Bluewater Health Foundation holds a number of special events each year to help raise funds for the three hospital sites of Bluewater Health.

Special events are a great opportunity to raise awareness and have fun at the same time!

Special Events Committee Members:

• Marg Hendra, Chair
• Johanne Tomkins, Special Events Coordinator
• Liz Kenny, Executive Director
• Marg Hendra, Dream Home Chair
• Linda Plummer, Charity Ball Chair
• Ernie Wong, Golf Fore Health Chair
• Tom St. Amand, Trivia Night Chair

Nine Steps To A Successful Event

1. Brainstorm: Chat with your friends and colleagues to find an idea for an event that really excites you. Give free reign to your imagination. Several heads are better than one!

2. Form an Event Planning Team: It takes a lot of time and energy to plan a successful event. Recruit enthusiastic, dedicated volunteers with a variety of skills to share the tasks and help you organize your event. When selling tickets to a fundraiser remember this rule of thumb; you need one volunteer for every 10 tickets you have to sell! Having lots of volunteers means less work per person!

3. Plan Your Event – the 5 W’s: Work with your Event Planning Team to figure out the Who, What, When, Why and Where for your event. Use the Planning section in our Event Proposal Form to help you.

· Who will attend your event? Identifying your target audience is important for promotion and ticket sales.

· What is your event? The type of event you choose should fit the size, interests, talents and goals of your planning team. You want this event to be fun to plan and organize as well as to attend.

· When will your event take place? Schedule your event for a day and time convenient for those who will be attending.

· Where will your event take place? Be sure the location is large enough for your event with sufficient parking if necessary.

· Why are you holding your event? Is there a specific program, department or piece of equipment to which you want your proceeds directed.

4. Set Goals: Have a realistic and measurable financial goal. Use the Budget section in our event Proposal Form to help you identify expected income and expenses. Remember, the lower your costs, the greater your contribution to help support your local hospital.

5. Register Your Event and Come Meet Us: Once you know what type of event you would like to organize and have set your financial goals and budget, it is important to fill out the Event Proposal Form attached and submit it to our Special Events Coordinator for approval. Once your event is approved, come and meet with us. We want to help you make your event a success. You will receive a Bluewater Health Foundation toolkit to help you and your team organize a successful fundraising event in support of Bluewater Health.

6. Promote/Publicize Your Event: Publicity and promotion are essential for a successful event. Eye-catching flyers, tickets and other promotional materials will help make your event a success. Please use the phrase “Proceeds to Bluewater Health Foundation” on all your promotional material so people will know your event supports the hospital. Your toolkit contains lots of materials to help you promote your event.

7. Hold Your Event: Attention to detail is essential to the success of every event. The Bluewater Health Special Events team will be happy to review the logistics of your event, and your Bluewater Health Foundation Event Toolkit contains a checklist to help you run your event smoothly.

8. Collect the Funds: We ask that all funds be collected and submitted to the Bluewater Health Foundation within 30 days of your event.

9. Say Thank You: Here’s the most important step! Please let those who attended and helped with your event know how much you appreciate their support. Tell them how much money they helped to raise and what it means to Bluewater Health.