Pledge-raising Pointers

Countryside Association for People with Disabilities

Host a potluck and give the option of bringing a dish or pledging $10 to your walk. Chances are many people will do both!

Host a movie night at your house and start the evening by showing The People of Countryside promotional video. Nothing motivates people to give more than seeing the faces of Countryside!

Is your birthday coming up? Ask your friends to contribute to your fundraising goal instead of sending gifts!

www.countrysideassn.org

Do — Make it personal! Are you walking in honor of a family member or friend? When people know what motivates you, chances are it will motivate them to participate!

Do — Remember: It’s all about empowerment! When someone contributes, they are empowering someone with a disability to make their own choices, live more independently, and pursue the life they want to lead.

Do — Ask others to walk, too! Ask your spouse, children, siblings, and your parents to walk as a team and collect pledges as a group!

Don’t — Be afraid to ask! The most common reason people give for not participating in a charity event is that they were not asked! It is easier than ever to ask people to get involved. Send a link to your pledge page using Facebook, send an email out to your buddies; you can get the message out to hundreds in an instant!

Don’t — Scoff at small gifts. Be it $1 or $100, every pledge creates meaningful change. And maybe those smaller pledgers will increase their support next year!

Do’s & Don’ts

Mini-Events

Thank You! It takes courage to walk a 5K, to ask for pledges, and to get involved. Be proud! You are changing lives with every step you take on the walk, with every person you talk to about Countryside Association, and with every pledge dollar you collect!

Send emails to your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues with the story of a person with disabilities who motivated you to get involved—include the link to your fundraising page!

Post pledge updates and links on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Adjust your email signature so that it announces the cause you’re walking for. Include a link to your fundraising page!

Consider starting a team with your co-workers and extend your reach by asking business customers, clients, and contractors. Contact us for posters you can post in your office!

Check to see if your employer has a matching gift program. Especially if you involve your co-workers, you can double—or triple—your support to Countryside!

Outreach Ideas

www.countrysideassn.org

Subcontract Companies Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park

Assembled Products, Buffalo Grove Boundless Network, Austin, TX

Cardinal Health, McGaw Park CETCO, Hoffman Estates

Chicago Metallic, Lake Zurich Cole Parmer, Vernon Hills

Distinctive Foods, LLC, Wheeling G.P.I. Anatomicals, Lake Bluff

ITW Fastex, Des Plaines Kay Home Products, Antioch

Palatine Chamber of Commerce, Palatine Quill Corporation, Lincolnshire

Rust-Oleum Corporation, Vernon Hills Sloan Valve, Franklin Park

Sunnyside Corporation, Wheeling Tamarack Products Inc., Wauconda

USA BlueBook, Waukegan

Individual Job Placements Buffalo Grove Park District, Buffalo Grove

The Children’s Place, Carpentersville Chuck E. Cheese, Streamwood

Eskape Entertainment Center, Buffalo Grove Home Depot, Mount Prospect

Jarosch Bakery, Elk Grove Village Meijer, Arlington Heights

Patrick Hyundai, Schaumburg Perk Café, Glenview

Salvation Army, Arlington Heights Target, Schaumburg

Develop work opportunities & job training to reduce unemploy-ment; nearly everyone we support falls below the poverty line

Support to help individuals and families maintain community independence & stay in less restrictive, less costly residences

Provide planned and emergency in-home respite services to families that support children and adults when parents must leave the home

Offer healthy, individualized activities each day to persons with severe disabilities and seniors in our community centers to combat social isolation

1954 — Year Countryside originated in Palatine, IL

360 — Adults who receive paid work and skills training opportunities every week

10,000 — Number of military latches assembled daily

210 — Adults we transport each day in our adapted vehicles

$500,000 — Projected earned income of our people this fiscal year. We are a significant provider of subcontract labor!

625 — Square miles that form Countryside’s service area

29 — Persons in community jobs earning minimum-wage

Complete building expansion and renovation at Countryside Center in Palatine to increase opportunities for future participants

Obtain national accreditation for new School-to-Work Transition Program as well as Services to Older Adults Programs

Expand Community Employment Services opportunities for current participants and community members with disabilities who desire jobs

Continue efforts to make a variety of production work consistently available to all Work and Training Center participants

Our Purpose

By The Numbers

2011 Goals

Fast Facts 2011 Countryside Association for People with Disabilities

Our mission is to advocate on behalf of persons with disabilities and their families and to

support them in their efforts to live and work successfully in their chosen community.