Community Corner

How Can Relay for Life Teams Use Canton-Sixes Patch?

Here are 10 ways you and your team can use Canton-Sixes Patch for FREE to honor victims and survivors and help raise cancer awareness and money for a cure.

The culmination of months of fund raising, 2013's Relay for Life of Cherokee County, event during which participants will honor cancer victims and survivors and raise awareness and money for a cure, is set for May 10 at Sequoyah High School. 

Sixty-four local teams, with a total of 603 participants, have already raised $65,576.32, according to the American Cancer Society's event website. They include teams of volunteers from local groups and organizations, schools, churches and businesses.

Relay teams (and any other local group or organization) can use Canton-Sixes Patch for FREE to promote their efforts, potentially reaching tens of thousands of local residents, including many outside their existing networks.

Find out what's happening in Canton-Sixeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here are 10 ways you and your team or organization should use Patch for FREE:

1. Post your upcoming events on our Events Calendar by clicking "Add an Event."

Find out what's happening in Canton-Sixeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Your event will post to our website immediately, and will show up under the date of the event when readers search for things to do in the community. Include a photo, logo or flyer with your calendar listing, and your event may be promoted on Canton-Sixes’s homepage, in our daily newsletter and/or via social media — Facebook and Twitter.

2. Announce your upcoming events in our Announcements section by clicking "Add an Announcement."

This is especially helpful if attendees need to purchase tickets in advance or RSVP. It also makes your upcoming event more visible to readers and increases the likelihood of it being featured on the site and in our newsletters. Like events, announcements posted by users also show up on the site immediately.

3. Seeking more team members, vendors for your event, corporate donations, silent auction items or anything else from the public?

You should post these in the Announcements section as well, and we'll help get the word out.

4. Share your team’s successes in the Announcements section.

Did your team raise money at a fundraiser last weekend? Share your details and photos and we may promote your post on the site, bringing your team even more exposure.

5. Start a Blog about your team and its happenings.

Share with the community why you started your team, how long you’ve been taking part in Relay, who is a part of your team and more, and keep us and our users updated throughout the Relay season. Again, adding photos increases the likelihood of your posting being featured on the homepage and in our newsletters, which reach thousands of e-mail subscribers.

6. Tell us the story of whom you’re Relaying in memory.

You can post this as a Blog or as an Announcement. Again, include a photo if possible.

7. If you are a survivor, tell us your story. This is best done as a Blog but can also be posted as an Announcement.

This helps people attach a face (and hopefully, many faces) to the cause and will help lead them to take part in Relay for Life and/or donate to your team.

8. Upload photos and videos to our Pics & Clips Gallery. A picture says a thousand words, no?

We value your contributions, so there's a good chance your photo or video will be featured, and we'll do our best to draw eyes to it. Be sure to include a caption with at least the basic information!

9. Anything else you'd like to share on Canton-Sixes Patch, but unsure how to do it?

Please e-mail your inquiry to justin.ove@patch.com!

10. Once you place any of the aforementioned posts on Patch, be sure to share the link on various social media accounts, including your own and those of others' on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.

We're glad to provide you a platform and will help spread the word as much as we can, but your sharing of the link to your announcement, event or blog on Patch also will help get your message in front of others.

Again, these 10 ways to use Patch don’t just apply to Relay for Life teams. If you’re involved with any other nonprofit, group, church, school, etc., you can use them for FREE as well.

Editor's Note: The number of teams, participants and donations are posted as of March 11, 2013, and are subject to change.

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