In times like these, many of us are searching for ways to make a difference. With the Team Be The Match® Champion Challenge, you’ll be a champion for cures—and the difference you make will be life-saving.
Being a champion for cures is easier than it sounds. Think of it as adding a bit more meaning to your routine. First, choose a challenge. It can be as ambitious as you like. For example: running a solo 10K, learning a new language, walking the dog regularly, trying a new recipe each week or reading five books over the summer. Then set up your Team Be The Match fundraising page and ask friends and family to give toward your goal.
All money raised from the Champion Challenge will help Be The Match add more potential donors to the registry, support patients and families with uninsured costs and fund life-saving research. And every contribution, large or small, makes a difference. There’s strength in our numbers—the more, the mightier. (That’s why it’s called TEAM Be The Match.)
Be The Match is ready to support your fundraiser every step of the way. Check out the Champion Challenge website for more information, including ideas for challenges and tips for promoting your efforts on social media.
Together we can close the gap
When you join the Champion Challenge, you help further our fight for equity and equal outcomes for all. Did you know only 1 out of every 4 Black or African American patients will find a matched, available donor on the registry (compared to 3 out of 4 white patients)? Fundraising is critical to ending this health disparity. Every $100 adds one new potential donor to the Be The Match Registry® and gets us closer to closing the gap. When you ask your networks to support your Champion Challenge, you can help ensure everyone gets an equal chance at finding a cure.
Champion Challenger Spotlight: Kerry
Kerry joined the registry in 1999 as a 20-year-old college student. 18 years later, he got an email saying he was a potential donor match for a patient battling acute myeloid leukemia. After undergoing additional tests, in January 2017 Kerry donated his bone marrow—giving a complete stranger a second chance at life.
“I feel extremely lucky to have had this opportunity,” Kerry says. “I want to do whatever I can to give those fighting blood cancers and other blood diseases the second chances they deserve.”
For last year’s Team Be The Match Champion Challenge, Kerry ran the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, raising almost $2,500 for Be The Match. He met his match recipient, Liz, for the first time at race day and together they crossed the finish line.
You can be a champion for cures, too
According to Kerry, successful fundraising is all about the ask. “The one thing a lot of people forget about is the direct ask,” he says. “While it's easy for people to ignore a social post, when you call or email or text them directly with a personal appeal and say ‘can I count on you to help me get there?’ it's hard for them to say no. Also, the worst thing they can do is say no—it's not the end of the world!”
Now it’s your turn
Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something—including you. Every little bit counts. Start your Champion Challenge (big or small) today to unleash your life-saving power. After all, doing something—is everything.
Questions? Virtual pep talk? We’re happy to help.
