How We "Milked" the Walk . . . for All It Was Worth
by Rachel Gathercole, Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
From NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 17 No. 3, May-June 2000, pp. 96-97
Saturday, 4:00 PM. Burgers sizzled and spat. Guitars strummed bouncy music. Children rattled their paper tambourines, while mothers and fathers laughed. Walkers cheered, balloons danced, and a vibrant handmade quilt fluttered gently in the October breeze. At the end of this day, La Leche League of Orange County, North Carolina, walked away with $2,300. How did we do it, you might ask?
Our version of the World Walk for Breastfeeding was conceived at a potluck lunch in May, where we brainstormed ideas. That turned out to be the first in a series of monthly planning lunches. Everyone arrived at that first meeting pregnant with ideas and enthusiasm. Members from three different LLL Groups were present, all expressing a readiness to help. Still, we thought we would start small - nothing overly ambitious. Little did we know what was to come!
Our Walk organizer, Pam Freedman, asked for ideas to create our best Walk yet. "Food! Music! Exhibitors! Photographs! Prizes! Children's crafts!" we suggested. We were thrilled when Beth O'Donnell, another member from Chapel Hill, offered to make a baby quilt for a raffle. I suggested using the Carrboro Town Commons/Farmers' Market, which had a new playground, as our site, and the group latched on to that idea. The grounds' committee was formed on the spot, as well as committees for publicity, decorations, signs, prizes, donations, music, and more. The focus was on making many tiny mother-sized jobs for all! >From that point on, teamwork was the word, and the plans took on a momentum of their own. Ideas abounded. Excitement was buzzing as our vision of the Walk-to-be grew bigger and bigger. We incorporated many people's special talents and ideas, so many people had a personal investment in the project. We asked mothers and fathers to contribute their skills and talents, and they freely gave whatever they had to offer. The creative part of the process was now well underway.
Then, of course, the real work began. It was a labor of love. Everyone began collecting sponsors and requesting donations from local businesses, many of which made donations at the first request. Mary DeCoster, from the Orange County Spanish-speaking Group, and others sought food donations from local stores. Some of us asked everyone we could to sponsor one dollar, in an effort to gather every possible drop of support from the community. Ricki Mangrum publicized the Walk through flyers, letters, and packets to doctors' offices and clinics. She even sent information to a couple of radio and television stations. We found exhibitors to rent booths at the Walk and mailed out hundreds of invitations to members and friends of our Groups. Ruthie Lloyd and Lauren Mills set to work making dolls in slings to donate as prizes.
By the time everything was ready, we were pumped with excitement and anticipation. The day of the Walk was no letdown. Our hopes came to fruition when 100 people showed up to walk, including members, non-members, fathers, and families. Some Walk participants had never attended an LLL Series Meeting. A local party store donated enough brightly colored helium-filled balloons for every Walker. There were exhibitors of toys, kitchen supplies, crafts, an LLL sales table and quilt raffle, and a massage therapist giving free "one-minute" massages. Barbara Howe loaned us a sound system, and balloons and Walkers alike bounced to the sounds of guitars and dulcimers played by talented LLL "Mommas and Poppas." As the evening progressed, children took over the microphone, singing and dancing in an impromptu children's talent show. A local bakery handed out vouchers for a free loaf of bread inscribed with the message, "Thanks for supporting LLL." In the children's crafts area, children decorated a giant roll of newsprint with crayons and markers donated by LLL families. They also made hats out of newspapers and tambourines out of paper plates and beans. The crowd moved naturally from one activity to the next.
To top it all off, some fathers practiced the Manly Art of Grilling, and we all had a good feeding of veggie burgers with buns, chips, and bagels generously donated by local stores. One company supplied drinking water as well. We hung signs nearby thanking all the businesses and workers who had contributed and directing Walkers to the various parts of the event.
When it was time to walk, the children took their first steps through a big "Start" banner, and we all followed around the Commons. It was impressive to behold.
At the end of the Walk, we held the raffle drawing for the quilt, a drawing of special prizes for the three people who solicited the most sponsor money, and a drawing for all those with $25 or more in sponsors. Thanks to the efforts of our many dedicated Walk workers, we had so many prizes (donated by 20 different businesses) that every one of our sponsored Walkers won a prize, and many won more than once. It turned out to be a rewarding experience for everyone.
In the days after the big event, we each took a little time to sit back and breathe, and then we held a fun, relaxed "postpartum " potluck for fun and bonding. With the help of a questionnaire Pam designed, we took a retrospective look at what we had accomplished, and what we might do differently next time. We thought about what had made our Walk such a success. From looking at the sign-in sheet, we decided our most effective means of publicity had been word of mouth, both at meetings and outside of meetings. The overwhelming generosity of local businesses, Walk sponsors, and Walkers made the Walk a success. But I think what really made it great - and special - was the small but important, heartfelt contributions of many different people working together toward a common goal. With almost 30 mothers, fathers, and older children helping, no one had to carry the weight of planning the entire event. Yet in the end, every mother seemed to feel it was her Walk.
The benefits to our Groups were tremendous. Our Group is enjoying a healthier treasury, and our Group Library has experienced a huge growth spurt since the Walk. Of course, there are more far-reaching benefits from every World Walk, such as the funds that go to LLL's Area and International levels. And we also experienced some more unexpected benefits, such as new friendships and an onslaught of new Group workers who, after seeing the fruits of their efforts in the World Walk, were eager to take on ongoing jobs in their local Groups.
With this rousing success in our past, we are already looking ahead to next time. We have a potential hand-me-down for the next Walk: Beth 's beautiful quilt, which a loving LLL supporter won in the raffle and then gave back so we could make more money with it. Each year we hope to grow our Walk even bigger and better. It's a great feeling to join with Groups all over the world to help support breastfeeding mothers and babies.
