-- 2020 Footsteps for Families -- Home Sweet Home Edition!

Footsteps for Families - Home Sweet Home Edition is one of RMHCSCO's largest fundraisers of the year! This year, by transitioning to a fully-virtual event, it will provide a perfect opportunity for families of all ages to get engaged (from the comfort of your own home), have a whole lot of fun, and play an important role in delivering our mission - providing a home away from home to families who have children receiving critical care at McMaster Children's Hospital. We know we are stronger together. And if we can’t be together, we can work together to support families with seriously ill children across our community. Please join us in this fun-filled virtual journey, to show your support to our families who need your help now more than ever.

You will be able to join us from the comfort of your own home by participating and fundraising in your community to show support for RMHCSCO families.

1. Register! Register online as an individual or by creating/joining a team! You will need to register in order to receive all the exciting updates that will be happening throughout the campaign - don't miss out! By registering online, you will automatically receive your personal fundraising page.

2. Fundraise! Footsteps for Families - Home Sweet Home Edition will remain a pledge based, fundraising campaign. Be sure to personalize your fundraising page and tell your network why you are supporting RMHCSCO families. Each week, we will be sharing fundraising tips and challenges. We also have a new, exciting prize structure this year - check it out below!

3. Have Fun! The event will continue to celebrate fun family moments together! Each week, all registrants will receive an e-mail with our super-fun family challenges for you to complete with your family/team. Be sure to join in the fun and remember to snap and share a photo of you completing each challenge, for your chance to win great family prizes. We want to see your Footsteps for Families - Home Sweet Home Edition spirit!

4. Celebrate together, from the comfort of your own home sweet home! Sunday, July 12th, will be our celebration day for 2020 Footsteps for Families - Home Sweet Home Edition. Instead of gathering at a local park with the rest of the Footsteps for Families participants, we will celebrate together, virtually, from the comfort of our own homes. We will send you information and ideas on how you can celebrate with your own family/team at home, in your neighbourhood and/or online. We invite you to head outside and enjoy your own celebratory walk, wherever you want - around your own neighbourhood, through a local park, on pathways...the choices are endless!

Although we may not be walking and playing together in person at the event this year, we are excited to be celebrating Footsteps for Families – Home Sweet Home Edition with you!

All participants are encouraged to fundraise with their teams…and it’s as easy as 1…2...3!

Once you register to participate in Footsteps for Families - Home Sweet Home Edition, you’ll receive your own customizable fundraising page. After you've added your personal touches to it, ask for support from your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues. Share your fundraising efforts on your social media pages too. Let everyone know that you are participating in Footsteps for Families - Home Sweet Home Edition to help families stay close to their children when they are receiving medical care at local hospitals.

We want to celebrate all those who collect pledges for the event! All participants who raise $160+ in pledges will be entered into a raffle to win some amazing prizes! (Did you know $160 is the amount it costs RMHCSCO to provide one night of comfort at our House?). Upon conclusion of the event, there will be prize draws for each of the following fundraising achievement levels. All participants who reach the following levels will be automatically entered.

Prizes will also be awarded to:
- Top Fundraising Individual
- Top Fundraising Team

Prize winners will be announced on RMHCSCO's Facebook and Instagram pages on July 14th, 2020.
Please Note: Top fundraising prizes and entry to fundraising achievement draws will be based on all donations received online or in person at RMHCSCO (please call ahead to make drop-off arrangements) by Sunday, July 12th at 11:59 p.m.

If you have collected any cash or cheque pledges, please use our printable pledge form to track your donor information. Click here to download a copy. Please contact our Community Engagement Specialist, Sherri Johnston (sjohnston@rmhcsco.ca) to arrange a way to donate these funds, prior to July 12th, to ensure that these donations are included in your fundraising total.

Please note that we need full names and mailing addresses to generate charitable tax receipts for any donations $20 and more.

As a part of the Footsteps for Families – Home Sweet Home Edition campaign this year, we want to encourage everyone to have some RMHCSCO inspired fun each week. Every #FootstepsFriday, we will be sending all registered participants an e-mail that includes a fun, family challenge. You should have everything you need to complete each challenge in your own ‘home sweet home’ - no need to go out to purchase anything! After the weekly challenge is announced, you will have seven days to complete it and share it with us!

Those who participate and share their activity with us will be entered to win a weekly fun family-friendly prize! All you need to do is snap a photo of your challenge in action (or once you’ve completed it!) and send it to us in a private message on Facebook or Instagram by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. every week. Be sure to include your team name, and the names of the people in the photo. We will be sharing your photos on our Facebook and Instagram pages to celebrate and spread our excitement about Footsteps for Families – Home Sweet Home Edition!

For additional information about our Weekly Challenges - please CLICK HERE to check out our FAQ's

We know there may be many questions as we transition to a virtual event. Hopefully the Q & A below will provide the answers you are looking for. If you need additional clarification or have a question/concern please feel free to contact Sherri Johnston, our Community Engagement Specialist – sjohnston@rmhcsco.ca

Who can participate?
Anyone can participate! Alumni RMHCSCO families, community members, corporate supporters - participants of all ages are welcome to join in on the fun in support of RMHCSCO! The more the merrier!

Who does Footsteps for Families – Home Sweet Home Edition benefit?
100% of all proceeds from Footsteps for Families - Home Sweet Home Edition will benefit the children and families served by Ronald McDonald House Charities South Central Ontario.

How can I participate in Footsteps for Families – Home Sweet Home Edition?
There are several ways you can help our families:

• Walk as an individual
• Join or start a team with your immediate family, extended family, friends and/or neighbours
• Sign up as group or organization or form a team to raise more
• Donate and support our participants or teams to reach their fundraising goals
  
  

Do I need to register in advance?
Yes please! We encourage all participants (adults AND children) to register early. By registering in advance, you will be able to create a personalized online fundraising page where you can track your donations from your family and friends. Registering online will also provide you with the chance to win amazing prizes, and stay up to date with the fun weekly family/team challenges and exciting updates leading towards our Footsteps for Families - Home Sweet Home Edition celebration day.

Is there a registration fee?
The registration fee has been waived for all participants in our 2020 Footsteps for Families – Home Sweet Home Edition event.

Do I have to fundraise?
Fundraising is critical to the success of our event and we truly appreciate your support. New this year - all participants who raise $160+ in donations will be entered to win some amazing prizes! In addition to this, we will be awarding prizes for the highest individual fundraiser and highest fundraising team. Consider starting off your own fundraising journey by making a donation to yourself!

Is there a minimum amount to fundraise in order to participate?
No, there is no minimum amount to fundraise.

How do I set up my personal fundraising page?
Upon registration, you will automatically receive a personal fundraising page within the Race Roster website and an e-mail with details on how to customize your page. You can upload a personal photo, and if you wish, share why you are choosing to support RMHCSCO through this event. You will be able to share a link to your personal fundraising page with your family and friends.

What should I do with cash donations?
If you have collected cash/cheque donations towards the event, please be sure to fill out our paper pledge form. Please contact our Community Engagement Specialist, Sherri Johnston (sjohnston@rmhcsco.ca) to arrange a way to donate these funds, prior to July 12^th.

Are tax receipts provided?
Tax receipts will be automatically provided via e-mail to all donors who make an online donation of $10 or more. For those who make a donation of $20 or more via cash or cheque, a tax receipt will be sent in the mail.

Can I make a donation even if I don’t register for the event?
Yes! You can make a donation to an individual, a team, or simply to the event.

My company is interested in becoming a sponsor. What do I do?
Please visit our sponsorship opportunities page or contact our Corporate Engagement Specialist, Megan Henshaw (mhenshaw@rmhcsco.ca) to learn how to set up a matching gift program with your team.

What should I wear?
We highly encourage you to coordinate your team outfits to show off your team spirit - this could be matching shirts, tutus, colourful socks, etc. Prizes will be awarded for the best team spirit! *Hint: this may appear in one of the weekly fun family challenges!*

Can we make our own signs/banners/etc.?
Yes! We also highly encourage you to make your own banners, signs, chants, etc. and share why your team is proud to be walking for RMHCSCO!

On celebration day, where should we actually do our walk?
Anywhere you would like! Take a walk around your block, through the park, along pathways…the choices are endless! While we are super excited about this virtual walk, please be aware of the guidelines set out by the province and your municipality with respect to proper social distancing when out in the community.