We're Famous!

This past week, we were incredibly honored when our hometown newspaper, the Cortland Standard, chose to run a long feature about our team for the Boston 3 Day for the Cure.  Our article, which was titled "Beating Breast Cancer in a Big Way", was written by Life and Living editor Katie Hall.  The feature took up almost a whole page of the paper and included two photos.  The first photo was taken by longtime Cortland Standard photographer Bob Ellis of our teammate Melissa Moreland Campos on one of her early morning training walks and the second photo was one of my photos that shows the four of us walkers at our 10 year high school reunion in 2008.

Unfortunately, there isn't a digital copy of the article available.  However, my mom (Karen Sager) was nice enough to scan the article for us so that we could share it with all of you.  Larger versions of each image are available by clicking on the photos.

Enjoy!

Melissa on her training walk in Homer, New York

 Our article!  Click to enlarge so you can read it!

We are incredibly thankful to Katie and the entire staff of the Cortland Standard for featuring our efforts.  While most of us have moved out the area now, we are all true Homer girls at heart.  Our hometown is small and tight nit and having this kind of publicity can really go a long way towards helping us to reach our fundraising goals.  As you can tell from this article, this is a cause that is very near and dear to our hearts.  Having the support of our community behind us as we take to the streets next week in Boston truly means the world to all of us!

If you have been moved by our story and would like to help us reach our fundraising goals, you can make a donation at our team fundraising page on the 3 Day website.  You can also reach each of our personal pages directly by clicking on our names in the right hand side bar. 

Search Amazon.com for Newspaper Preservation Tools

Reminder! Mary Kay Fundraiser Ends on Wednesday!

Just a quick reminder that we are still taking orders for our Mary Kay fundraiser through this Wednesday, June 30th!

For those who don't know, Mary Kay is a health and beauty company that uses direct sales to bring their great products to people all over the country at an affordable price.  By purchasing make up, skin care and other assorted beauty products through our collaboration with Mary Kay, you will be helping our team reach our fundraising goals for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  Simply by shopping through the link below and noting that your purchase is for "Relentless Optimism" or the "Breast Cancer 3 Day", 50% of the value of your purchase will be donated directly to our team.  That's a full 100% of the profits, thanks to the generosity of Carol Agate, our friend and former teacher that helping us to run this fundraiser!

Click here to purchase Mary Kay products in support of Relentless Optimism!

Thank you so much for shopping with Mary Kay and continuing to support our team in our effort to raise $20,000 for breast cancer research!

As always, if you would prefer to donate directly to Relentless Optimism, you can do so by visiting our team page on the 3 Day website or by clicking on the name of any Relentless Optimism team member on the right hand side of this page.

Search Amazon.com for Make Up Remover

Mary Kay Fundraiser! Going on now!

It's a new month which means it's time for a new fundraiser for Relentless Optimism -- Mary Kay!

Mary Kay is a health and beauty company that uses direct sales to bring their great products to people all over the country at an affordable price.  By purchasing make up, skin care and other assorted beauty products through our collaboration with Mary Kay, you will be helping our team reach our fundraising goals for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  Simply by shopping through the link below and noting that your purchase is for "Relentless Optimism" or the "Breast Cancer 3 Day", a portion of the proceeds will be directly credited to our team.  It's just another easy way for everyone to support our team!

Click here to purchase Mary Kay products in support of Relentless Optimism!

For this fundraiser, Relentless Optimism will be working with a wonderful teacher from Homer High School, Mme. Carol Agate.  Mme. Agate was Jen's French teacher all through high school and was a friend of Jen's mom Marcia before she passed away.  Mme. Agate is also a breast cancer survivor herself and feels very passionately about raising money to find a cure for this awful disease.  Mme. Agate actually contacted us about hosting this sale and has generously offered to donate her FULL commission from all of our Mary Kay sales to our team.  That means Relentless Optimism will receive 50% of the profits from each purchase!  This is incredibly generous of Mme. Agate and we cannot thank her enough for helping us out with this fundraiser!

Please note that this sale will end on June 30th, so please do your shopping early!

Thank you so much for continuing to support our team in our effort to raise $20,000 for breast cancer research!

PS - Stay tuned for a future announcement about a potential in home sale with Melissa C. as part of this fundraiser!

Search Amazon.com for Make Up Cases

An Update on our Tastefully Simple fundraiser!

Just a reminder that we are still taking orders for our Tastefully Simple fundraiser until June 2nd!

For those that don't know, Tastefully Simple is a direct sales company that offers a wide selection of convenient, easy-to-prepare foods designed to help people spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the rest of their lives.  Tastefully Simple products require 1 or 2 ingredients to prepare or are open and enjoy - everything from breads, soups and sauces to desserts and drink mixes.  They are designed to provide your family with quick, delicious meals or to make entertaining a breeze, without expensive restaurant prices!

Relentless Optimism will receive 50% of the profits from all orders placed through this sale from now through June 2nd to put towards our fundraising goals for the Breast Cancer 3 Day.  

As a part of this fundraiser, Relentless Optimism team member Jen held a Tastefully Simple tasting party at her house this past Friday with her friends in Southern Maryland.  They all sipped some Lovin' Lemon Slush while sampling a bunch of yummy Tastefully Simple products.  Jen mentioned that some of her favorites from the tasting were (and by the way, it was tough narrowing it down to 4!):

* The Lovin' Lemon Slush drink (Jen can't wait to try it with Rasberry Vodka; Iced Tea Vodka was recommended too!)

* Warm the Oven! Savory Cheese Dip Mix (Devoured in seconds by everyone! The guests that arrived late didn't even have a chance to try this mix!)

* Key Lime Cheese Ball Mix

* Merlot Sauce

There was also a great new deal announced at the party that Jen would like to pass along to everyone:

* From now through the end of this sale, whenever you the purchase $50 or more worth of Tastefully Simple products, you will have the opportunity to purchase drink buckets for 50% off!!  To get this great deal, you have to place your order directly with our consultant, Jennifer Anderson, via email at patuxentandersen@yahoo.com.  Be sure to let her know that it's for our fundraiser by mentioning Jen Rabbitt and Relentless Optimism in your email.

We are also extending our fundraiser for two additional days (until June 2nd!) because we learned that some favorite products that are currently unavailable will be coming back starting on June 1st and we want our friends and family to have a chance to purchase these great treats.  Make a note to check out our sale on June 1st to purchase the following returning favorites:

* Garlic Dill Seasoning: $8.99

* Classy Chocolate Pound Cake; $6.99

* Go Go Asiago Dip Mix $7.29

* Prickly Pear Cooler: $6.99  (Jen suggests making this into a margarita! Yum!)

* Honey Teriyaki Sauce $8.99

* Honey Mustard Sauce $5.99

* Champagne Jelly $5.99

To help encourage everyone to check out these new products, our consultant is even offering a special  discount!  For just $39.95, you can buy the following 5 items:

* Garlic Dill Seasoning

* Classy Chocolate Pound Cake

* Go Go Asiago Dip Mix

* Prickly Pear Cooler

* Honey Teriyaki Sauce

And you can chose one of the following products for free:

* Honey Mustard Sauce

* Champagne Jelly

Again, to get this great deal, you have to place your order directly with our consultant via email.  If you would be more comfortable placing your order with Jen, you can do so at jennifer.rabbitt@verizon.net.

If you would like to help support us through this fundraiser, you can start shopping online for Tastefully Simple treats at www.tastefullysimple.com/web/jeanderson.  Orders can be placed by email as described above or online directly from the website.  If you choose to complete your order online, be sure to select "Jennifer Rabbitt" as the host so that your order is credited to Relentless Optimism.  If you would prefer not to order online, you can contact any member of our 3 Day team to place your order via catalogue instead.

Thanks for shopping with Tastefully Simple and supporting Relentless Optimism today!

Please note that as always, you can make a donation directly to any member of Relentless Optimism by clicking on our names in the right hand side bar or by visiting www.the3day.org/goto/relentlessoptimism.

Search Amazon.com for Pink Margarita Glasses

Save the Ta Tas at Pearl Lounge in Cape Coral, Florida!

Relentless Optimism team member Sharon has announced her newest fundraising event - a "Save the Ta Tas" fundraising party at Pearl Lounge in Cape Coral, Florida!  

If you live in Southern Florida and want to help Sharon reach her fundraising goals, please plan on attending what Sharon is calling a "Pink" Carpet Event this Friday, May 28th at Pearl Lounge in Cape Coral.  As Sharon says on the Facebook page for this event, "I am hosting a great fundraiser for my Susan G. Komen 3 Day, 60 mile walk in July!  I will be walking with my older sister and her 5 amazing friends. We walk for our loved ones, those lost and those fighting."  This party promises to be a great time, so mark your calendars now!

Admission to this event is $10.00 at the door with all proceeds going directly to Sharon's fundraising efforts on behalf of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  This event is open to everyone 18 and up, although you must be at least 21 in order to drink.  Party starts at 10pm - don't be late!

Ladies are encouraged to wear pink for a chance to win great prizes!  

Pearl Lounge will be serving $5 pink martinis in honor of the Breast Cancer 3 Day, with a portion of those proceeds also going towards Sharon's fundraising efforts.  There will also be an amazing sushi bar until 11pm and a great DJ on the patio outside and inside on the dance floor.

To reserve VIP seating, please contact Alex Torres at 239-878-6901.

This is a great opportunity to have some fun while supporting a great cause!  Come on out to support Sharon and the Breast Cancer 3 Day, have some pink drinks and get your groove on!

If you are unable to attend Sharon's party or would prefer to donate to Sharon directly, you can do so on Sharon's fundraising page on the website for the Breast Cancer 3 Day.  

Search Amazon.com for Pink Martini Glasses

Kristen's Fundraising Letter

As we have mentioned in the past, one of the most effective ways to raise money for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure is a letter writing campaign to friends and family.  Today, we are featuring Kristen's fundraising letter!

Please support me in the 2010 Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure!

Dear friends and family,

It has been projected that breast cancer will take the lives of more than 40,000 men and women in the United States in the next year.  A little over a year ago, this incomprehensible statistic became very real for me when my long time best friend Jen lost her mother Marcia to breast cancer after a several year fight for her life. Together with Jen, her father and a team of our friends and family, I will be taking to the sidewalks in the 2010 Breast Cancer 3 Day in Boston from July 23 – 25 to honor Marcia’s memory and to help ensure that in the future, no one will ever again have to face losing their mother too soon because of breast cancer.

The Breast Cancer 3 Day is a 60 mile walk over the course of three days that raises funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and breast cancer research.  A Susan G. Komen for the Cure grant has impacted virtually every major advance in the fight against breast cancer in the last 27 years.  The money that we raise through the Breast Cancer 3 Day will truly help to save the lives of untold numbers of women.  In order to participate in this event, I must raise at least $2300.  Together with my teammates, we have set our team goal much higher: we are hoping to raise $20,000 before the walk at the end of July.  This is a huge goal and we cannot reach it by ourselves.  Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation to help us reach our fundraising goal today. 

If you would like to contribute, you can do so online by visiting my personal fundraising page at www.the3day.org/goto/kscincotta.  Donations made online can be made as one time payments or in installments for up to four months.  If you would prefer to donate by check, please email me at kscincotta@gmail.com and I will let you know how to do that.  As you consider your donation, please keep in mind that many companies have matching gift programs, an easy way for you to double the size of your contribution! 

The Breast Cancer 3 Day is a very important event for me.  This will be my third 3 Day event and each year, I discover something new that makes the experience that much more special.  This year, I have the added challenge of captaining a team of 5 other walkers and 3 crew members, the majority of whom are new to the Breast Cancer 3 Day.  We have named our team “Relentless Optimism” in honor of the tremendous spirit in which Marcia faced her battle with breast cancer.  She was a bright light to all who knew her and she is greatly missed.  We cannot think of a better way to honor her life than by taking on this challenge together.  To learn more about our team and our various fundraising activities, I encourage everyone to visit our team fundraising blog at http://relentlessoptimismfundraising.blogspot.com/.

In addition to my walking and fundraising commitments, I am thrilled to also be acting as an Online Ambassador for the Breast Cancer 3 Day community.  In this role, I have again been blogging about my 3 Day experiences on my personal 3 Day blog Kristen Walks which can be found at kscincotta.blogspot.com.  I highly encourage anyone and everyone who is curious about what goes into preparing for the 3 Day to bookmark my blog and check back often.  This blog is also a tremendous tool for me to use to stay in touch with all of my donors and supporters in the months and weeks leading up to the Boston 3 Day at the end of July.

Before I go, I wanted to share one more statistic with you: someone in the world loses their life to breast cancer every 68 seconds. 68 seconds. Just over a minute. That one life could be someone’s grandmother. Someone’s friend. Someone’s sister. That one life could be my mom, who is currently battling cancer for the second time, after her breast cancer was in remission for a year and a half.  That one life WAS Marcia, just over a year ago.  There is a very real reason why we are doing this: to save lives.

Please take some time today or in the next few days to really think about what we're trying to do here.  We get ourselves all dolled up in pink and hit the streets pledging to walk 5 miles, 10 miles, 60 miles...  We laugh, we make boobie jokes, we try not to complain too much about blisters.  But in the end, what we're really trying to do is find a cure for breast cancer once and for all.  This won't be easy.  Breast cancer can occur in many different forms.  No two cases are exactly alike.  Recurrences of breast cancer often occur in other parts of the body, making it even more difficult to treat.  But we can do this if we work together.  Even if our efforts only result in one life being lost every 136 seconds, we will be saving half of the lives that would otherwise be lost.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter.  I hope that you will join me in taking part in this incredible adventure.  Please share this information with anyone that you think might be interested.  If I have learned one thing during my time with the 3-Day, it is that everyone, everywhere has been touched by breast cancer in some way.  This is something that has affected all of us and together, we are working towards achieving the ultimate goal of the Breast Cancer 3-Day: a world without breast cancer.

All my best,

Kristen Sager Cincotta

With Tommy and Marcia at the 2007 CNY Race for the Cure (L) 
and with my mom at the 2008 Atlanta 3 Day (R)
To read more about the individual reasons why our team members are walking this year, please visit this post where we have archived all of our fundraising letters.     

Congratulations Jen!!

We are pleased to announce that Jen Rabbitt is the first member of Relentless Optimism to reach her fundraising minimum for the Boston 2010 Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure!

Jen and her mom Marcia, our team angel

While Jen has now reached her minimum, the rest of us still have a ways to go!  Please help get us all to Boston by supporting us in one of the following ways:

1)  We are currently hosting an online "party" with Tastefully Simple!  To participate, just click on over to our online catalogue and start shopping.  At check out, please be sure to select "Jennifer Rabbitt" as the host to ensure that your order is credited to our team.  This event will conclude on May 31st, so don't hesitate.  Buy some goodies today and help support our team in the process!  Makes a great gift!  To read more about this fundraiser, please click here.

2)  Shop with Amazon!  Whenever you need to buy just about anything, we encourage you to use our Amazon search box in the right hand side bar to access Amazon.com.  By doing that, our team receives a portion of the proceeds from your sale to put towards our team fundraising goals.  It's as easy as that!

3)  You can always make a donation directly to any member of Relentless Optimism by using the links at the top of the right hand side bar.  

Thank you so much for your support and congratulations again Jen!  We're so proud of you!! 

Tastefully Simple! On sale now!

Updated on May 24th:  Please see this post for the most recent details of our Tastefully Simple fundraiser!

Announcing the newest Relentless Optimism fundraiser for Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure: Tastefully Simple!

For those that don't know, Tastefully Simple is a direct sales company that offers a wide selection of convenient, easy-to-prepare foods designed to help people spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the rest of their lives.  Tastefully Simple products require 1 or 2 ingredients to prepare or are open and enjoy - everything from breads, soups and sauces to desserts and drink mixes.  They are designed to provide your family with quick, delicious meals or to make entertaining a breeze, without expensive restaurant prices!

Relentless Optimism will receive 50% of the profits from all orders placed through this sale from now through May 31st to put towards our fundraising goals for the Breast Cancer 3 Day.  

Orders will arrive within 7 to 10 days of when they are placed and can be made one of three ways:

1)   You can order online at www.tastefullysimple.com/web/jeanderson.  There you will find the complete listing of all available Tastefully Simple products.  When you complete your order, please be sure to select "Jennifer Rabbitt" as the host during check out to insure that your order is credited to Relentless Optimism.

2)   You can order products via catalogue from one of our team members.

3)   You can attend an in home Tastefully Simple tasting party hosted by Jen Rabbitt on Friday, May 21st in Lexington Park, Maryland.  For security reasons, we won't be posting the details of that event online.  However, if you will be in the area and you would like to attend, please contact Jen at jennifer.rabbitt(a)verizon.net.

Thank you so much for shopping with Tastefully Simple and for continuing to support Relentless Optimism.  We are closer than ever to reaching our fundraising goal and we couldn't do it without you!  

Now - get over to the Tastefully Simple website and check out all the delicious goodies.  Jen recommends the beer bread!

As always, if you would prefer to make a direct donation to any or all Relentless Optimism team members, you can do so via our team page on the 3 Day website.

Search Amazon.com for Pink Dishes

Mother's Day Shopping Alert!

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and if you're anything like me, you're still scrambling to find the perfect gift for all of the amazing Moms in your life! 

Our Mag Moms at the Race for the Cure in 2008

From L to R: Mary Lee Barrows, Marcia Schenck, Karen Sager and Diana Moreland 

If you are in a need of a Mother's day gift, I highly recommend that you consider doing your shopping with Amazon.com!  You can access Amazon through our search box on the right hand side of this blog or by clicking the link at the bottom of this or any other post.  Simply enter what you're looking for in the search box and you'll be redirected to Amazon to complete your shopping as usual. And when you're done, Relentless Optimism will get a small percentage of the proceeds from your purchase to put towards our fundraising for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  

You can get something great for Mom while helping us raise money for breast cancer research at the same time.  And someday, the money that we raise will lead to a gift that everyone deserves - the gift of a lifetime free of breast cancer.  What more could you ask for?

Search Amazon.com for Mother's Day Gifts

Fundraising Update!

It is the start of new month and it is time for another update on Relentless Optimism's fundraising progress! As of today, our total team fundraising stands at $5325, enough to cover the required minimums for at least two walkers.  While no one has reached their personal minimum just yet, we do have three walkers that have passed the $1000 threshold and two of us that have passed $1500.  So we are well on our way!

AND that's not even all of the money that we've raised!  Our recently completed fundraiser with Flower Power Fundraising brought in over $800 for our team (wrap up post coming soon!).  In addition, between our ad revenue and our participation in the Amazon Associates program, we raised another $176 in the month of April.  That means that we have raised an additional $1000 towards our team goal of raising $16,600 before the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure in Boston at the end of July.

We couldn't have gotten this far without the support of all of our friends and family, so thank you so very much!  However, we still have a lot of work to do.  We have a few things in the works for the months of May and June that we will be announcing soon.  Definitely keep checking back here regularly for all the details of those fundraisers.  

If you would prefer to support us now, we have a few options:

1)  You can do some shopping through Amazon using our search box, also over there in the right hand side bar or by clicking the links at the bottom of each post.  We get a small percentage of the profits from everything that you buy from Amazon provided that you access the site through our blog.  There are no additional costs to you and no discount codes to remember.  It's a completely free way to support our team just by shopping!

2) You can always donate directly to any or all of our walkers.  You can find links to each of our fundraising pages on the top of the right hand side bar.  The walkers are listed alphabetically followed by our team crew members.  Please note that donations to the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure can be made in installments over a four month period.  We also encourage all of our donors to consider applying for a company match from their place of employment if you can in order to double the size of your donation.

Thank you so very, very much for all of your support so far!  This is a cause that is very important to all of us at Relentless Optimism and your support means more to us than we can say!

Search Amazon.com for Pink Umbrellas

Flower Power Fundraising Reminder - Only one week left!!

Just a quick post to remind everyone about our ongoing team fundraiser for the Komen 3 Day for the Cure:  Flower Power Fundraising!

Spring has now sprung all around the country meaning it's time to get dirty and start planting your gardens!  If you or someone you know is a gardener, we strongly encourage you to please consider purchasing some or even all of your garden plants through our account with Flower Power Fundraising:

http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/campaign?campaign_id=1161

Through our collaboration with Flower Power Fundraising, 50% of all of the sales made through our team account will be donated to Relentless Optimism's fundraising efforts for the Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  What's really great about this fundraising program is that our partner, Flower Power Fundraising, is totally committed to our cause. They are putting out top-quality, best-selling flower bulbs and plants, ship directly to you and they're giving us a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You can't beat that!

To support our team and start shopping for your flowers, simply click on the link above (or the button below) and start shopping.  In addition, if you know anyone that you think might be interested in this fundraiser, please feel free to pass on this information.   Flowers can be purchased to support our team until Friday, April 23rd.

You can learn more about Flower Power Fundraising on their webpage and you can learn more about the Komen 3 Day for the Cure here.  

Thanks for all your support and happy gardening!

Search Amazon.com for Garden Tools

A New, Free Way to Support Relentless Optimism!

If you've visited the Relentless Optimism fundraising blog over the last few days, you may have noticed a few changes to our sidebar in the form of ads.  After some discussion, we have decided to "monetize" our blog to help us raise money for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure by partnering with Amazon Associates.  Rest assured, we are not trying to make any money off our team blog for ourselves.  Rather, it is our hope that through this partnership, we can give everyone an opportunity to support Relentless Optimism in the Boston 3 Day for the Cure without having to spend an extra dime of their own money.  To learn all the details, please read on!

Amazon Associates

Relentless Optimism has now formed a mutual partnership with Amazon.com as part of their Amazon Associates program.  Through this program, we agree to provide free advertising for Amazon and their products on our blog.  In exchange, every time someone accesses Amazon.com through a link on our blog, we get a small kickback from the sale of up to 15% of the sale total donated to our team for the 3 Day.  It's just as simple as that! 

To support Relentless Optimism in this way, anytime you are doing any shopping on Amazon.com, please visit either our team blog or Kristen's personal 3 Day blog first.  Then scroll down the right hand sidebar of either site until you see the Amazon search box under the heading "Support Relentless Optimism by Shopping with Amazon!".  Enter whatever it is you're looking for in the search box and you will be automatically redirected to the Amazon.com website to make your purchase just like you normally would.  Once you're there, you can add as many items to your shopping cart as you want.  You only have to click through our website when you first enter the Amazon website.  And that's it.  You don't have to add an additional donation to your total or enter a promotional code or anything!

Please note that regardless of which blog you access Amazon through, all of the funds generated through this program will be donated to Relentless Optimism as a team.

Oh, and one last point.  If you are using an ad-blocking program, you will not be able to view either the Amazon ads that appear at the bottom of each post or the Amazon search box (although the "Support Us..." heading should still show up).  Simply turning off your ad blocker will make them visible.  Trust me, I learned this one the dumb way.

So now that we've made it so easy to support us, what are you waiting for?  Get shopping on Amazon today!

Search Amazon.com for Breast Cancer Awareness

Announcing the Relentless Optimism Fug Madness Tournament!

Our first results are now final, so we are no longer accepting any more entries for Fug Madness.  Thanks!
 

Our Fug Madness tournament fundraiser is also now live!

You've heard all about the March Madness basketball tournament, now it's time for Fug Madness!  If you've already entered our March Madness pool and are looking for more action or if you simply prefer fashion to foul shots, this is the contest for you!  Fug Madness is run by the hilarious ladies at www.gofugyourself.com.  For those that don't know, Go Fug Yourself is a very funny blog written by two girls expressing their feelings on all of the wacky things that celebrities wear out in public.  Fug Madness is their annual contest to determine who was the worst dressed celebrity of the previous year.  The "Fug Girls", as the authors are called, will be releasing their ranked list of the top 64 worst dressed celebrities, also broken down into four brackets.  Then, as with March Madness, each celebrity faces off head to head with their opponent, with the readers of Go Fug Yourself voting to determine the winner.  Celebs are eliminated one at a time until only one person is left standing.  To read more about how Fug Madness works, please visit the FAQ page.

To enter our contest, you will need to download a copy of the Fug Madness bracket and fill it in on your own, selecting which person you think will come out on top in each head to head match up.  A downloadable, fill in - able PDF version of the bracket can be found by clicking on the link below.  When you're done, email your completed brackets (with your name and email address) back to me at kscincotta@gmail.com and I will compile them.

 
Click here to get the downloadable Fug Madness Bracket!

 
Scoring will be done exactly like in March Madness, with correct predictions in later rounds being worth more points than earlier round picks.  The first match ups kick off on Thursday, March 18th at which point we will no longer be accepting entries.  Please note that just like in March Madness ,there is also a play in "game" for Fug Madness that will not be scored in our league.  Results will be updated here on the team fundraising blog throughout the tournament.  The person in our league with the most points following the championship game on April 5th will be declared the winner.  The winner will be notified on April 6th and the results of our tournament will be posted here shortly thereafter. 

Please note that this contest is a fundraiser for our team for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  For each entry that you submit (and you can submit as many as you want), we are requesting a $10 donation to our 3 Day team.  Donations can be made using the Paypal "Donate" button at the top right hand side of this blog.  The link to the Fug Madness bracket will take you away from this site, so please bookmark it so that you remember to make your donations.

The winner of this contest will receive a cash prize equal to half the money collected for this contest.  If a member of Relentless Optimism wins, all of the money from that contest will be donated to our team for the 3 Day.  If there is a tie, then a name will be selected from a hat to determine the recipient of the cash prize.

Finally, word of mouth is the most effective tool we have to generate entries for these contests.  The more entries we get, the larger the cash prize for the winner and more importantly, the more money we can raise for a really great cause.  Even if you don't enter yourself, please pass on this information to anyone that you think might be interested.

 

Announcing the Relentless Optimism March Madness Tournament!

The tournament has now started, so we are no longer taking entries for our March Madness pool.
 

Our March Madness fundraiser is now live!  

For our March Madness fundraiser, we have set up a league on www.ESPN.com where everyone can submit their brackets.  The name of our league is Relentless Optimism and the password is Optimism.  You can find our league by clicking on the link below.  Please note that you will need to sign up for a free ESPN.com account if you don't already have one.  From there, you will be asked to pick a winner for each game in the tournament.  Each correct pick will win you points, with the later rounds of the tournament being worth more points than the earlier rounds.  The person with the highest total points in our league will win our cash prize.  Please note that there is a play in game on Tuesday, March 16th that we will not be scoring in our contest.

Click here to enter the Relentless Optimism March Madness League page on ESPN.com

The NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship tournament starts in the afternoon on Thursday, March 18th.  Our league will officially be closed to new entries when the first game starts, so be sure to get your brackets in early.  Results will be updated both here on the team fundraising blog and on the ESPN league page throughout the tournament.  The person in our league with the most points following the championship game on April 5th will be declared the winner.  The winner will be notified on April 6th and the results of our tournament will be posted here shortly thereafter. 

Please note that this contest is a fundraiser for our team for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  For each bracket that you submit, we are requesting a $10 donation to our 3 Day team.  Donations can be made using the Paypal "Donate" button at the top right hand side of this blog.  Entering March Madness will take you away from this site, so please bookmark it so that you remember to make your donations.

The winner of this contest will receive a cash prize equal to half the money collected for this contest.  If a member of Relentless Optimism wins, all of the money from that contest will be donated to our team for the 3 Day.

Finally, word of mouth is the most effective tool we have to generate entries for these contests.  The more entries we get, the larger the cash prize for the winner and more importantly, the more money we can raise for a really great cause.  Even if you don't enter yourself, please pass on this information to anyone that you think might be interested. 

Not sure what this March Madness thing is all about?  Briefly, the NCAA March Madness tournament features the top 64 men's college basketball teams.  The teams are divided into four brackets and the tournament is single elimination until only one team is remaining and is crowned National Champion.  Correctly predicting the winners of each game will win you points throughout the tournament.  Even if you don't know anything about college basketball, you should still enter our contest.  In a tournament of 64 teams, it is incredibly difficult to correctly predict the outcomes of every single game.  Guessing and beginner's luck are huge in March Madness pools - you might just predict the long shot that goes all the way!

Our Final Two Fundraising Contests

Edited on 3/12 to add some more details re: Fug Madness.

Our team for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure will be running two more fundraising contests that both start this weekend:  March Madness and it's fashionable cousin Fug Madness, courtesy of www.gofugyourself.com.  Because the window for submitting entries for both contests is going to be relatively short, I wanted to post now about the details for each contest.

March Madness

This is the big one!  In the grand tradition of March Madness pools everywhere, we will be asking everyone to predict who will win the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship tournament.  For those that don't know, the NCAA March Madness tournament features the top 64 men's college basketball teams.  The teams are divided into four brackets and the tournament is single elimination until only one team is remaining and is crowned National Champion.  

For our March Madness pool, we will be using the brackets and tournament set up at www.ESPN.com.  The name for our league on ESPN is "Relentless Optimism" and the password to join our league is "Optimism".  In order to enter, you will be asked to sign up for a free ESPN.com account if you don't already have one.  From there, you will be asked to pick a winner for each game in the tournament.  Don't worry if you don't know anything about college basketball, you can just guess.  Who knows, you may pick a long shot that goes all the way!  Each correct pick will win you points, with the later rounds of the tournament being worth more points than the earlier rounds.  The person with the highest total points in our league will win our cash prize.  Please note that there is a play in game on Tuesday, March 16th (I think) that we will not be scoring in our contest.

The brackets for March Madness will be released to the public on Sunday, March 14th.  As soon as they are up, our league will be open for you to submit your bracket.  The tournament starts in the afternoon on Thursday, March 18th.  Our league will officially be closed to new entries when the first game starts, so be sure to get your brackets in early.  Mark your calendars now!

Click here to visit the Relentless Optimism March Madness League page on ESPN.com

Fug Madness

The second tournament-style contest that we will be running is called "Fug Madness".  If you prefer fashion to foul shots, this is the contest for you!  Fug Madness is run by the hilarious ladies at www.gofugyourself.com.  For those that don't know, Go Fug Yourself is a very funny blog written by two girls expressing their feelings on all of the wacky things that celebrities wear out in public.  Fug Madness is their annual contest to determine who was the worst dressed celebrity of the previous year.  The "Fug Girls", as the authors are called, will be releasing their ranked list of the top 64 worst dressed celebrities, also broken down into four brackets.  Then, as with March Madness, each celebrity faces off head to head with their opponent, with the readers of Go Fug Yourself voting to determine the winner.  Celebs are eliminated one at a time until only one person is left standing.  To read more about Fug Madness and to view last year's brackets, you can read this post about the 2009 Fug Madness competition.  You can browse through the entire 2009 Fug Madness Archive here.

For this contest, we will be publishing a downloadable copy of their brackets here on our team blog.  If you would like to enter our Fug Madness contest, you will need to download a copy of the bracket and fill it in on your own.  You can then email them back to me at kscincotta@gmail.com and I will compile them.  Scoring will be done exactly like in March Madness, with correct predictions in later rounds being worth more points than earlier round picks.  Brackets for Fug Madness will be released on Friday, March 12th Monday, March 15th (officially!) and the first match up should take place on Thursday, March 18th.  As soon as I know the schedule, I will post the official cut off date for Fug Madness entries.  Much like in March Madness there is also a play in "game" for Fug Madness that will not be scored in our league.  Even with bypassing the play in game, there won't be much time for entries, so again, mark your calendars now!

The Fug Girls have added a FAQ section about Fug Madness that can be found here.

Important Notes

Please note that both contests are fundraisers for our team for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  For each entry that you submit to either contest, we are requesting a $10 donation to our 3 Day team.  Donations can be made using the Paypal "Donate" button at the top right hand side of this blog.  Entering March Madness will take you away from this site, so please bookmark it so that you remember to make your donations.

The winner of each contest will receive a cash prize equal to half the money collected for that specific contest.  If a member of Relentless Optimism wins either contest, all of the money from that contest will be donated to our team for the 3 Day.  If there is a tie in either contest, a name will be chosen from a hat to determine the recipient of the cash prize for that contest.

Finally, word of mouth is the most effective tool we have to generate entries for these contests.  The more entries we get, the larger the cash prize for the winner and more importantly, the more money we can raise for a really great cause.  Even if you don't enter yourself, please pass on this information to anyone that you think might be interested.  

Relentless Optimism Fundraising Update!

All of our hard work is starting to pay off!  Our team has been working hard to raise money for the 3 Day through fundraising contests, flower sales and letter writing campaigns and it is starting to show!  Our team has now raised $2625, enough to cover at least one team member's fundraising minimum.  None of us has reached our personal minimum just yet, but we get closer every day.  The important thing is that our team totals are climbing!

Speaking of our team totals, are you wondering why our team goal is so high?  Well, that's simple: We want to be a power team!  A power team is any team that averages more than $3300 raised per person.  That's an extra $1000 beyond the minimum that the team as a whole needs to raise per walker.  With five walkers on Relentless Optimism, that means we want to raise $16,600 before the end of July.  If you want to help us get there, you can do so one of three ways:

1, You can buy some flowers through our team account with Flower Power Fundraising.  All of the details of that fundraiser can be found here.

2, You can enter one of our two remaining fundraising contests, the details of which will be posted here later today.

3, You can donate to one our more of our team members directly.  Our team page on the 3 Day website can be found at www.the3day.org/goto/relentlessoptimism and links to each of our individual pages can be found on the right hand side of this blog.

Thanks for all your support!

Predict the Oscars Contest - Final Results!

The 82nd Academy Awards have come and gone, meaning it is time to announce the winner of our Predict the Oscars fundraising contest!

It was a Hurt Locker kind of night...

The Predict the Oscars contest was a fundraising contest to benefit Relentless Optimism, our team for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  We asked everyone to guess who they thought would win the Oscars in all 24 categories.  Each entry was accompanied by a $10 to our team.  Half of the money collected is awarded to the person that correctly predicts the winner in the most categories with the other half of the money going towards our fundraising efforts.  Altogether, we had 18 completed entries for this contest and successfully raised $90 for Relentless Optimism!

In general, our entrants did much better at predicting the outcome of the Oscars than they did back in January for the Golden Globes, with 11 of you correctly predicting the winner in more than half the categories.  Our winner, Paul Jarnagin, did an outstanding job, correctly predicting the winner in 18 of the 24 categories.  The only categories that Paul missed were Adapted Screenplay (a tricky one all the way around), Sound Editing, Cinematography, Animated and Live Action Short and Foreign Language Film.  All in all, Paul did a great job and will be taking home the $90 cash prize.  Congratulations Paul!

To view the winners in all 24 categories, please visit the official Oscars website.  If you would like to know the full results, please email me at kscincotta@gmail.com.

Melissa C. and I would like to thank all of our participants in the Predict the Oscars contest for their continued support of our fundraising efforts.  In addition, it is only through word of mouth that a contest like this succeeds, so thank you so much to anyone and everyone that forwarded our emails, linked to our blogs, posted on Facebook or Tweeted on Twitter.  It helps more than you can know and we very much appreciate it!

There are only two more fundraising contests left:  March Madness and it's fashionable cousin Fug Madness.  Both contests are kicking off this coming weekend so be sure to check back soon for all the details about how to enter.  In addition, if you would like to make a direct donation to our team members, links to all of our fundraising pages can be found on the right hand sidebar or via our team page on the 3 Day website.

Best Actor winner Jeff Bridges (L) and Best Actress winner Sandra Bullock (R)

All images were found at AceShowBiz.com

Reminder!

Just a short reminder about our two current fundraisers:

1.  We are still taking entries for our Predict the Oscars fundraiser until Friday, March 5th at 8pm.  This is a 50/50 style fundraiser with the winner taking home a cash prize equal to half the money collected for this contest and the rest going to our fundraising efforts for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  It only costs $10 per ballot to enter.  We are still 12 entries short of our goal so please help us spread the word and enter today!

All of the details for the Predict the Oscars contest, including the links to submit your ballots can be found here.

 

And the Oscar goes to...

2.  Our Flower Power fundraiser is still going until April 23rd.  If you are a gardener or know someone that is, this is the fundraiser for you.  Just purchase your flowers through our team account with Flower Power fundraising and half of the proceeds will be donated to our team.  A great resource to start planning your spring gardens!

All of the details for the Flower Power fundraiser, including the link to our team account can be found here.

 

Flower Power!

Melissa C's Fundraising Letter

As we mentioned previously, one of the most effective ways to raise money for the Komen 3 Day for the Cure is a letter writing campaign to friends and family.  Today, we are featuring Melissa C's fundraising letter!

My Breast Cancer 3 Day

Dear Friends and Family,

This year, my longest friends (the Mag 5 Family) and I will be participating in a very special event called the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.

The Mag 5 Family is made up of the friends and family of five girls who grew up together in Homer, New York. These girls are Sarah Barrows, Melissa Moreland Campos, Kristen Sager Cincotta, Melissa DeGaramo Querry and Jen Schenck Rabbitt. Together with our extended families, we have weathered the ups and downs of life since we were twelve years old.  This year, we are taking on a new goal: the 2010 Breast Cancer 3 Day as a team in honor of one of our “Mag Moms”, Marcia Schenck, who lost her lengthy battle with breast cancer in April 2009. Her memory will live on for all of us and we can't think of a better way to honor her than by taking on the Breast Cancer 3-Day!

We'll walk 60 miles over the course of three days with thousands of other women and men. Net proceeds from the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure™ are invested in community-based breast health programs and breast cancer research. The research funded focuses on decreasing breast cancer incidence and mortality in the next decade.

Last week we were hit by another bomb, another of our “Mag Moms” is now entering her second battle with Breast Cancer.  Now more than ever we NEED to find a cure for this disease. 

I've agreed to raise at least $2,300 in donations. I've set my personal goal at $3,000. So I need your help. Would you please consider making a donation? Keep in mind how far I'm walking - and how hard I'll have to train.

I have many ways that you can donate:

1)      You can donate directly to my 3 day fund online at www.the3day.org.  Just click "Donate" and search for my personal fundraising page or click here to travel to my page directly.  You can also call 800-996-3DAY to donate over the phone.

2)      We have teamed up with Flower Power Fundraising.  With spring just around the corner we are all thinking of all the flowers and vegetables tit will bring.  This year, instead of purchasing your flowers from a store like Wal-Mart, consider buying from  our fundraiser.  50% of your purchase is returned to our 3 day team, and you have beautiful flowers and vegetables with a 100% guarantee!

http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/campaign?campaign_id=1161 

3)      You can play our 50/50 contests on our team fundraising site.  We are taking entries for our Oscars contest until Friday, March 5th, and we have a March Madness contest beginning 3/1.  

http://relentlessoptimismfundraising.blogspot.com/
Without a cure, one person will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the United States. That's why I'm walking so far.  To do something bold about breast cancer. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me - by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Sincerely,
Melissa Moreland Campos

P.S. Ask your employer if they will double your donation through a matching gift program!

 

Melissa sporting pink hair in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 

Announcing the Relentless Optimism Predict the Oscars Fundraising Contest!

The movies have been screened and the statues are ready to be handed out.  The 82nd Annual Academy Awards are scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 7th meaning that it's time for the next Relentless Optimism fundraising contest: Predicting the Oscars!

Shiny gold Oscars, all ready to go!

In order to help with our fundraising efforts for the Breast Cancer 3 Day, Melissa C. and I have been running a series of contests to see who of our friends, family and supporters can best predict the outcome of seminal cultural events over the past few months.  So far, we've tackled the Golden Globes, the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics.  This time around, we're asking you to put your minds to work predicting the winners of the upcoming Academy Awards.  While a lot of the nominated films enjoyed successful theater runs, there are definitely some wild card nominees in there that could make things interesting!  After all of the Oscars have been handed out, we'll determine who correctly predicted the most winners and that person will win a cash prize equal to half the money collected for the contest, with the rest of the money going to our Breast Cancer 3 Day team.  It's like a 50/50 raffle, but more fun!

To submit your ballot online, please click on this link:

Click here to enter the Relentless Optimism Predict the Oscars contest!

There you will be asked to make your best guess as to who will win the Oscar in 24 separate categories.  After you complete your ballot, you will be redirected back here. Then, using the handy Paypal "Donate" button on the top right hand side of the page, you can make a small donation to our team for the Breast Cancer 3 Day. As always, we are asking for a donation of $10  per ballot to be considered eligible for our cash prize. The prize amount will be equal to half the amount of money collected for this contest.

If you would prefer to download a copy of the ballot, you can do that at this link:

Download a version of the ballot for MS Word here!

Please email all completed ballots to Kristen at kscincotta@gmail.com.  If you chose this option, don't forget to travel back here to make your Paypal donations.

Entries will be accepted until Friday, March 5th at 8pm. Don't hesitate - enter now!  The Academy Awards will air on Sunday, March 7th at 8pm on ABC.  The winner will be notified on Monday, March 8th and the final results will be posted here shortly thereafter. In the event of a tie, a name will be drawn out of a hat to determine the winner of the cash prize. If anyone on Relentless Optimism should win, the full value of the money collected for the contest will be donated to the participating members of our team. 

For more information about the Breast Cancer 3 Day, please visit the official website at www.the3day.org. The links to our individual fundraising pages can be found on the right hand side bar if you'd prefer to make a donation to us individually. And finally, all of the latest news and information about the 82nd Academy Awards can be found at www.oscars.org.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support of our team for the Breast Cancer 3 Day.  If you know of anyone that might be interested in this contest, please don't hesitate to share this information.  We are looking to get at least 25 entries for this contest, so we need all the help we can get spreading the word! The more entries we get, the larger the cash prize and more importantly, the more money we can raise for a wonderful cause!

 

And the Oscar goes to...