MS Focus Activities Giving Back: Marine Corps Veteran with MS Keeps His Fighting Spirit by Rob Beasley Life has been no walk in the park for Marine Corps veteran Richard Thornton. He has faced many challenges and has always found a way to overcome obstacles. However, his multiple sclerosis diagnosis became a hurdle that he would face for the rest of his life. Richard is vocal about his battle with MS, and desires to help others with the disease. His motto is "work hard, take nothing personally, and if something blocks one route, find another. Never give up.” So, he volunteers his time to help organizations who support those with MS. But Richard also decided to raise awareness and money by having a golf tournament fundraising event. For the past 17 years, he has coordinated a golf outing and donated proceeds to various organizations that help people with MS. Although Richard has overcome many obstacles in his life, planning a fundraiser event was a major challenge for him at first. It was a learning experience. For anyone who may be interested in giving back or planning a fundraising event, here is what Richard learned: Have a purpose: Before doing anything else, you must decide what the purpose of your event is. Is this truly a fundraising event? Or does it have other goals? Figuring out the details for your event will depend on knowing what goals you are trying to achieve. Have a marketing strategy: Draw up an entire marketing plan for the event. Possible methods of getting the word out include using MS Focus: the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation’s social media, handing out flyers, your local community calendar, and word of mouth. Have a fundraising goal: You must decide what amount of money you plan to raise at the event. Everything in the event plan will be geared to raising this amount. The amount you choose should be what you hope to net – that is, the amount you plan to raise after expenses are deducted. Have a target audience: Who is the target audience for your event? Is this a general fundraiser where everyone will be invited? Or is this event geared towards a specific group, like business people, parents, oryoung professionals? In other words, you must decide who you will invite to your event. Plan your event details: Plan the event set-up well in advance. The set-up includes all of the particulars of the event: Where will it be? Will food be served? Will there be entertainment? What kind of dress will be required? What is the itinerary for the event? Send a thank you: Make sure that you take time to send thank-you notes to every- one who is involved in your event, including contributors, volunteers, staff, and vendors. Keep donors happy because you may be asking them for another donation sometime down the road. 30 msfocusmagazine.org