Team Captains Responsibilities
Team Captains and Team Members are the “foot-soldiers” in the fight against cancer. Team Captains lead their teams by representing them at monthly update meetings in your community. Team Captains are the liaisons between the Event Committee and your team.
Team Captains organise and delegate the team’s fundraising events throughout the year – as well as the team’s participation in activities throughout the night of the event.
A Team Captain must support Relay For Life in your community by leading a team from your organisation, family, friends, etc. to take part and raise funds.
A Team Captain agrees to serve in the following capacities:
- Build a team of 10-15 members
- Attend the Relay For Life launch in your community
- Set a fund-raising goal for your team
- Recognise cancer survivors on your team and take part in the survivorship celebrations at the event
- Distribute participant collection envelopes and any other CANSA fundraising tools to all the team members
- Coach and motivate your teamto suceed. This includes using all available forms of internal communications to generate enthusiasm and participation for the event (i.e. email, voicemail, newsletters)
- Attend planned Team Captain’s meetings
- Recognise team members for their commitment to the fight against cancer
How to be a great Relay Team Captain
- Ask people you like (and who you trust) to be with you. Choose greatness!
- Have a team kick-off to recruit new members and get things going
- Set a team fundraising goal for your team
- Fundraising year-round will lead to more success
- Don’t forget to plan some on-site fundraising for the day of the Relay
- Get creative with FUN-raisers that the whole team can help with & enjoy
- Select a co-captain to help you
- Organise your team by forming team committees
- Lay out team fundraisers on a calendar and discuss responsibilities for each delegate
- Trust and support your team members
- Communicate, communicate and communicate!
- Have regular team meetings
- Copy and distribute the Relay newsletters
- Compile and distribute a team newsletter
- Call and email with updates, good news (“Jane just got a R50-00 donation!”), reminders about fundraisers, upcoming team meetings, etc.
- Attend Team Captain Meetings or send someone in your place
- Pass along information you get at the team captains meetings
- Keep your team informed about incentive prizes, rules, games, contests, etc.
- Ensure you submit your registration fees and forms by the due date
- Motivate, excite and enthuse your team
- Dedicate your team’s efforts to a cancer survivor
- Share information about the CANSA programmes and service that you receive at the team captain meetings
- Be their cheerleader and their biggest fan
- Ask survivors that you know to come to the Relay and take part in the Opening Lap
- Display Relay posters, banners and balloons in your office
- Become a Champion for CANSA and volunteer to assist in all CANSA programmes and services
- Have a Team Wrap-up Party
- Review the team’s activities, fundraisers, etc. to find out what worked well and what can be improved upon
- Distribute and announce any awards your team has won
- You can even have your own team awards (top fundraiser, most laps walked, etc)
- Start planning for next year’s Relay
- Have FUN!!
