Relay for Life Success

Bigham Knoll

What is the recipe for a company to achieve the status of “Sponsor of the Year” for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Ashland, OR? Begin with a company that not only cares about its employees, but also the community it lives in. Next add Partners in a firm that are willing to give of time and resources; blend in dedicated employees with compassion; and sprinkle in a healthy amount of competition. Mix that all together and you get a donation of over $17,000 to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Ashland Partners made it personal when they set out to raise money for the 2011 Relay For Life of Ashland, which includes teams from Talent, Phoenix, and Jacksonville. More than half of Ashland Partners’ employees registered to fundraise and participate in ACS’s 24-hour event. The teams were driven by the loss of Steve Sommerfeld, an employee at Ashland Partners who succumbed to leukemia as the fundraising efforts were getting underway. Within the office, the entire staff was divided into teams and the competition began with “money wars” based on the premise of “penny wars.”  A “penny war” is simply putting spare change into a jar, using pennies to negate your opponents jar’s total, and silver coins to increase your own. If other teams’ members put pennies into your jar, you had to raise more money to overcome the negative effect of the penny. In Ashland Partner fashion, dollars and coins were used as the negative and only five-dollar bills or greater were counted toward the positive total. Wanting to make a bigger impact than a few fives and tens, teams set out to build up ammunition for their team and began conducting sub-fundraisers such as car washes, pancake feeds, Jean Friday funds, breakfast sales, a step contest and more. The only limiting factor was how creative teams could be in outsmarting the other teams’ efforts. Fundraising was taken to a new height, using the money raised to fill their jars, and putting $1 bills and coins into opposing teams’ to take away from their total.

Not satisfied with the money raised from “money wars,” additional fundraising endeavors ensued. One venture involved the generous contribution of company time from the Partners extended to employees in which, extra personal time off could be purchased. The monies collected from employees, over $9400, was then donated to the overall effort. Frau Kemmling Schoolhaus Brewhaus added to the fundraising efforts by graciously hosting “Dinner for a Cure” and the “Frau Kemmling Stein Club for Steve Sommerfeld.” Steve was propelled to lifetime honorary member of the Stein Club by people enjoying a beer or giving a donation in his name.

The recipe turned out to be a successful one for all involved.  The American Cancer Society, the beneficiary of fundraising efforts; Ashland Partners, the recipient of a cherished award and employees who received priceless gifts of camaraderie and the satisfaction of knowing they made a difference. According to  Christene Sismondo, Ashlands Partners Marketing Operations Manager and event Chair for the Relay for Life of Ashland, the plan for next year is o exceed our fundraising from last year and inspire other community groups to join in the fight against cancer, from church groups, to family groups, to other local business!”