The Power of the People, the Pink Ribbon, and Promotional Products

Amy and her BFF near the Day One finish line in the 2008 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

When I needed to raise a minimum $1800 in order to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in the Rocky Mountains several years ago, I immediately turned to promotional products. Why wouldn’t I? I found a generous guy right down the hall at Show Your Logo willing to donate a few hundred custom sports bottles as well as some other affordable yet useful promo items. Screen printed with a pink ribbon and a personal message (“live, laugh, love”), these print water bottles came in über handy to help raise that mega ton of money. Together with my co-walker and BFF, these sport bottles helped us raise almost $4,000 for the Avon Foundation.

Not only did we print water bottles with Show Your Logo, we opted to print key tags and custom support bracelets. The addition of our handcrafted, Pink Ribbon bookmarks rounded out the kit of Pink Ribbon goodies we stuffed into those water bottles. We gave the promotional products kits away to business owners, friends, family, and who made donations. A table at a couple of craft shows and a display at a few garage sales also helped bring in the necessary funds. We requested a small, minimum donation in exchange for our Pink Ribbon promotional kit, and more often than not, we received more than our asking price. That’s the power of promotional products!

Of course, the personal aspect of our fundraising efforts definitely came into play. R and I intentionally wore our custom t-shirts each time we set out to raise funds at these events. R’s shirt was screen printed with a pink ribbon and displayed the word “Survivor” underneath. Mine? The same pink ribbon with the words “For my best friend.” We also wore these shirts on the first leg of our walk through the Rocky Mountains, all 26.2 miles on day one, and everyone knew our story with just a glance at our t-shirts. I spent my 35^th birthday on that walk. We were young. R was young, and a sober reminder that breast cancer strikes women of all ages, not just the elderly.

Likewise, I’ll never forget the heart-wrenching moment a t-shirt told me the story of a woman, maybe a few years older than R and I, walking for her best friend. She was walking alone.

Walkers take in the view during the 2008 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in the Rocky Mountains.

It’s a terrible thing to be diagnosed with breast cancer (and particularly shocking at the age of 31), a wonderful thing to be a survivor, and a blessed thing that my best friend is still alive, well, and occasionally kicking my butt at Super Boggle on Friday nights. (We’re crazy that way.) Here’s to eight years CANCER FREE and counting, my friend!

Do you need promotional products for your upcoming fundraiser? Do you need some great ideas and help selecting the right products? Follow our “Breast Cancer Awareness” Board on Pinterest for starters. The sales team at Show Your Logo can help you print water bottles, print key tags, design custom support bracelets and custom t-shirts. Contact Show Your Logo to help you raise the funds, deliver your message, and make a difference.