Relay For Life Team Kidde-Fenwal shares the secrets to its success

General Team Information

Team Name: Kidde-Fenwal Team Ashland
Number of Team Members: 15
Years in Existence: seven years
Affiliation: Kidde-Fenwal a United Technologies Company (UTC)
Event: Relay For Life of Ashland Holliston

Why does your team participate in Relay For Life?

We continue to participate because we have fun and we all know we are making a difference and lastly we celebrate our victories.

In a company made up of only about 300 on-site people, we raised more than $31,000 last year, and we raised more than $40,000 this year!

How or why was your team formed?

The team was started about seven years ago when our company wanted to show its support to the American Cancer Society and its local Relay For Life event.

We all take great pride in showing our local community Kidde-Fenwal is not only a great company to work for but likes to give back to the community.

It’s funny how when you run into people around town and you tell them you work at Kidde-Fenwal, they say “Oh yeah, that’s the company that runs car shows for Relay For Life on their front lawn.”

What have been your team’s secrets to successful recruitment?

Plain and simple we have fun, and it is evident at all our events! We are also very fortunate to have a great management team and a company that may be small in numbers but has a team of employees who are very generous in support of all our fund raisers.

Additionally, we have employees who may not be part of our core Relay team but still offer their time and services to help run some of our events.

Lastly, our team recruits new employees joining the company giving them an excellent opportunity to get involved and meet people within the corporation.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in starting a new team?

First and most important make sure you have fun and don’t worry about how much you can raise because whatever you raise is going towards finding a cure for a disease that has taken many loved ones away from us! You will not find it hard to find people who want to get involved or who are willing to make a donation to your team.

What is the structure of your team? Do individuals on the team have responsibilities for fundraising? Recruitment? Campsite activities?

Actually our Team is an “open source” team; we will accept ideas from anyone on events to raise money. For example, we had a person outside our team come up with the idea of running a car show on the front lawn of our company. We held our third annual car show in September and had 170 cars attend and we raised more than $5,000. We are open to ideas and aren’t be afraid to try something new.

What is your team’s secret to successful fundraising?

First, I must say it’s all due to the hard work and effort of the great people on our Team, I could not be prouder than to be associated with every single member of this Team and all the fine people at Kidde-Fenwal who have made our Team such a success.

We are successful because we run many events throughout the year (as cancer does not take any time off) and have scheduled events so employees can participate. Throughout the years we have run a golf tournament (inviting customers, suppliers, co-workers and family members to play), car show, homemade food and candy sales, silent auctions, March Madness contest, golf pitching contest and raffles and yard sales.

So have fun and people will come!!!

Can you describe the event to someone who has never attended Relay For Life?

You’re on a team with people who have big hearts and want to give back to society and if you are fortunate enough to attend an actual Relay event the rush that you get when you walk around the track and walking by the luminaries and while knowing you are making a difference is indescribable. It’s a feeling you will remember the rest of your life.

What is the best part of participating in a Relay For Life event?

It’s the feeling you get by being part of a team that can’t lose, your team is a winner no matter how much money is raised as every cent counts.

Thousands of people attend these events and seeing the UTC and Kidde-Fenwal banner proudly displayed lets the public know we’re not just a Company thinking about profits, but a Company with employees who like to give back to the community.