Thank you for your commitment to the Department of Peace campaign and our National Walk for Peace. Here are some tips for creating a Walk for Peace in your community. Because the “walkathon” style of fundraising is so common, you’ll find this comes together easily and people are anxious to contribute, participate and celebrate peace.

1. Plan

• Create a planning team (three to five people is a nice size) and break out responsibilities (many hands make light work!)
• Set a goal of how many walkers to have.
  
• Identify a location.
  
• Find out if permits are needed (typically, if you hold the walk on a sidewalk you do not need one; for a street you do. Usually the local police can tell you).
  
• It's also a good idea to identify two people who will agree to keep track of the accounting of donations made. These two should be careful to review all money when turned in at walk and compare it to the amounts pledged on the forms.

2. Enroll Walkers

• Spread the word! The more walkers, the more money and the more visibility. And remember--they'll need time to enroll sponsors, so you want to get walkers as early as possible.
• Give each walker a set of brochures and donation forms. You can order brochures from our webstore or copy the campaign_overview, and download and personalize the forms below (they're in both Word and PDF so you can either handwrite in the information, or change it on your computer).
• Remember, people who can’t walk that day can still raise money, especially by using the online Personal Fundraising Page.

 Walker Info Form and Sponsor Sign-up

 Walker Info Form and Sponsor Sign-up

 Publicity Flyer

  Publicity Flyer

3. Enroll Sponsors (aka Donors)

• Have each walker set a personal fundraising goal and make a list of people they can talk to.
  
• Create time to practice the one-minute laser talk enrolling support.
  
• Collect the money upfront, giving each sponsor a brochure, asking them to join you as a walker, and asking if they know anyone else who would be interested in the Bill.
  
• Follow up with those new leads!
  
• Remember the Personal Fundraising Page (web-based donation page) can be a great way to enroll friends and family! It's also a great way for people who can't participate "live" at the Walk to still participate in raising funds.

4. Map the Walk

• Choose a place with high visibility. A 3-to-5-mile walk allows all ages to participate.
  
• Begin and end at the same spot or make plans for shuttling back to your cars (public transportation works great!).
  
• Scope out places to hang Department of Peace banners or plan to carry them during the walk (visit https://www.bizopguy.com/dop.htm for samples of smaller banners).
  
• Walk the course ahead of time to ensure a safe walk with ease and flow.
  
• If needed, create a map for participants.

5. Enroll the Media and Speakers (OPTIONAL). Remember, this is supposed to be a fun way to raise money, so if you decide to create a bigger event, make sure you're budget-conscious. And if you want to go for it, GO FOR IT!

• Let your local media know what you’re doing, and invite them to attend.
  
• Remember to position the bill and the issue of reducing violence.
  
• Consider including your member of Congress and their local staff.  A Sample Press release will be made available to registered organizers before the event.

6. Do the Event

• Consider starting by 9 a.m. to avoid the heat.
• If you have Department of Peace T-shirts, wear them (great visual for media coverage). You can order more at ShopForPeace.net (order early!)
• Have a sign-in table and collect contact information and donations at the start (name tags help foster connection).
  
• Have plenty of water available.
  
• Hand out brochures to people you meet as you walk.
  
• End with a picnic and speakers (you can have people bring a lunch, get sponsors to donate food, or have a team prepare lunch). Take lots of pictures! Be the change in everything you do!

7. Write up a report about your event and send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• Do at least a quick summary as quickly as you can, including the Who, What, Where, When and how many people came. That way we can include your results in the national press release that will go out after the event. Share any great stories/highlights
• Later, write a full Story from the Field that we can include in the Reports for all of this year's Walks

That's it!

So are you ready to organize a Walk in your community? Click here now to sign up. Keep us informed about what you are doing  so we can raise national awareness. And share lessons learned after the event so next year’s will be even better.

If you would like to see if someone else is already hosting a walk in your community, click here and search by zip code.

Here’s a sample of the notification built on what the MI team sent out.

Join Michigan Walk for Peace
September 16th

Dear MI Supporters:

In case you have not heard, Department of Peace activists from Michigan's 14th Congressional District will be holding a Walk for Peace on Saturday, September 16th, 2006. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. The walk begins at 10:00 a.m.  Join us for what will surely be a fun and inspiring morning.  We plan to raise awareness and money for the campaign to help make the Department of Peace the law of the land.

We will meet at the SMART Park and Ride Lot, which is located at the corner of Outer Drive and Allen Road in the City of Melvindale. We will then proceed through the Cities of Allen Park and Dearborn. Our Walk for Peace will conclude at Ford Field in Dearborn. Click here for map. Please bring a brown-bag lunch to enjoy with the group. At the picnic, there will be a short presentation concerning the Department of Peace by our State Leader Linda K. Henderson. Afterward, there will be a shuttle back to the Park and Ride Lot. We look forward to all participants having a great time.

Our Walk for Peace is a fun and fitness activity for everyone. Bottled water will be provided and each participant will receive an official Department of Peace T-shirt. If sunny, participants are encouraged to wear hats and sunscreen. If rainy, participants are encouraged to bring rain gear. All pets must be on a leash.Our goal is to raise at least $5,000 for The Peace Alliance. Therefore, please spread the word to Activists in your district and other interested parties. We plan on making this Walk for Peace a great success. It goes without saying, the more participants and contributions we receive, the greater likelihood is that we will achieve our goal.

For questions or concerns, or to volunteer, please contact Kathleen McEvoy at (xxx) xxx-xxxx. Thank you very much for your participation!

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, September 16th, 2006!!