Fundraising to Beat Neuroblastoma: Valerie Sun Takes on the Pacfic!

This week’s featured fundraiser on GiveForward is Valerie Sun, who is raising money for her friend’s daughter with Neuroblastoma. Valerie is the true true definition of the word trooper.   As a child, Valerie suffered from Apastic anemia and had multiple blood transfusions, a bone marrow transplant and multiple orthopedic surgeries.  Now she is better and has decided to give back.

This Sunday Valerie is taking on a two-mile swim in the Pacific Ocean with the hopes of raising $5000 for Mikayla. So far, Valerie has already raised $2500. We recently caught up with her and asked her to share her experience and some of her successful fundraising tips with our readers.  Check it out!

GiveForward: You’ve already raised over $2500.  Have you been surprised at the generosity you’ve seen?

Valerie Sun: Yes and no. Yes, because most everyone has had to scale back on charity giving due to the difficult economic times, and for folks to donate out of scarcity just goes to show the true depths of generosity present in people. No, because I am incredibly blessed to know so many of these type of people. I knew they would rally to support this cause – many are those who have helped me in various ways over the years when I had struggles with my illness.

GF: What has been your most successful fundraising tip so far that you’d recommend to others?

VS: I think the best tip was sending my request for help out initially to a small group of friends and family and asking for large dollar donations. I think that really set the tone so that most of the other donations ended up following suit.

GF: What’s the best advice you can give to other people looking to fundraise for a friend in need?

VS: Have a story to tell. Think of a special angle to make your fundraiser compelling. For me, that means I drew from my own life experience, and made it personal so that they weren’t only supporting Mikayla, they were supporting me as well (two reasons are always better than one!). If you can tap into a shared experience or something that people can relate to, that will also help. I received a number of donations from folks who had lost someone to cancer because this cause really spoke to them. And, don’t be afraid to ask anybody and everybody! I was surprised several times by folks I never thought would want to contribute but ended up being some of my biggest donors!

GF: So, a two-mile swim is a pretty big deal! What are you going to do to celebrate when you finish?

I am going to go to eat a HUGE brunch!