat, tapping your foot, reading anxiously to discover the 7 Habits. The thought of your energy and enthusiasm to read this post energizes and enthuses me… and I want to get to these 7 “crafty” points, however I rarely ‘drop knowledge’ without giving a little bit of background information with a philosophical twist. Prepare to be educated.

University of Victoria Shinerama Volunteers 2011

SHINE DAY. For many of you, it may have been the first thing you started thinking about when you got involved in Shinerama this year. What’s it going to be like? How much money will we raise? How many people will come?  Who will sponsor us? What will the weather be like?  There were far too many unknowns back then, and there are likely still unknown details at this point in time leading up to your Shine Day.  I get it – it’s a huge project to take on and it requires commitment, planning, organization and creativity.  It requires you to have your hands in a variety of pots.  It requires you to take responsibility for (potentially) hundreds or thousands of students.  It requires you to give up hours upon hours to have everything in place.  By all means, it’s not an easy event to run and you might feel like screaming, crying, and hiding under a blanket until the day passes you by – but I am here to tell you that when Shine Day is done well, and done right, it will work like a well-oiled machine - a shiny, sparkling, and beautiful well-oiled machine. 

I had all of these feelings before my Shine Day too. It was my first year running Shinerama at my school and I had only ever participated in Shinerama as a shiner and a committee member – I truly felt like I couldn’t predict what was going to happen to me once I opened my eyes on Shine Day (and at times, part of me didn’t want to find out!).  I’ll never forget how I felt around lunchtime on my Shine Day when I realized… “Holy smokes, I’m actually doing this! Shine Day is HAPPENING. RIGHT. NOW. Is this real life?” (This was before the David After Dentist video, and I take credit for using this line first, not under the influence of anything). Knowing everything was coming together just right was a great feeling.  We had sent the shiners out the door, and I had actual time to enjoy the day as well! 

This is my wish for you:  That you have a fantastic Shine Day, because you planned it to be that way.  Make room this week to think and review all of the details and you will not be disappointed.  Better yet, follow these 7 Habits of Highly Effective Shinerama Planners and you will get results.

1.  Pick and Choose Wisely

Re-evaluate your activities planned for Shine Day. Are all of your events necessary, and if so, are they sufficiently planned? Now is NOT the time to be throwing together poorly planned activities just for the sake of having them. If you have 25 Shine sites, but wanted 30… is it worth it to take the time to throw in 5 more unprepared Shine sites? Review the events for the day and scrutinize their purpose and their level of organization. Keep the ones you need and the ones you can do, and consider axing the ones that aren’t up to par.

2.  Tick Tock, Check Your Clock!

In these final days of planning, really stick to a schedule. If you have allotted a certain amount of time to complete a project, stick to your time frame and do what you can within that window of time. There is nothing worse than running out of time because you didn’t plan appropriately! Review the amount of time you have allotted on Shine Day to complete activities, and make sure it is reasonable. That is, if you’ve set aside 30 minutes to set up your registration tables and check in for volunteers, make sure it actually takes 30 minutes to set up registration. Try it out beforehand and do a test run so that you can stay on schedule on the actual day. Time is of the essence people, and you have none to waste!

3.  Do a Run Down

I’m strongly recommending that you do this one. If I could, I would make you do it, but they don’t hand out that kind of authority to a volunteer Regional Co-Director, so I’ll just go with it.  Can you feel me nudging you from here? ;)

Set aside time several days before Shine Day and gather your committee/helpers. Grab some chart paper, markers, sit down in your own space and do a virtual run through of your Shine Day from start to finish. Talk about exactly what will happen from the moment you open your eyes on the big day, to the moment you close them at night. What will happen, where will you go, what will you need? While one event is happening, will there be anything else going on? This activity not only gets everyone on the same page of visualizing your Shine Day, but it can raise important questions (e.g. “Who is setting up the microphones for the Opening Ceremonies?”), and point out forgotten details (e.g. “How will we know what Shine boxes came from what sites?”). Make sure that as you walk through each moment of the day, you assign names of your committee members to important tasks so everyone knows who is doing what, and who is where. Getting shiners loaded on buses? That’s Ke$ha’s responsibility. Distributing lunch? That’s Bert and Ernie. Collecting money at the end of the day? That’s Notorious B.I.G. (Note: More money does NOT always equal more problems). This is a GREAT activity to do as a team, so encourage everyone to participate. It shouldn’t just be you reading off of an agenda - you are creating an agenda together! If possible, have someone take notes so everyone can have a copy.

4.  Do A Walk Though

Similar to Point 3, however this actually involves physically evaluating how your activities for the day will operate.  Go to shine sites, registration area, breakfast area, etc. Wherever your shiners or Shinerama money will be… go to that place. Walk through the area and use it as it is to be used on Shine Day. Are you overlooking anything? Will there be enough space? Will signs be visible and will it be easy for a line to form? At your shine sites – how many cars can fit in the car wash area? Is there space for more than one hose? Are there chairs available for face painting, or do you need to bring your own? Every detail of every space is crucial, so take time to do a walk through with your committee to be sure that you’re not missing out on anything.

5.  Ask A Stranger

I know, I know. Your parents always told you not to talk to strangers, but think about it… I was once a stranger and look how well we are getting along now! Strangers (or those unfamiliar with Shine Day planning) can give some of the most honest and helpful feedback, and you’ll be glad you approached them. Unsure about how an activity will work? Ask a stranger what they think of it. Want to make sure you’re not forgetting something? Ask a stranger what they think they would need for that activity. Want to please the public at your shine sites? Ask a stranger “What do you like, and what do you not like, about getting your car washed by hand?” Their feedback and their opinions on some of these things can be very helpful, so don’t be afraid to ask for it (you never know, you could convert a few of those strangers to being shine friends, and that would be the BEST).

6.  Take Time For You

This is where I actually do get to tell you what to do, because I know I have permission for this one. Do this right now. Seriously… at this very moment open your agenda for Shine Day, and slot in 2 things: 1) Time for you to participate in Shine Day activities at shine sites, and 2) 15 minutes for you to spend on your own, wherever you choose, basking in the glory of your Shine Day. Just taking it all in. You should NOT be locked up in your office on the phone during your Shine Day, and you should also not be walking the streets without a cell phone on you or a care in the world, but be sure to strike a good balance on this one folks. You DESERVE to be an active participant in Shine Day. You DESERVE to see your hard work in action. And you DESERVE a small window of time to pat yourself on the back. Make time for you on your Shine Day - have fun, and be sure to give and receive plenty of hugs and high fives on this day. PENCIL IT IN!

7.  Keep Calm and Carry On

I’m not kidding when I say that your Shine Day will fly by. Not to heighten the pressure, but there will be plenty of eyes on you, even when it doesn’t feel like it. Your mood and your spirit will affect those around you. If you are highly stressed and frantic, your shiners will react to this. Take a deep breath, text or call your Campaign Advisor and Regional Director(s), ask for help when you need it, and above all remain calm. This day will pass by and it would be a shame if you missed the small joys because of even smaller details.

That’s it!  Don’t you feel better now that you know the 7 Habits?

Once again, my wish for you is that you have a fantastic Shine Day, because you planned it to be that way.  You CAN do this! YOU GOT THIS!

From the bottom of my heart, thank-you for all that you do, and will continue to do to fight this terrible disease.  Your work on Shine Day will undoubtedly inspire many and has already inspired me. 

Shine love to the moon & back!

Jill Fraser

Atlantic Regional Co-Director

PS: Don’t forget to call your RD on your big day!