55 msfocusmagazine.org By Jenifer Marquart Hosting a fundraiser can be a walk in the park – literally! You could host a MS stroll in your local park. When you think about the things that you enjoy – your hobbies, talents, and pastimes – there are so many ways that you can create a simple fundraiser. The possibilities are endless. Do you love to cook? Perhaps you and some friends can host a potluck dinner, and those who want to attend but not cook can make a donation. Maybe you are a disaster in the kitchen, but you love to eat. Ask a local restaurant if they will donate a portion of their proceeds for one evening and invite everyone you know to come buy dinner. Whether your passion is music or motorcycles, art or astronomy, you can use it to connect others to the MS cause. And once you figure out the kind of event you’d enjoy, the rest is a simple step-by-step process. First, call us.We are here to help.We’ll send you an event agreement and questionnaire to fill out. This will help us get to know you better and know how we can help with your event. Draw a timeline. Your timeline should include details like your desired deadlines for selecting a date, location, and time; getting pricing and making purchases; mailing invitations, and other things that will be necessary before, during, and afteryourevent. It’s essentially a timed to-do list. This will save you memory space and middle-of-the- night “OMG! I forgot!” awakenings. There will always be sudden ideas that you want to incorporate. Don’t worry, it can be done! Make sure you have help. Put together a committee of people, like family or close friends, to help with the planning stages and on the day of the event. You can also recruit volunteers to help during the event. Delegate the responsibilities from your timeline to committee members, and keep a list of who is handling each task. Event day. Get to the venue about two hours before the event to ensure a low-stress time to set up – if you can go the night before, even better! Set up your welcome table near the entrance. Make sure you have enough help from your volunteers and committee members. Oh, and assign some- one to take photos – you and your event just might be featured in an issue of MS Focus Magazine! If you follow these simple steps, any event you plan will succeed. Just remember, in the end, what matters most is that you and your guests are having fun while helping others with MS. Giving Back Hosting a Fundraiser is a Walk in the Park To learm more contact Jenifer Marquart, MS Focus’ Community Marketing Coordinator, by email at jenifer@msfocus.org, or call 800-225-6495. MS Focus Activities