If you would like to join our team, the first step is to register for Team I Do at: http://teams.lightthenight.org/TeamIDo

The first and most basic idea is to contact people you know and ask them for their support. You can send a letter to everyone on your Christmas card list, telling them why you are walking. Even easier - you can send an email to everyone in your contacts list and give them the link to your Light the Night page.

The creative Light the Night organizers have come up with a whole list of ideas to help us have fun as we take our fundraising to higher levels. Here are a few good ones:

1. How about asking these folks for $25?: your dentist, dry cleaner, hairdresser, pharmacist, doctor, real estate agent, accountant, veterinarian, attorney, sorority/fraternity/band alumni, mechanic, financial advisor, all the other soccer moms on your kid's team, insurance agent, lawn service company, your shrink, professors, home owners association members, and the employees of other companies in your office building (put up a sign in their lunchroom!).

2. Garage Sale: Collect old "stuff " from friends and family. Auction "stuff" on EBay, or hold a garage sale. Have Light The Night signs displayed to make sure donors know the proceeds are going to LLS (prevents haggling).

3. Raffle a Day Off!: Ask your boss or the owner of the company to donate a paid day off to the winner of the drawing. Sell tickets for $5-$25 to your co-workers (this is an easy way for most companies to contribute without donating cash).

4. Throw a basic “party” (“Come on over! Donate $10 at the door!”)

5. Create an incentive for your donors: Tell everyone that for every $50 they donate, they get a chance to win something (for instance, a gift certificate to a restaurant).

6. Contact your local high school's Student Council or other "do-good" club and ask them if they would fundraise for you (holding their own event to profit your cause). Many high schoolers just need a "cause" and they are more than happy to throw a car wash or whatever (looks good on college apps!).

7. Local Bingo games: It turns out local Bingo games are required to give some of
their profits to charity. Why not yours? Make sure to help promote the night you get.

8. Restaurant programs: Restaurants will usually give you 10-25% of the night’s profits that you bring in with a flyer. Ask your local manager today.

9. Work for a large company? Send around a big manila envelope with a letter from you taped to the one side and a donor form on the other. Send the envelope in rotation and have people place checks right in the envelope. Or, place a display in the lunch room (a little sign with your picture and a note about what you are doing) next to a bucket for donations or a pile of donor slips.

10. Ask your boss if you can host a “Dress Down Friday”. Employees buy a button for $5 and get to “dress down” on an assigned day.

11. Hold a car wash or a dog wash. Get some kids to help (with the promise of pizza!). Place Light The Night signs all over.

12. Matching grant programs: Wal-Mart and Sam’s have matching grant programs. Ask them for an application.

13. Brown Bag Days: Have employees bring a brown bag lunch and donate the cost of what they would have spent at the cafeteria or a restaurant. You can even provide drinks, dessert and music to make it a picnic atmosphere. You could set up a standard brown bag day each week (every Wednesday is brown bag day...)

14. Many people are now using "friend sites" such as myspace.com, friendster, and yahoo 360. One walker posted a shortened version of her fundraising letter on her site with a link to her personal fundraising page. She received donations from friends as well as people she didn’t even know.

15. Host a “Mutt Strutt” in your neighborhood. For $30, people bring their dog and go on an organized “walk” together. Host pet contest and offer prizes.

16. Host a tournament (tennis/ bowling/ basketball 3 on 3): For bowling, you pay a flat fee for the night, you provide lanes and snacks. Charge per person or team, and set the round robin going. Give prizes for the winner or worst bowler.

17. Go to your local mall and ask them what they do with the coins in the fountain. Chances are, you can have it!

18. Guest Bartender: Friends with your local bartender? Ask him/her to put a sign up one night that says all tips get donated to LLS. Or talk to a local bar about being a “guest bartender” for a night for a cut of the profits or cover charge (as long as you help promote the night!).