Create A Well-Known Event By Keeping The Same Date

Everyone in Elmira Heights, NY knows what the first weekend in January means: the Bowl for the Cure weekend.

The Bowl for the Cure  event last year was held on January 6th and 7th. The event is always held at Paramount Bowling Lanes in Elmira Heights. Last year 120 bowlers came out to participate in the event and help to raise money. “It’s just a day to come out and have fun, no competitive bowling,” says Linda Morrell. Morrell is a dedicated volunteer who attended the United States Bowling Congress convention in 2002 in Reno, NV. “I heard about Bowl for the Cure  and brought this back to our local womens association, and I presented it to the Board of Directors” said Morrell. The Board agreed it would be a good idea and they selected Morrell to chair the event.

“Last years event raised approximately $4,000. Up until this year we have raised $11,000. This was our fifth year,” said Morrell. “The event is attended by primarily women, but some men do participate. Cancer touches everyones lives. Men are more than willing to support the event,” said Morrell. Last years event had ten or fifteen men participate.

The event has been so popular that they are now in the planning stages to run another event for October at Dixie Lanes in Elmira, NY. The Bowl for the Cure event will still be held the first weekend in January. “We pick this date because it is after Thanksgiving and Christmas and this is just a good weekend to bring your family and have a good time for a really good cause,” said Morrell.

A Personal Connection To The Cause

Morrell has a special connection to helping raise funds for breast cancer research. “My grandmother passed away from breast cancer. Five years ago my sister-in-law passed away from breast cancer and my mother has had breast cancer twice in the past ten years,” said Morrell. Funds raised through the Bowl for the Cure event send a percentage to the national Susan G. Komen organization but most of it is kept in the local Elmira area. “The organization uses the money for educational materials, or if someone needs transportation for their treatment. It is used for education and research,” said Morrell.

Starting With An Opening Ceremony That Puts The Cause In Full Focus

Their event starts with a meaningful opening ceremony to honor those with breast cancer. “We use pink glow sticks and break them in honor if anyone knows someone who has passed away from breast cancer and then they wave them. We have cancer survivors in the house and then we ask them to break theirs. Then we have the co-survivors and we ask them to break theirs (this would be a spouse, sister, daughter). Then we ask everyone who hasn’t broken their glow stick to join in and break theirs in dedication of helping the continuation of the research and in support of others who have lost their loved ones,” said Morrell. Before they break the glow sticks, Morrell in the past has read a poem. But this year she is going to play a song called Why We Walk by Julie Vasser and Lee Aguilera. “I try to keep things new and different so it doesn’t get old and people still want to keep coming,” said Morrell. They also play the Star Spangled Banner and do the Pledge of Allegiance. “The opening ceremony takes approximately ten to fifteen minutes in total. We also recognize our sponsors,” said Morrell.

Success Tips For A Well-Run Event

The event runs smoothly with the help of dedicated volunteers. “I have 10 girls help with registration and administration. My best friend of 37 years handles the finances and handles the reports so we know where the money went and what came in from participants,” said Morrell.

Their Bowl for the Cure  also features door prizes that are given out throughout the event. “Everyone gets a numbered ticket. All year long if you see something on sale you put it in for the door prize. It’s all completely donated,” said Morrell. They have given away throw blankets, bottles of wine, manicure sets, flash lights for the guys and decorative bathroom items. “It is fun so that just about everyone gets a prize during the day. Basically they come and have a good time with their friends and family,” said Morrell.

When asked the secret to their success, Morrell remains modest. “We’ve had good years and bad years, this year was phenomenal. People kept walking in and walking in. We did keep “talking up” the event and it was a lot of leg work, going back to the bowling alley. We also sold 50/50 tickets and we sold chances on a romantic weekend for two,” said Morell. “Basically everyone knows I am Bowl for the Cure ® and I talk about it constantly,” said Morell laughing. She admits that she wears pink shoelaces to help support the Susan G. Komen Foundation and when people ask her about her pretty pink shoelaces she knows she has a great icebreaker to get the conversation going. “All of the bowling associations of the United States combined as one association: men, women and youth now all the rules apply to one. We’ve gotten a lot of support from the men since this went into one association two years ago,” said Morrell. She admits that she is constantly talking since bowling starts in September and that she makes sure she talks about Bowl for the Cure ®. Morrell also believes in a very personal approach with last years attendees, and this has been successful. “Every year I take the entry form and I send a personal invitation to all the previous entries from the year before, I get some back but for the most part everyone responds and they look forward to it since we’ve been doing it for so long.,” said Morrell.

One of the expenses of running this event is postage. They hold a rummage sale during the summer to cover expenses. “The sale in one weekend raises a couple hundred dollars and this covers the postage,” said Morrell. The Bowl for the Cure ® invitation is mailed out in a get-you-noticed pink envelope. “When you are in the Christmas mode and you get the pink envelope you know it is Bowl for the Cure ®,” said Morrell.

Interested In Starting Your Own Bowl for the Cure? Start Here!

Morrell suggests that any bowling group or bowling alley that is interested in doing a Bowl for the Cure ® event, begin by visiting the national website for USBC (United States Bowling Congress). “Visit Bowl.com and ask for the Bowl for the Cure® information packet. Start from there, they give you a lot of planning guides. They give you the tax forms you might need if someone wants to deduct something from their income tax, entry forms and just about everything you need you can get from there. They also give you an event checklist and a worksheet and what the laws are and the licensing laws are. Once you get that, you need to go out to local businesses and see if someone will donate printing for forms, postage, get a local radio station involved,” said Morrell.

To get people involved in the event, Morrell suggests you start with fellow bowlers. Fellow bowlers may have connections to others that will be passionate about the cause and want to get involved. “The radio station we got involved last year because I knew an employee who was a bowler. The employee came to me and said that her boss wanted to do the t-shirts and would be thrilled to death to be involved,” said Morrell. She is currently developing other connections with local businesses that want to be involved with Bowl for the Cure ®. They had a sponsor this year who gave t-shirts to everyone that entered. They had a pink ribbon on the pocket. “We have a logo with a cat leaning on bowling bowl. We wanted to pick something both men and women would pick and wear to say they support Bowl for the Cure ®,” said Morell.