Campaign Wrap Up: How to Put a Bow on it

For some of you, the time has come to gather all of your Shinerama threads together into one beautiful tapestry.  You've focused on being involved and raising a ton of money for a cause you may not have known much about a year ago but to which you've since shown tremendous dedication.

Once Shine Day is done, it isn’t *quite* the end of the road just yet. Let’s review the steps you need to complete in order to leave a beautiful legacy for your school and the lucky students who become a part of organizing Shinerama next year.

HOW TO CELEBRATE YOUR SHINERAMA SUCCESS

You've planned, organized, rallied, trained, prepared, partnered, communicated, laughed, and worked all summer for Shinerama. We know it’s close to your heart, and more than one night you've gone to sleep ticking off the boxes in your mental checklist of “Shinerama To-Do’s”.

Although it’s an incredibly rewarding experience that definitely pays off, we know that it takes a lot to organize and execute a great Shinerama campaign. Some days you might want to cheer from the roof tops with excitement and other days you may want to bury your head in the ground and hide. You want it to be perfect and you want it to be the best.

But after everything you and each person involved have put into it, how do you say thank you when it is all over? Do what Shine Leader Kevin Duquette does best… No, not take your shirt off. Talk about yourself!

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

Light the Way: Getting Shinerama into the Hearts of O-week Volunteers

Every September, Post-Secondary Institutions across the nation welcome hundreds, if not thousands, of fresh-faced, sometimes excited, often terrified students to their respective campuses. During Orientation Week, these first year students are bombarded with tons of information about their new campus, classes, roommates, which bars to frequent or avoid, and the choicest online courses to take (for those interested, Carleton offers an excellent course called “Dinosaurs”).

Western University Orientation Week Rally

As a Shinerama volunteer or leader, you have likely been blessed with the daunting task of filling their fresh brains with even more information. Not only that, but also why they should care about that information. So the question arises, Kyle, how can I motivate Shiner Nation?

Why We Do What We Do for Shinerama

(Or the Story of How I Balled my Eyes Out at a Live Comedy Show)

For most of you coordinating or involved in a Shinerama Committee, your Shine Day is only a few weeks away. This likely also means you are starting to feel a bit (or a lot) of pressure and stress to get everything organized so that you can meet your fundraising goals. Of course, your goals are extremely important and we want you and your team to do all that you can to meet them and kick cystic fibrosis to the curb.

However, I wanted to take a minute and share an experience I had while coordinating a Shinerama campaign last September. The experience, although seemingly small, was THE most significant thing that happened to me during my involvement with the campaign, because it showed me exactly why it is we do what we do for Shinerama.

So here we go. 

So You Want To Be A (Social Media) Star...

Hey Shine Nation!  

As your campaigns have developed, so has your communications plan. How are you spreading the word about your events, your fundraising, and Shine Day? Most people would automatically turn to social media (SM), as it is the fastest way to connect with people, especially within your campus and community.

Social media can be an extremely useful tool in any Shinerama campaign, as long as it's done in a structured and planned way. An online presence for your Shinerama campaign helps to create awareness, increase volunteer involvement and event attendance, share news and information, and of course, to raise money for fighting cystic fibrosis!

Guest Post: Drew Dudley Shares the Shinerama Impact

Hi everyone! I wanted to share two brief experiences with you that speak to just how deeply Shinerama impacts Canadian lives.

I speak almost 150 times a year at present, and I don’t think a single one of them has gone by where I haven’t mentioned Shinerama in some way.  However, in some presentations, I talk a great deal about the campaign, the people I’ve met, and the things I’ve learned.

Check Your Local Listings

Shinerama is an awesome event that brings in vital funds for supporting Cystic Fibrosis Canada’s efforts to further quality CF research and care. We know how very important this is, but there’s another great benefit to Shinerama.  It gets students involved in the community, and the community involved in Shinerama.

Shinerama volunteers from MTA at a community Canada Day BBQ in Sackville, NB

This might be easy to shrug off if you’ve never thought much of volunteering before, or simply haven’t been in a position to have the opportunity.  But as every Shinerama veteran can tell you, once you’ve been bitten by the Shine bug, it just feels right to be involved!  You experience the joy of making new friends, helping connect with your community, and knowing deep down that what you’re doing is making a difference in a real person’s life.  The grown-up words for these wonderful things are philanthropy and civic engagement.  Hit the jump to read more!

Upcoming Events: Gala and Softball Tournament at Nipissing & Canadore

Get on your fancy clothes and softball gloves this weekend at Nipissing & Canadore! (but not at the same time..)

From Campaign Coordinator's Nicole Brady and Colby Clarke:

This weekend we have two amazing events taking place that everyone can enjoy. We have a Gala taking place on Friday, July 20, and a Softball Tournament taking place on Saturday and Sunday (July 21-22).

Read on for all the details!

Track ALL the Dollars: Campaign Budgeting Refresher

Today we’re revisiting our most requested topic from May’s National Leadership Conference. Welcome (back) to the lovely world of campaign budgeting! In simple terms, this is your financial plan for a smooth-sailing campaign. Someone has to pay for those awesome t-shirts!

Shiners at Dalhousie University collect donations on Shine Day