Thin Pink Line 5K Run / Walk...

• 5K Run:- Run 3.1 Miles

KEEP ALL YOUR FUNDRAISING DOLLARS LOCAL!!!
STOP donating to Corporate Charities where you dont know how your money is spent!!!!

Pink Heals Chattanooga Area Chapter and the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments are hosting a walk/run in support of Women in our community who are struggling from the perils of Cancer where all the money raised will stay local. No salaries will be paid from the proceeds of this event. EVERYONE will volunteer.

This event is held in conjunction with Pink Heals a local organization that raises awareness for womens health, with a focus on PEOPLE and not a CAUSE.

Do you really know what "Pink Heals" is about?...Please Read!!!

To Whom It May Concern:

The Pink Heals volunteers have been traveling for eight years for free, using their own money and their vacation time to make Pink Heals the fastest growing community support effort in the country. They have driven across the country to visit over four hundred cities and towns logging over 350,000 miles without sponsors and never asking for a donation.

Our Mission Statement:

Pink Heals provides communities with a program that:

maintains the majority of fund raising dollars locally,
empowers the people to make decisions about how their hard earned money is distributed and
forces the recipients of donated dollars to be accountable for spending.

Pink Heals is changing the culture of fund raising in the United States. It is taking down the “business” of corporate charity with the high salaries, the overhead, the pension packages, and the control of monies for research. Pink Heals understands and believes in the corporate structure of for profit entities to make a living, create free enterprise and drive innovation. However Pink Heals believes that non profits should not only be philanthropic but, more importantly, altruistic and should not be making a large profit from the suffering of others or taking money out of a community that is fund raising for the greater good! Pink Heals believes that keeping fund raising dollars local will help meet immediate needs within a community, improve community resources and build a stronger sense of community overall. A community can always choose to fund raise and donate proceeds to a charity or research facility outside of their community or state, but they should do so knowingly and under the Pink Heals philosophy.

Our Goal:

To provide you with a program that maintains fund raising dollars locally in support of women, their families and community based initiatives and doesn’t take any money for itself.

The Pink Heals program gives the community, elected leaders and local businesses the ability to align with an initiative that benefits the community directly without aligning with a single cause, a specific disease or a large charity. A Pink Heals event may benefit a person with a disease, a local hospital, a local research center, a community center, a community improvement goal, etc. but it doesn’t align with any one particular initiative. Think of Pink Heals as an accreditation mechanism for events in your city or town. If an event or business is supported with the Pink Heals logo then the money raised is staying in your community and supporting initiatives that are philanthropic AND altruistic and not making money from your volunteerism.

Our Inspiration: Women

Pink Heals was originally founded by a fire fighter, a community servant, in support of women. Our country’s first lines of defense (fire, police, military) were founded on the calling to protect – protect our nation (the motherland), our women, and our children. Throughout history it is the symbolism of the woman that resurfaces time and time again: Mother Nature, our Motherland, our Statue of Liberty, and the use of the feminine pronouns “Her” and “She” when we refer to our cities, states and country. Men are inspired to protect their women and this organization was founded on the premise that when we take care of “her”, then “she” will take care of us. Women are 50.8% of the population, 52% of the voting power, and are the decision makers that control 2/3 of the buying power in this country. They are our matriarchs whose values, traditions and opinions impact future generations as they raise our children. The Pink Heals initiative began using women as the inspiration for fund raising. Women are generally the driving force behind activities of fund raising, philanthropy and love in a community. What better place to start? However the program has evolved and Pink Heals now strives to inspire communities to support not only women but all people within the community and all community based initiatives that benefit those who live there.

How Does It Work?

First- A Disclaimer:

Bringing this program to your community should be out of your desire to change what’s wrong with fund raising today and to provide your community with a way to support each other selflessly and with accountability. Many times a person is suddenly inspired to help others because of a personal experience with a disease or some type of adversity. In the past our Chapters were founded by the noble cause of making a difference in the life of women with cancer and many Chapters were started by people who had been directly affected in some way. It was a wonderful start to this organization however we have continued to evolve. Our goal moving forward is to enlist individuals who have an underlying desire to bring Pink Heals to a community to help others altruistically and philanthropically. Individuals who want to improve the lives of those around them, support worthy organizations in their community and make a change in how their fund raising dollars are allocated.

When personal involvement is the core motivation for starting Pink Heals in a community then there is an emotional attachment to outcomes that will color how the program is implemented. This program was founded selflessly and evolved through the desire to help communities as a whole for any number of illnesses, adversities and needs. There was no monetary gain, no

family member or friend suffering, just a desire to do what is right. That being said your journey with Pink Heals, if you choose to take it, will need to be about others and not personal. It will need to be about all the needs that manifest within a community and not just the one that has affected you. We say this not to discourage you, but to ask that you consider your motivation, goals and purpose for wanting to start this program before reading further. Bringing Pink Heals to your community will be an amazing, rewarding journey if you choose to begin.

Are you still with us? Read on….. “The How To…”

1. Commit to Adopting the Program and Mission: To keep 100% of fund raising dollars LOCAL (within your city, county or state). This is not to say that a community couldn’t collectively decide to donate outside of itself – but it would be a community decision to do so!

2. Decide whether you would like to start a Pink Heals Chapter or would like to enlist your fire, police or community leaders to build the program within their own agencies. You do not need a pink fire truck to make this program work. You need:

Our logo and literature
An ability to reach out to local businesses and solicit their support
An ability to reach out to tax based agencies (fire, police, teachers) and share Pink Heals information in an effort to move them away from support of large corporate charities in exchange for supporting the people who pay their salaries. i.e: to keep it local, through Pink Heals
A group of motivated, selfless individuals who are willing to help you and who aren’t afraid to approach those in authority to change how fund raising happens in your community. (i.e. To use Pink Heals as a non-profit umbrella under which 100% of donated or fund raised monies are distributed to worthy, community based initiatives.)
Motivation to share the program and mission throughout the community for fund raising events of all types, as long as 100% of the money raised stays local and is for community based needs/support.

Sometimes examples are the best illustrators of how this program might look in your community. Let’s break this down a bit….

The logo:

"Pink Heals" will become synonymous with “Keeping it Local”. For the average person our logo has become a validating brand that “guarantees” that money donated or proceeds from the purchase of something is staying within that community.

Example: Our logo supporting a "Pink Heals 5K" or "Pink Heals Car Wash" by the high school indicates that the money they raise will be given to a local charity, family or community based need. It may be to support a women's shelter, a food bank, a group that helps with medical bills... Whatever the worthy cause in the community the fund raising proceeds are guaranteed to stay local if you see the "Pink Heals" logo associated with that effort. What corporately sponsored charity can guarantee that nearly 100% of the money you raise in their name comes right back into your community?

Businesses:

Local businesses align with the Pink Heals program because it benefits them as well as the people who shop with them. Through the displaying of the Pink Heals Logo in their windows they indicate that they support keeping fund raising local. Businesses can then direct their fund raising dollars back to the people who buy their goods and services.

For example, you approach the local donut shop and explain the program. They decide to display the Pink Heals logo in their window and donate a percentage of the sale of donuts with chocolate icing and pink sprinkles to a different local charity each quarter via the Pink Heals umbrella. This gives that local business a way to give back to the community that supports them. The public sees the Pink Heals logo, knows that the business supports local initiatives and charities and then chooses to buy their donuts at that donut shop, rather than the one down the street. Wouldn't you choose to support the businesses that support you? The ones that give back to the community and keep fund raising local?

Tax Based Agencies:

The Pink Heals program can redirect the fundraising efforts of our tax based organizations (police, fire fighters, teachers, etc) in each state so that their fund raising efforts are redirected back to the people who vote, pay taxes and therefore pay their salaries. They fundraise under the umbrella of "Pink Heals" events and then the proceeds go to beneficiaries (individuals, organizations, charities) within their community as the people see fit. Their salaries are paid for by the community. Shouldn't their fund raising efforts be given back to the community that supports them?

Case in point: In 2013 the Firefighters “Fill the Boot Campaign” for the MDA raised $27.2 million dollars nationwide. How much of that money was raised in your community to be sent elsewhere? How much assistance did people in your community receive as a result of those efforts?

Elected Leaders:

Pink Heals gives your elected leaders the ability to align with an initiative that benefits the community without aligning with a single cause, a specific disease or a large charity. Aligning with a corporate charity places you at the mercy of their lobbyists, their agenda and their infrastructure. Aligning with a single cause alienates all other causes. The Pink Heals umbrella allows the community to dictate the areas in which their community needs to provide more support. Isn't every community unique? Shouldn’t the City Council, your Mayor, your Governor know the unique needs of your town, your city, your state and work to provide support to the people that elected them addressing those areas of need? Pink Heals is beholden to nothing. It is for the people. It is a brand that they can own. It is a community's initiative. It is fluid and changes with the needs of the community. Our leaders should support it – should support you. It's perfect.

We know it’s coming…the question of “But what about research?”

Our response: Pink Heals Research. How much could be accomplished if researchers were allowed to research without bending to political agendas, lobbyists and the threat of losing their grant money? Would we have a cure? Would the focus continue to be on pharmaceuticals? What are the possibilities when there is pure selflessness driving the “search for the cure”? Communities could fundraise to start a research facility, support the local universities research programs or could collectively agree to send donations to a research facility of their choosing outside of the state. The bottom line is that the Pink Heals program is community owned and community driven. It is the people who raised the money, whose hard earned dollars filled the coffers that decide where or to whom that money shall be distributed.

So there you have it. Are you in? Do you want to get involved? How much are you willing to invest in your community? Yourself? Your future and the future of your children?

“Pink Heals is an INITIATIVE, not a charity. Pink Heals is growing all around the world with little to no money. It’s what the people want and it’s why altruistic leaders around the United States aren’t trying to copy Pink Heals but choosing to adopt it.”

Dave Graybill

Event details and schedule

• 5K Run / 1 Mile Fun Run - Race Start 8:00 am
• Pre-Registration - 7:00 am
• Water and Drinks will be Available
• Wear your Running Shoes and Comfortable Clothing
• Other Local Non-Profits will be On-Site to learn more about keeping your dollars local

KEEP ALL YOUR FUNDRAISING DOLLARS LOCAL!!! 
STOP donating to Corporate Charities where you dont know how your money is spent!!!!