Looking for a way to participate in Autoinflammatory Awareness Month this August? How about coordinating your own local ice cream fundraiser! This fun and clever idea for raising awareness and donations for Autoinflammatory diseases comes from our own Autoinflammatory Alliance Board Member, Carla Herbert. Here she shares her plans and ideas for a Help us Beat the Heat of Autoinflammatory Diseases fundraiser.
We contacted local businesses to ask about their community outreach programs. Upon learning which are willing to work with organizations not based in our state, we narrowed down that we wanted to play off the hot and cold triggers of autoinflammatory diseases and have ice cream shop fundraisers. In August on the East Coast it’s really hot, so we thought that the cold of the ice cream would play nicely.
Our summer events are titled: “Help Us Beat the Heat of Autoinflammatory Diseases.”
I have organization information that I printed from the website and I have zipper pulls, hand sanitizers, and other takeaways. The stores all also said that I could set up a donation collection for people to make spontaneous donations at the location during the event.
These events will cost me zero dollars out of pocket and only take whatever time and effort I want to contribute. In order to drive traffic to the event, I contacted local churches and have them running information in their bulletins. I also have flyers printed and posted in area businesses, the library, and the post office. The week before the event, I will pass out flyers at the location helping to drive additional traffic to our event. I also had my boys youth group send out a mass email inviting their families and students to participate. And we advertise on social media sites.
Also, in the fall we’ll be hosting bonfires and our tag will be “Don’t leave Autoinflammatory Diseases Out in the Cold.” Another play on the hot and cold.
Many eateries have fundraising programs you can set up your fundraiser with. Here are just a few to contact:
Cold Stone Creamery Community Service
Krispy Kreme Fundraising in a Box
Thank you Carla! What plans do you have for Autoinflammatory Awareness Month? Please share with us on our Facebook page!
After your fundraiser, you can send your donations to the Autoinflammatory Alliance via Razoo:
The Autoinflammatory Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping those with autoinflammatory diseases.
Donate now to help with awareness, education, and research for these rare diseases.
*Ice Cream Photo By TheCulinaryGeek from Chicago, USA (Strawberry Ice Cream Cone Uploaded by Mindmatrix) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
