jero

Since I have a bunch of threads to restart... I'm just going to repost the info as it was posted before, so some of it may not be current...

Hello Everyone!

In case anyone is interested...

The 4th Zeke Lerner Celebrity Bowl-a-thon
October 28th, 2006
AMF Rocket Lanes
9171 De Soto Blvd.
Chatsworth, CA 91311-4906

This year we are planning a 2-day event!

On Sunday October 29th a Celebrity Brunch will be held in the Los Angeles area. Details are yet to be determined. The cost for the brunch will be separate. But we will offer a discounted combo price for people who would like to attend both, as we anticipate having different celebrities at the Brunch than at the BAT.


Who is Zeke Lerner? He is the 5 year old son of television writer/producer Garrett Lerner (currently working on HOUSE, M.D.). At the age of 20 months he was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). This horrible neuromuscular disease is progressive, robbing children of their ability to walk, to stand, and eventually to even breathe. Zeke is turning six in June. He is the proud older brother of three-year-old Lily, and son of Kim and Garrett Lerner. Zeke and his family will be attending the bowl-a-thon, and look forward to meeting you all there!

In 2003 some Roswell fans organized a celebrity bowl-a-thon (BAT) to raise money for Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (FSMA). There have been 3 events, 2-16-03, 2-7-04, and 8-20-05. Those events raised $22,000, $26,000, and $25,000 for FSMA. More info on FSMA can be found here... http://fsma.org

The BAT isn't really a Roswell event. Celebrities from all of the following shows have attended: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Roswell, Half and Half, Charmed, John Doe, Reba, CSI: Miami, Enterprise, General Hospital, My So Called Life, Joan of Arcadia, Amazing Stories, Freaks and Geeks, Witchblade, Gilmore Girls, House MD, and The Laker Girls... WOW! The list gets longer every year!

Besides bowling with celebrities, there is a raffle, silent auction, and an exciting LIVE auction of TV memorabilia. Last year the Q & A/auction with the stars was exciting to say the least! It's not every day that a celebrity (Jesse Spencer) takes off his shirt for charity!


The committee leaders in California held their first meeting on January 7th to make plans for this year's event and to talk about last year.

They discussed getting the remaining auction items up on eBay... Probably very soon and with some advance notice... They plan to auction all the remaining items at the same time...

Here's a quick, partial list of the remaining items that will be auctioned on eBay:

From Boston Public:
script - Episode "Chapter Seventy-Six"
video - "Chapter Seventy-Six," final air version
backpack- Season 4 crew gift

Roswell:
Autographed Season 3 cast pic
Season One DVD- Autographed

Veronica Mars:
Lily's shoes
Meg's jacket

American Dreams:
Dress and shoes worn by singer Monica as Mary Wells

Some autographed scripts from various TV shows.

No word yet on when the auctions will start...


Rather than just asking for volunteers, we will be posting descriptions of the things we need volunteers to do... Before and at the event... I hope some of you will be able to help out... I can't stress this enough...
Without VOLUNTEERS there wouldn't be a bowl-a-thon...
Please think about giving a few hours of your time.


The official website still contains last year's info. It should be updated in the near future. The link to the site is: http://www.bowl4fsma.org You can get an idea of what an awesome event this is by checking out the website.


Here's an easy way to stay informed if you're interested...

You can sign up for the mailing list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bowl4FSMA/



I'm the Participant Coordinator... You can contact me at roswelljero@gmail.com.


Later,

jero

As you know it's Bowl-a-thon planning time again. The planning committee is hard at work to make this event even bigger and better than last year. As an event that is 100% volunteer run, we can always use the help of anybody willing to volunteer their time and effort. Without volunteers this event would not exist. Please take a few minutes to read through the descriptions of what we are seeking volunteers for. If you'd like to help and would be able to assist us in any of these areas we'd love to hear from you.

Also, anyone who has connections to celebrities, potential corporate sponsors, media outlets, or potential donors for auction/raffle items is encouraged to contact us to discuss how we can invite them to be a part of our event.


Here is a list of our planning committee members and the areas they are overseeing.

Event Director: Andrea
Volunteer Coordinator: Abi-- batvolunteer@gmail.com
Participant Coordinator: Jeri-- roswelljero@gmail.com
Auction/Raffle: Sarah
Sponsorships: Sharon
Media Relations: John
Celebrity Committee: Karen
Logistics: Kimberli

All non-volunteer related questions or comments concerning this event should be sent to the Participant Coordinator, Jeri. She will be able to put you in touch with the correct person to address your needs.

All responses and inquiries in regards to volunteering for the Bowl-a-thon should be addressed to this year's volunteer coordinator Abi at batvolunteer@gmail.com

Abi has been a volunteer at the past two events and is looking forward to hearing from anyone interested in helping out. The job descriptions are listed below. When e-mailing Abi please be sure to specify in what area you'd like to volunteer. If there is a certain time of day, day of week, or month that you will be able to do the volunteer jobs, please let her know in the e-mail to help us better assign volunteers to specific committees which may need volunteers during specific times and days.


Phone Calls: We are seeking people who are willing to make calls, mainly during regular business hours. Most of the calls will be to places in Los Angeles, but some will also be made to New York.

Those wishing to help in this area should be able to follow a script of what to say during the call, be professional yet friendly, have good phone etiquette, keep records of phone calls made and information received, be able to stick to a deadline while making calls on your own time schedule, be prompt at reporting back to committee leader (usually via e-mail). Knowledge of working with spreadsheets is a plus.


Online Work: We are looking for people to help promote the event online on various message boards. These people will need to be able to post information, provided by the committee leader, and check the site periodically to respond to questions and provide any updates the committee leader passes on to them. These volunteers will need to be consistent in posting only what is approved by the committee when making official announcements.

We also need people to seek out and contact websites related to the shows and celebrities to see if they would be willing to post a link to the BAT website and/or a notice about the event on their website. We also need someone to coordinate this so websites aren't contacted more than once.

Another online need is for volunteers to look up contact info for potential sponsors, media outlets, publicists, etc. These volunteers should be able to keep accurate records of their findings and report them back to committee leaders promptly. They also should be able to get work done on their own time schedule but completed by a deadline.


Local volunteers: We are looking for volunteers in the greater Los Angeles area (and surrounding counties) who will be able to assist in posting and handing out fliers as the event draws closer.

Local volunteers are also needed to help us secure raffle items. Both of these responsibilities include visiting local stores and restaurants and speaking to managers briefly about the event. You will be given the fliers and/or donation request letters.


Printing/Copying: If you are willing to print or photocopy some of the fliers or donation request letters and mail them to the committee leader, please let Abi know.


Day of Event Volunteers: We are also in need of volunteers for the day of the Bowl-a-thon. There are a number of jobs including set-up, running the auction and raffle tables, helping with payments, lunch, team pictures, etc. These volunteers will need to be at the event venue at 8:00 a.m. on bowl-a-thon day and stay to assist with clean up. We also will have a mandatory training day a week before the event to ensure that all volunteers are familiar with their responsibilities and can have questions about the event answered in advance.

Thank you so much to all of you for reading this and considering volunteering. It really means a lot to everyone involved. We look forward to hearing from you soon!


Update on the eBay auctions:
We are making progress, but things haven't gone as we hoped they would. However, all of the items have now been photographed and descriptions written. We have someone to put the items on eBay. We're still working on one small detail, getting the items shipped. As soon as that is worked out, the auctions should be a go! Andrea is scheduled to talk to Sarah this weekend to see what the date for the auctions to start is looking like. We do appreciate your patience and interest in the auctions!


Our website, http://www.bowl4fsma.org, is temporarily down due to technical difficulties. We have been talking to the site host to figure out what the problem is.


Celebrity Brunch:
We will be looking at brunch locations next week, so we should have more info on that aspect of the event soon.


The next committee meeting will be March 4th. We will be discussing the Brunch, fees for this year, and registration.


We look forward to seeing you all in October!


The Planning Committee

jero

The Planning Committee held their monthly meeting last Saturday. Of the decisions that were made, most things will remain the same as last year. However there is one significant change...


This year we will not be selling spectator tickets at the door.

Participants will be able to purchase Guest tickets on our website for their non-bowling family and friends that wish to watch the event. Guests will be subject to the same rules that spectators were in the past. The only way to attend as a non-bowling guest is to have a registered participant order the Guest ticket for you. Non-participants can not order tickets themselves.

We were going to eliminate spectators all together, but we would still like participants to be able to bring family and friends with them. So, those are the only spectators that will be allowed. People not invited by participants will not be able to attend the event.

We have never had an outstanding number of spectators to begin with and in looking at it, it seems to have caused more problems than there are benefits.

For one, a good number of the spectators we did have were professional autograph hounds and tried to get 20 autographs from a lot of the celebs. It is an uncomfortable situation for the celebs and we don't want that.

We also realized that spectators constantly asking for pics and autographs takes away the participants' (who are paying more to be there) time with the celebs and slows down the bowling. We want the participants to have the maximum time they can with the celebs, and it seems spectators take away from that.

There is no limit on Guest tickets, as long as it's the participant that is purchasing them. We will be checking the purchasers' names and will make it clear on the order page that non-participants should not be buying them because we will not honor the order, even though money has been sent.

At check in the participants will be given the Guest tickets. If your Guest(s) will be arriving after you, you will be able to drop off their ticket(s) at a will call table. You will need to give us the name(s) of your Guest(s) so the right person(s) get the ticket(s).

Guest Tickets:
Adults (14 and up): $25.00
Children 9-13: $12.00
Children 3-8: $6.00
Children under 3: Free


The fees to participate will remain the same as last year.

Adults (age 14 and up) :
Participant fee: $85.00
Early Bird participant fee: $75.00 (if registered by 7/31/06)
Parent or sibling of child with SMA participant fee: $65.00

Children:
These children's' fees are only applicable if accompanying a paying adult participant. All children must be registered to participate, regardless of age, if they plan to go down to the bowling lanes.
Ages 9-13: $45.00
Ages 3-8: $25.00
Under age 3: Free
Children with SMA: Free


Registration will start on Zeke's 6th birthday...
June 20th 2006!


The first 25 to sign up this year will again receive a coupon to double the number of raffle tickets they purchase. (i.e. if you buy 10 raffle tickets, we'll give you ten more free!)


The Celebrity Brunch is looking very exciting! We are still discussing the schedule and what activities will take place there. The location, and therefore the price should be finalized this week. We do know that the price won't be more than the BAT price. We will be offering a discounted price for those registering to attend both. The brunch will most likely be about 3 hours long.


For those making travel plans, just a reminder that IF we have a dinner with some of the celebrities to auction off at the BAT, it will most likely be held the next day (Sun. 10/29) in the late afternoon/early evening, maybe 4 or 5pm (after the brunch). This is not a definite plan, just a guess. So, if you might be interested in bidding on that, plan to leave Los Angeles no earlier than Sunday night around 8pm.


We're looking into a different way for sponsors to donate online and for participants to post how their fundraising is going. More details later, when we know more about it.


That's it for now. As always, let me know if you have any questions, concerns, suggestions, or want to volunteer to help out!


Later,

jero

Hello Everyone!


Sorry for the delay in sending this newsletter. We were hoping to finalize more things, but it just hasn't worked out that way.


***Please click on this link http://www.internationalvoting.com/i...cgi?pid=33-327 to answer our poll question. We are trying to gage the interest in each event so that we can be prepared and things will run smoothly. Thanks!***


Sign-ups: This year we will be running sign-ups and payments through a website called First Giving. The sign up form will be similar to past years' forms, but payment will have to be made at the time of signing up. You will basically be purchasing your ticket to attend at that time. There will be a link from our BAT (short for bowl-a-thon) sign up page to the site where you can register for either or both events (the BAT and the Brunch).

Once you register you can create a personal fundraising page. You basically just fill in the blanks and can even add pictures. Once your page is created, the site will generate an e-mail for you, detailing your fundraising efforts, that you can send to as many people as you like. There is a link in it that takes people directly to your fundraising page where they can sponsor you online.

All of the money raised via this method will go directly to FSMA and count in our contests. Your page will keep a running total for you and you can also add funds you have raised offline to the total. A thank you e-mail will automatically be sent to each of your sponsors. FSMA used this site last year for their national Walk-n-Roll events and are using it again this year. It was a big success for them. The site owners have found that people tend to donate more via this method, and as participants you can reach a wider number of potential sponsors. We are hoping that this helps us all raise more money for FSMA.

If you would like to see a sample event page and fundraising pages please visit www.firstgiving.com/curesma . This is the Walk-n-Roll event landing page. From there you can click on any of the top fundraisers pages in the right column to see how they work.


Team Pictures: This year we will have the official photographer take the pictures. No personal cameras will be used. The film will be taken and developed at a one hour lab. This way we can bring the prints back to everyone while they are still on their lanes bowling. This will speed up the process of taking the pictures and ensure that everyone gets a high quality picture.

We also decided that when a whole team has arrived, they can get a number for the team pic line. This way they can look around at the auction/raffle stuff and get settled rather than waiting in line the whole time. We will then call numbers to report to the line when we are ready to start the pics. :o)


Check-in: Check in will run in the same manner, since it was much better this past year. If we use drink and food tickets again, we will make them bigger this year to ensure they do not get lost in the packets.


Guest Tickets: When participants order their guest tickets, they will not need to provide us with names. The day of the event, the correct number of tickets will be in their participant file. At that time the participants will take the tickets to the will call table. There the guests names will be put on the wristbands and they can be picked up at any time by the guest.


The Brunch was also discussed, but some details need to be ironed out before announcing the specifics.


Look for one of last year's celebrities, Sam Sarpong on his new show "Yo Mamma". It's on 5 nights a week on MTV. Sam is one of the hosts along with Wilmer Valderamma from "That 70's Show".


Later,

Berengaria

Thanks for keeping us informed,Jero. Very interested in all the details as they develop.

Ms Carolyn

I think what everyone is really wanting to know is whether or not Jesse Spencer will take off his shirt again. Not me, of course. Just everyone else!

jero

I guess I could ask Garrett to ask him if he would... Nah, he's such a sweetie, I'm sure he would.

Later,

Berengaria

You sound like you have been at a BAT before, Ms.C....have you?

This year will be my first.

jero

Not really anything to report right now... But I have a request!


I'M GONNA NEED SOME PEEPS TO HELP ME.

The thing is, right now I don't have a lot to do for the BAT. So I've started BAT threads on FF and some other message boards. (With the necessary permissions of course. )

Here's the list of FF boards that have BAT threads:
Roswell
Shiri Appleby
Colin Hanks
Katherine Heigl
William Sadler
Nick Wechsler
Buffy
Joan of Arcadia
House, MD

On these boards a post is made on the Off Topic thread telling people that an update was posted on the Roswell board:
Emilie de Ravin
Jason Behr

When sign ups start about a month from now, I won't be able to keep up with those threads. It's all I can do to process the sign ups on a timely basis.

I'm going to need people to post the updates for me. I'm looking for people that visit one (or more) of those boards on a regular basis. If 11 people are willing to each take one board, that's all I'll need. You don't have to be planning to attend the BAT (of course ALL are invited), just copy and post the update when I email it to you.

Can anyone help me out?

Later,

Berengaria

I'll handle the William Sadler board for you Jero.

jero

An update on my quest for helpers...


Roswell ~ Thanette
Shiri Appleby ~ Noseedough
Colin Hanks ~ magikhands1
Katherine Heigl ~ magikhands1
William Sadler ~ Berengaria
Nick Wechsler ~ maxkyleshpr
Joan of Arcadia ~ Just Peachy.
House, MD ~ chrissy1302
Blu5 ~ Berengaria
Thank you all soooo much!
We'll be doing a test post very soon.

No one volunteered for these yet...
Emilie de Ravin
Jason Behr
Buffy
Scifi.com
M. B.

_O_WELL... At least the majority are covered!

Later,

Berengaria

If it helps,I could easily do Jason Behr's and Emilie De Ravin's boards too.

jero

Thanks gang for taking on more threads!

Roswell ~ Thanette
Scifi.com ~ Thanette

Shiri Appleby ~ Noseedough
Emilie de Ravin ~ Noseedough

Jason Behr ~ magikhands1
Colin Hanks ~ magikhands1
Katherine Heigl ~ magikhands1

William Sadler ~ Berengaria
Buffy ~ Berengaria
Blu5 ~ Berengaria

Nick Wechsler ~ maxkyleshpr
Joan of Arcadia ~ Just Peachy.
House, MD ~ chrissy1302

I'll do my best to cover M. B.

Later,

Berengaria

Glad to help out.Looking forward to the update myself.

Berengaria

Just thought I'd pass along a small but somewhat exciting update...

The planning committee has decided to have a contest
for designing this year's official bowl-a-thon t-shirts!


The committee will choose the winning design at the July meeting. The
design will become that of this year's t-shirts. We prefer submissions
be sent via e-mail to andrea@bowl4fsma.org. However, if that is not
possible, they can be mailed to our PO Box:

Zeke Lerner Celebrity Bowl-a-thon
c/o Andrea Rosenthal
P.O. Box 2706
Toluca Lake, CA 91610

*All designs need to be received by
Thursday, July 6th, 2006.*

I don't have any specifics on what needs to be included, how many
colors you can use, dimensions of the design, etc...

But I CAN tell you what was on last
year'sshirt...

Strike Out SMA
One Pin at a Time
{graphic of bowling ball knocking down bowling pins)
3rd Annual
Zeke Lerner Celebrity Bowl-a-Thon
For Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
{date of event}
AMF Rocket Bowl - Chatsworth, CA

The shirts were light sky blue and all the printing was in black.

There's no guarantee that they'll want the same info on this year's
shirts... That's just to give you some idea of what was on past
shirts.

So get your creative juices flowing and start thinking about a
design!
~~~~~