How long have you been holding your event?
Our first event was held in October 2007. Then we did another tournament at a women’s show in Seaside in February 2008.  We are planning another event, probably for August 2008.

How has your event grown over the years?
The event in February was mostly made up of people who were new to Bunco –which was fabulous.  We are anticipating bigger crowds as we continue to host events and network with people to share the message, the purpose and the intent.

Do you set fundraising goals for each successive event?
Nope, we just decided we wanted to have fun –and the charity part was a bonus.  We just wanted to be able to send a check.

How much have you raised to date?
The numbers are not solidified yet for February 2008, but October 2007 collected $700 in cash and more than $1500 in donated prizes and services. 

What motivates you to organize Bunco For Breast Cancer events?
There are a lot of reasons.  The biggest one is that we are a group of women who play bunco together –all women over 18.  Many of us have been touched directly by Breast Cancer or some form of female reproductive cancer.   When our group decided we wanted to begin some sort of community/charity support, a breast cancer charity was a natural choice.  We selected BCRF because it was all research based.  We felt the education and promotion of awareness was well handled and research was where the money was needed.  In addition, the staff at BCRF was very supportive and helpful and did not dictate how we had to run our event.

Do you have a personal connection to the cause?
My mother died of Cervical cancer. Two of my aunts have had ovarian cancer another has had breast cancer. My mother-in-law is a breast cancer survivor. While we were planning our first event in October 2007, I was waiting to find out if I had breast cancer (my 2nd scare).  I know many, many people who are in the same position as me, so I feel its very personal.

Do you have any words of wisdom for first-time event organizers?
It has to be fun –if it’s not fun for you, it won’t be fun for your attendees.  Passion is contagious!  We committed to playing no matter how many attendees we had and we did – and had a fantastic time each time.  We made new friends,  played a game we loved and just happened to raise money at the same time!

Also, make sure you check what your state requirements are for fundraisers (we ran in to some issues with Portland gambling laws).   We ended up having to scrap our initial plans and totally revamp –which could have been an event killer but instead was quite the adventure.

We also did not take it all too seriously.  It was a charitable event – not a world summit.  We were flexible, easy going and made sure that FUN was the focus.

To what extent does The Breast Cancer Research Foundation figure in your decision to hold a Bunco For Breast Cancer event?

This is most definitely a key factor.  The fact that BCRF focuses solely on research and so much of their funds go directly there (we researched BCRF fully before committing) was critical.  The fact that BCRF already hold the copyright on Bunco For Breast Cancer was a bonus because we did not have to worry about infringement issues.  The support and partnership the BCRF offers our group was integral.  We had originally approached a different organization but they wanted to control too much of the event and raised integrity worries which we never had with BCRF.

See pictures from Cristina's latest Bunco for Breast Cancer event!