Blog

Written for NFCR.org by Elizabeth Chung.

In the summer heat and fun moments, the National Foundation for Cancer Research and event host Dylan Guo created a beautiful party that brought together the community for a grand cause. The idea was to create a summer gathering to build our community, celebrate health and happiness, and reunite for a good cause – raising funds for the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR). On August 3rd, the event was hosted at a beautiful estate in Dickerson, MD, involving karaoke, Zumba dancing, a raffle, great food, and other fun activities. Dylan explained that his theme for the party was ‘to celebrate summer and live a happy and healthy life.’

Keys to Building a Successful Fundraising Event

Dylan Guo was the organizer and fundraiser of the party. He says the event ‘took lots of steps, from gathering all the people, securing the gift certificates for the raffles, and planning all the details around the event.’ Despite the challenging work, due to his strong connection to NFCR and cancer awareness, he wanted to share the importance of supporting cancer research with everyone. Dylan’s mom, Shelly Huang, was also a significant help to the party, as she supported Dylan at this event and since he started volunteering for NFCR a few years ago.

The party featured many engaging activities, including selling raffle tickets for enticing items donated by area businesses to support the cause. Dylan explains that his inspiration for the raffle ticket sales came from his volunteer efforts earlier this summer at an NFCR event at a baseball game. At the event, tables with raffle opportunities drew attention and boosted donations to NFCR. Dylan felt the idea would work for his event as well. He reached out to local businesses for gift certificates because he thought that by offering restaurants, experiences, and other service-oriented gift certificates, NFCR would receive additional funding and help more people learn and shop at the local business. Luckily, many businesses helped out, and Dyland secured certificates from many businesses from Cabin Johns Shopping Center and Potomac Village Shopping Center, including Totally Polished Inc, Gregorio’s, Hunter’s Bar and Grill, Potomac Pizza, Five Guys, Giant, Fire Wok, Colony Grill. However, the process to get these prizes wasn’t easy.

Dylan explains, “To carry out this idea, my mom and I used three full weekends to reach out to various shops, restaurants, and store managers for their support. I also wrote a letter explaining the event and our idea. Discussing the importance of the business’s assistance with the business owners and managers helped us obtain the gift certificates for our event.”

Special Thanks to the Group that Made this Event Happen

The event successfully supported NFCR and sent a genuine message: health and happiness come from a tight-knit community.

One talented group of volunteers was high schoolers Eileen Zhuge from Winston Churchill High School, Irene Kim from Winston Churchill High School, Elizabeth Chung from Richard Montgomery High School, and Aidan Song from Thomas Wootton High School. They performed lovely pieces of music by violins throughout the event. Eileen explained, ‘I wanted to be a part of a good cause, and seeing old friends and having fun activities was a major plus.’ She talked highly about future events and her likeliness to return because of the event bonding. The event was an astounding success. NFCR proudly announces that this fundraising event raised more than $5,000. NFCR thanks all of the volunteers who helped make the party possible and took time out to support this wonderful cause:

Thanks to Dylan Guo, who directed and organized the event and spoke about mental health awareness.

Thanks to musicians Irene Kim, Eileen Zhuge, Aidan Song, and Elizabeth Chung, who all played beautiful violin music.

Thanks to Vivian La, who contributed by creating the save-the-date flyer, official invitation, and event programs.

Thanks to Elizabeth Chung, who spoke about cancer prevention.

Thanks to hip-hop dance instructor Emma Song and Zumba instructor Yiwen He to get people moving.

Thanks to the Cook family (Charlotte, Ezra, Callum, and Josiah), who helped with raffle ticket sales and party setup.

Thanks to Donna Wang, who discussed financial wellness.

Thanks to Emily Wen, Shelly Huang, Jenny Wang, and Chenlan Guo, who brought delicious food to the party and were huge supporters.

Thanks to Phoenix Le and Ryan, who played a tremendous role in the party by helping set up, making people feel welcome, and making the event go much more smoothly and easily. They also had great suggestions for reaching the younger generations by word of mouth. Ryan said, “If we work together, we can pass on the awareness of cancer.”

Thanks to Brian Wachtel for representing NFCR and giving a warm speech at the event.

We couldn’t have had such a great event without all the volunteers!

Create Your Own Fundraiser to Support Cancer Research with NFCR

If you’re inspired by this event, know that NFCR always welcomes community participation. Whether through volunteerism, donations, or advocacy, there’s always a way to get involved. Visit the NFCR website and check out the “Get Involved” and “Ways to Give” tabs on the upper right corner of the homepage for more information.

If you’re passionate about cancer research, prevention, and leadership opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at community@nfcr.org. We would love to have you on board!