Sharing with others and hearing success stories can be a great motivation.


Forming a team for an NF walk can be an effective and fun way to raise awareness and funds for NF research.  On July 31, 2011, at the Minneapolis Walk held at Minnehaha Park, several walkers formed teams with their families and friends successfully raising over $29K.

Team Hancock on forming a Team for the Minneapolis, NF Walk

Samantha and Jay Hancock formed Team Hancock with two other participants and raised nearly $2500.  Samantha and Jay have a personal connection to NF1 as their daughter, Aavah, was diagnosed in May.  The diagnosis motivated Samantha to spring into action.  Samantha was put in contact with the Children's Tumor Foundation through Aavah’s hospital, and found local support groups on Facebook and at the NF Forum.  From there, the Hancocks discovered the NF Walk Minneapolis and signed up as a team.

In order to maximize their contribution, the Hancocks took advantage of the network of businesses and clients around them.  The Hancocks composed a letter asking for donations to their team.  The letter included information about neurofibromatosis for those who were unaware of the disorder, as well as the Hancock’s personal story regarding Aavah.  Sent in an e-mail, it concluded with a link to the Hancock’s personal team fundraising page which made it easy for contributors to donate.  As the owners of a small business, the Hancocks had access to a large client list, as well as the owners of other businesses in the area who turned out to be more than willing to help.  Samantha made sure to personally thank each donor as she received their donation.  She began asking for donations a month before the walk, but feels that asking earlier could have yielded even better results.  Unfortunately, unforeseen events caused Samantha and Jay to miss the actual walk.  However, their contribution through fundraising were felt and appreciated.

Vanessa Degnan on fundraising for her team at the Minneapolis NF Walk

Though it certainly helps, it is not necessary to have a long list of clients and businesses at the ready in order to have a successful NF Walk team.  Vanessa Degnan and her team were able to raise over a thousand dollars in honor of Vanessa’s daughter, Ashlyn, who has NF1.  After receiving an e-mail about the walk, Vanessa signed up with her family as a team.  Through social media like Facebook, as well as e-mails and good old-fashioned telephone calls, Vanessa contacted friends and family asking for donations and linked potential donors to her team’s online donation page.  Once Vanessa told potential donors the reason behind the fundraiser, her daughter Ashlyn, she had no difficulty generating donations.  At the walk, Vanessa and her team traversed the course together and wore the official blue NF Walk T-shirts, as a sign of solidarity for all who support the cause.

Kori Ensley on her approach to forming a team and fundraising for the Iowa NF Walk

When my son was diagnosed with NF, I knew I wanted to be more involved. We have always tried to follow his positive lead. When he was diagnosed with NF, there happened to be a pizza party that night and he said, "I am so lucky I have NF, because if I didn't, I would not get to meet all these great people and go to parties." Just like him, we feel it was in our plan and are very lucky to have met some amazing people.

I first got involved with the Children’s Tumor Foundation when I attended the NF Forum in Vegas with Sheila Drevyanko and learned of the walk program. I spent our plane ride home convincing her that we could do this in Iowa. I am not sure what captured my attention about the walk program, but I knew it was something that I had to be a part of. It felt like the perfect starting point.

I knew that I needed to get others involved in the Iowa Walk, so I formed a team of family and friends. Our team grew to include 7 team members and together, we raised over $1,000 to go toward NF research. I am lucky to have the support of my family and friends through this journey. One of my best friends even joined the team as a committee member.

After we formed our team, we each worked on different methods of fundraising.  We did not use any type of training to learn how best to fundraise. We believe that it is not the method or the time spent, but rather it is the passion that yields results.  My husband and I sent out emails to get the word out. With the Friends asking Friends website, we were able to include our story and a picture. The ability to share our story online made fundraising so much easier.  Social media, especially Facebook, helped a lot in the fundraising process. We also reminded people of matching gifts and had one team member who was able to do so through his work.

On the day of the walk, our team was united, but did not have specially-made shirts. Instead, we all wore the blue CTF shirts. I think the whole idea of a team is great, but I also liked the idea of wearing the CTF shirts so that we were all in blue. After all, we are all one big team working together for a common goal.

After the walk, I wanted to thank all of my team members and donors for their support.  To do so, I sent out personal thank you cards.  I felt it was necessary to thank all of them, as none of this would be possible without their support.

Looking back on the walk, I cannot think of anything I would change.  I am glad that I decided to participate in the walk program.