P O W E R t o e n D s t Ro k e family reunion toolkit

[Pages:25]POWER to enD stRoke

family reunion toolkit

The Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership is a National Sponsor of Power To End Stroke.?

Table of Contents

Family reunion toolkit overview

I.

Family Reunion Toolkit Overview

II. Choose a Theme

III. Family Reunion Committee

IV. Countdown

V. Letting the Family Know

VI. Create Your Reunion Web site

VII. Fun Family Activities

a. Family Registration

b. Certificates and Awards

c. Family Reunion T-Shirts

d. Family Recipe Book

e. For the Kids

f. Slideshow

g. Take a Walk

VIII. Fundraiser

IX. Sample Agenda: Family Reunion Weekend

X. Posters

XI. Sample Recipes: Picnic and Banquet

XII. Family Reunion Resources

a. Registration Card

b. Family Tree

c. Clergy's Speech

d. Power Litany

e. Know the Risk Factors

f. Risk Assessment Quiz

The Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership is a National Sponsor of Power To End Stroke.?

I. Toolkit overview

Family reunions are a wonderful way to stay connected, and to learn and teach about your family heritage and traditions. It is also a great time to inform and remind family members that stroke is a major health threat. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Power To End Stroke movement is a source of empowerment by encouraging African Americans to recognize their increased risk of stroke, and take charge of their health to prevent stroke.

? Every 45 seconds, someone in America has a stroke -- 700,000 people every year. ? Stroke, the No. 3 cause of death and a leading cause of long-term disability, claims the lives of over 150,000

people in the United States every year. ? African-Americans have higher rates of stroke than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. African

Americans have almost twice the risk of first-ever stroke compared with whites, and blacks 35?54 years old have four times the relative risk for stroke.

How to use this kit

Family history and race are major risk factors for stroke. If your parent, grandparent, brother or sister has had a stroke, your risk of having one is greater. It's imperative that we share this message with our families! Fortunately, stroke is often preventable. Please encourage family members and friends to join the Power To End Stroke movement and make healthy lifestyle choices to protect their health. Learn your risks for stroke and how to reduce them to live a longer, stronger life. Families throughout America should incorporate Power To End Stroke into their family reunions. We have the materials you need. We invite you to use the Power To End Stroke campaign materials to educate your family on the devastating effects of stroke on our community. Because African Americans are twice as likely to suffer a stroke as whites we're providing targeted material to help you encourage family members to ...

? Register for the Power To End Stroke movement and Take the Pledge. ? Take our online Personal Stoke Risk Assessment to learn to control and prevent personal risk factors. ? Adopt a healthier lifestyle. We can save lives through stroke education! Thank you for making a difference in your family and community.

II. Family Reunion Committee

The Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership is a National Sponsor of Power To End Stroke.?

II. Choose a Theme

A family reunion does not have to have a theme, but it can be a great addition to your event. A theme allows you to be creative and can help you decide on the food, activities, invitations, and just about every aspect of the reunion. Some good themes include the birthday or graduation of a family member, the season, holidays, a Luau or even Western.

III. Family Reunion Committee

Forming a committee is an essential step in planning the reunion. The size of the committee usually depends on the number of reunion attendees. The committee should create a planning binder with important information such as, guests, the budget and the agenda. A Committee Chairperson must also be chosen to lead the committee. This person will be responsible for:

? Scheduling committee meetings and notifying the members of those meetings ? Making a list of volunteers and their job assignments ? Keeping a calendar of finished tasks and unfinished business ? Motivating people to follow through on their assigned tasks ? Create a welcome letter from the chairperson

IV. Countdown

15 Months Out ? Form a committee to plan the reunion ? Locate addresses of all reunion attendees and form a guest list ? Start a list of things you will need and their cost ? Look into building your family reunion Web site

1 Year Out ? Pick a date for the reunion ? Send out the "Save the Date" card ? Make tentative reservations at the reunion site ? Launch your family reunion Web site ? Determine the budget

9 Months Out ? Form your reunion itinerary ? Make final reunion site reservations -- you will now have a better idea of how many people will attend the reunion ? Begin designing reunion memorabilia (e.g., t-shirts, recipe book, picture slideshow)

6 Months Out ? Mail out the formal invitation ? Update your reunion Web site ? Put together maps and directions for guests. You can post these on the reunion Web site and send the information by mail with the invitation.

3 Months Out ? Start to plan the meals ? Build a shopping list ? Update your reunion Web site with any new information ? Remind attendees to confirm their hotel reservation

1 Month Out ? Confirm your reunion site reservation ? Update your reunion Web site ? Mail a reminder note to your guests

3 Weeks Out ? Gather local weather information and post it on your reunion Web site ? Get your family ready and excited about the reunion

2 Weeks Out ? Buy all non-perishable food items ? Buy all supplies ? Make sure the memorabilia are finished ? Update reunion Web site

1 Week Out ? Buy all perishable food items ? Update reunion Web site

Post Reunion ? Send out thank-you letters to everyone who helped you plan the reunion ? Send a thank-you letter to all of the reunion attendees. Include a survey for suggestions to improve the next reunion. ? Update the Web site with stories and photos from the reunion ? Have a post-reunion committee meeting to discuss any outstanding bills ? Start planning your next reunion!

V. Letting the Family Know

? Save the Date: Mail out 6?12 months ahead of time ? Event Invitation: Mail out a formal invitation 3?6 months before the reunion ? E-mail: Make these frequent to keep everyone up?to?date and excited about the reunion ? Web site: Create your family reunion Web site so everyone can check in regularly to keep up?to?date

VI. Create Your Reunion Web site

Having a personalized family reunion Web site is a great way to consolidate event information and have it accessible to all of your guests. It will get your family excited and build up anticipation until the day of your event. Web site builder makes it easy to create your site in just 3 easy steps.

VII. Fun Family Activities

Family Registration Rather than having a simple sign-in and registration table at your reunion, why not use the Family Tree poster to sign in? Ask family members to write their name, city, state, spouse and children's names on the tree. You can also include elders/ ancestors on the Family Tree poster as a visual reminder of your family lineage.

Certificates and Awards Create certificates to be passed out to family members. Try to think of as many award categories as possible so you can recognize the largest amount of family members. Possible categories include:

? The oldest and youngest family members ? Youngest grandparents ? Funniest family member ? Couple with the most children or grandchildren ? Who traveled the least and greatest distances to attend ? Who has attended the most consecutive reunions ? "Miss/Mr. Congeniality" Award -- nicest family member

Family Reunion T-Shirts Family reunion t-shirts are fun to make and will be a great souvenir for the entire family. To create your own, choose a design and color of the t-shirt. If you have more than one branch of an extended family attending the reunion, consider identifying each branch with a different-color shirt. Purchase thermal transfer paper, found at many office supply or hobby stores, to iron the design onto the shirt. If you don't want to do all the work yourself, have someone print the t-shirts for you.

Family Recipe Book Create a family recipe book using the favorite recipe from each family. Make sure to include the names of all the contributors. You can collect the recipes at the reunion or beforehand to have the finished product handed out at the event. This will be a great keepsake and a way to embrace your family traditions. The recipe book can also raise funds for the reunion costs.

For the Kids

Supply each table with party favors and art supplies including yo-yos, stickers, puzzles, playing cards, paper, crayons and maybe even a disposable camera to take pictures of the reunion. You can also hire an entertainer or babysitter depending on the needs of your reunion. Provide the kids with costumes and props and have them act out scenes from your ancestor's lives ? the crossing to America, how Grandma and Grandpa met, or any other family stories.

Slideshow

Create a slideshow with historic family pictures and photos of those attending the reunion. Ask attendees to send in pictures before the event and compile them into a slideshow to watch during the reunion. You can also have the slideshow available for purchase on a CD to offset some of the reunion costs.

Take a Walk

Taking a walk as a family will be a great motivation for everyone to get in some exercise over the weekend. The reunion is also a good forum to stress the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle. Visit MyStart! Online through the American Heart Association Web site for more free walking tools. These tools help people make positive lifestyle changes through walking and eating better. With MyStart! Online, you can

? Track your daily physical activity

? Create a personal walking map

? Use a pedometer to track your steps

? Get a list of top cities with walking trails

VIII. Fundraiser

EMPower, The Power To End Stroke fundraising campaign, can serve as a quick and easy fund-raising activity that will connect your family and friends in their stand against stroke. The goal of this campaign is to ensure the "Power" message gets out to over 500,000 African Americans by 2011. This will be achieved by creating online Tribute/Memorial pages. The Web site enables family members to create Web pages in honor of their loves ones who have suffered a stroke. Each page tells the story of a special person and provides the opportunity to make an online donation to the cause. Anyone can create a Tribute or Memorial page of their own to honor a loved one. It's an easy six-step process. Go to to get started!

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