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I frequently hear from nursing home volunteers and staff who are looking for creative fundraising ideas. Today I want to share a fundraiser we’ve done at a couple of nursing homes where I worked in the past. It’s the weight loss challenge for charity.
I think this is the perfect time of year to begin a weight loss challenge. Summer vacations are behind us, and life is returning to a more steady routine. Besides, if people to lose weight now, they’ll have plenty of time to see a significant loss before the holidays.
A weight-loss fundraiser offers several benefits:
- It’s a fun way to work together to support a special project or a favorite charity.
- Many studies show that supporting a charity increases a person’s motivation to lose weight.
- Participants will experience better health and they’ll feel better, too.
- Your organization benefits from having healthier employees.
Before the weight loss challenge
1. Select a special project your employees would like to support. It could be something you want to do to make life better for your residents. Or you could support an outside organization such as the Alzheimer’s Association or a homeless shelter.
2. Find a weight loss challenge captain. This person must be enthusiastic and able to keep people motivated throughout the entire competition. In addition, they need a good general knowledge of nutrition. You don’t want someone promoting strange fad diets or unhealthy exercise routines.
3. Decide if you want to compete as individuals or as teams. The team concept works well because members motivate one another and hold each other accountable. On the other hand, some people feel more comfortable keeping their weight loss efforts private.
4. Choose a time frame for the competition. This could be anywhere from 30 days to several months. Based on the information I’ve read, I suggest a 12-week challenge. This offers enough time to see significant results, yet it’s not so long that people lose interest.
5. Decide how people will pay to take part. A few of the options include:
- Charge a flat entry fee at the beginning of the challenge.
- Require a weekly fee to stay in the competition.
- Ask people to find sponsors for every pound or percentage point they lose.
- Charge a fine of $1 for any pound a participant gains back.
6. Check with your company’s health insurance provider. They might provide educational materials, food/water intake or exercise tracking tools, or small prizes for your challenge.
7. Generate excitement for the competition. This should include a detailed explanation of how the money raised will be used, as well as how the challenge benefits the participants. Be sure to include all shifts and all departments.
8. Create a short list of rules and communicate them clearly. For example, where and when do participants need to weigh in? How will you calculate weight loss? (I suggest that you go by percentage rather than pounds to determine the winners. This makes the competition fairer for people of all sizes.)
9. This is a good time to remind potential participants to catch up on their routine physicals. It’s also wise to consult with their medical provider before beginning a new weight loss or exercise program.
During the weight loss challenge
1. I suggest you provide one or two people to oversee the private weekly weigh-ins. This takes away any concerns that someone might pad their weight loss numbers. At one nursing home where I worked, the dietician filled this role. Just be sure weigh-in times are convenient for all shifts.
2. Especially if the challenge lasts for several weeks, you’ll need lots of activities to keep up the momentum. This could include:
- Guest speakers (Lunch ‘N Learn works well!)
- Random prize drawings
- Healthy snacks for participants
- Inspiring email messages
- On-site exercise or yoga classes
- Walking groups over lunch
3. I encourage you to offer prizes for the weekly weight loss winners and a bigger prize for the overall winner. While you might buy prizes with the fees collected from participants, I highly encourage you to solicit the prizes from area businesses. This allows the maximum amount of money to go to your special fundraising project. If you feel uncomfortable asking businesses for donations, check out this previous post for suggestions.
Prizes might include:
- a gift certificate for a massage
- T-shirts
- cooling towels for exercise
- a gift certificate to a fitness center
- athletic socks
- healthy snack goody bags
- BPA-free water bottles
- fruit baskets
- bottles of sunscreen
- Ask participants for ideas!
After the weight loss challenge
Host a final event where you announce the weight-loss champion. Also, if possible, provide a little prize for each participant. Even though you choose one overall winner, I think it’s important to celebrate everyone’s participation.
Share the total amount of weight that everyone lost together. Then let everyone know how much money they raised for your special project. This helps individuals know that they were part of something significant. It also sets the stage for good participation in your next weight loss challenge.
Have you ever hosted a weight loss challenge to raise money for a special project? I would love to see your suggestions in the comment section!
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