Reigniting the NET cancer passion

One week ago I was seriously thinking about closing down this Walking with Jane website–and our Facebook page as well. Maintaining either one requires a significant time commitment–and given the tiny number of people reached by either site I was beginning to think there had to be a better way to get the word out about NET cancer.

…we can always use the help.

But last week, for a variety of reasons, this website took off. In one week we logged more visits than we have had in whole months since April. And I will try some new ideas to reignite the Facebook page as well. The truth is, we are starting to heat things up on a number of fronts–all of them important.

NET cancer comic relief planned

We are in the process of putting together three Walking with Jane fundraisers for this spring. The first is a comedy night in New Bedford to benefit this year’s Walking with Jane Marathon Walk campaign. We are still working on getting some things approved, but you should set aside April 6 to attend what we hope will become an annual event. Tickets will be $15, but we are not ready to sell those yet.

We are trying to double the amount we raise for NET cancer research…

May 2 we will have our second annual Pasta Dinner. Again, we are in the process of getting some things approved for this, but tickets will be what they were last year. This event will benefit our Relay for Life of Greater Fall River Walking with Jane team.

We also hope to run our yard sale in early June. There, too, we have paperwork to get done before we can release details.

Relay recruiting drive underway

Relay kick-off was last night but we have already held our first Walking with Jane fundraiser–the annual trek to the Atkinson neighborhood’s mammoth yard sale back in September. We took in more than $450 that weekend thanks to Scott and Wendy–and especially their daughter, who helps run our tables there.

…my personal goal for the Marathon Walk will be $20,000.

But with Relay season about to get started in earnest, we need to start recruiting team members for that event. This year’s Greater Fall River Relay For Life is June 21-22 at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River. The event goal from ACS is $285,000. Walking with Jane hopes to raise $20,000 this year for the event–and we will need all the help we can get to reach that ambitious goal.

If you want to join that team, visit our Relay for Life page to sign up.

Recruiting for Marathon Walk soon

We are also about two weeks from the official launch of this year’s Jimmy Fund Marathon Walk team. It is not clear whether we will join forces with Caring for Carcinoid again this year. I sent them a note about this a couple of weeks ago but have not heard from them yet.

…we need to start recruiting team members…

Regardless, my personal goal for the Marathon Walk will be $20,000. The team goal is 40 members and $40,000. I’d like to do even better than that. Again this year, all the money we raise for this event will go specifically for NET cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Please join us when the Marathon site goes live in early February.

Doubling down on effort

You may have noticed there is a lot of doubling going on in our goals for these events. We are trying to double the amount we raise for NET cancer research every year for the next five years. Last year, we generated just over $100,000 for cancer research. That means this year we are pledged to generate $200,000.

…you should set aside April 6…

At least in part inspired by our madness, some other NET cancer foundations are trying to do the same so that we can double the resources available for NET cancer research. That would finally put us on the same level as other cancers with similar numbers of patients.

Direct mail campaign coming

Sometime in the next few weeks I will do a direct mail campaign to raise money for Relay for Life, the Marathon Walk, and the Walking with Jane Dybowski Fund for Neuroendocrine Cancer Research and Education. If you would like to be on the mailing list for that, you can drop us a message over Facebook or at walkingwithjane@gmail.com.

…we are starting to heat things up…

I promise we will only bother you twice a year with mailings–and that we will not share your address with any other group. It’s an easy way to support cancer research without getting bombarded with requests for money from every organization in the world. And every dollar we raise goes directly to the organization you direct it to. We have no overhead you need to support.

If you want to volunteer your time for any of these projects, we can always use the help. You can contact us at walkingwithjane@gmail.com.