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dear carol: while this is an admirable endeavor, please know what you're getting into. over the past six or seven years, i have had an art show, a pd day in the park, a golf outing and family fun day, and 3 walks along w/ a number of other fund raisers and awareness raisers. i would say that the first thing you should do is to form your committee because even the toughest parkie cannot do it all alone. the first order of business for your committee is to decide who gets the money you raise. there are plenty of worthy foundations and organizations out there: PDF (parkinsons disease foundation), NPF (national parkinsons foundation). Parkinson Alliance, APDA (American pd association)-and these are just a few. then you must decide if you want one of these organizations to sponsor your efforts because to collect monies from people, you need to either BE a tax-exempt entity or WORK UNDER the umbrella of one. this will allow you to collect money, offer donors tax exemption for contributing to your event and to either get insurance as a tax exempt group or use your sponsors insurance. this is a vital point-insurance in case someone is hurt (devastating but not unheard of) during or because of your event. The next thing that you must do is decide on a date for your event. you don't want it to interfere with any local and/or national [d event-this is because as the pd community becomes more and more connected, you can usually expect several or in my case, up to 50 or more pwp participants. when you have come to a decision about the date, then it is time to check with local government. you need to find out who you can apply to get a license for your event and then clear it maybe with the park board, the police department, and any other entity that you feel might have an interest in your event. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH-get the right permits and always err on the side of caution. if you are serving food or booze during your event, find out about the laws governing that activity. if you are providing outdoor music, understand what is involved with that. if you are hosting an auction or a raffle in co-ordination with your event, find out what needs to be done. next map out the route your walk will take-this is where the police are especially helpful. ask for their help and guidance as to hours when traffic is light and days w/o much pedestrian traffic. as to the details and the event particulars-you're bound only by your imagination. i have earned as much as $35,000 at one event-so it can be a profitable experience. just watch out because once you get the bug, it becomes addicting. best of luck in your endeavors and let me know, please, how it turns out. i hope that these basic thoughts will help you, i'm sure that you will run into plenty of things that i forgot in this brief narrative but remember-HAVE FUN! that's what it's all about. best, joan Joan Blessington Snyder 54/14 [log in to unmask] http://www.pwnkle.com/jes/jes_web/index.htm “Hang tough……..no way through it but to do it.” Chris in the Morning Northern Exposure ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn