Recap - 2025 KCA regional Challenge: Austin

Team – 2025 KCA Regional Challenge: Austin

Team Captain – Annamaria Scaccia, 2-time cancer survivor and Member, KCA’s Patient & Caregiver Advisory Council

Location – Lake Pflugerville Park, Pflugerville, Texas

Date – April 12, 2025

Attendees: 11

Fundraising Goal – $3,000

Amount Raised – $3,284

Activity – 81-minute walk around Lake Pflugerville

Event Highlights – My favorite highlight was seeing everyone show up and stay fully engaged throughout the event. I let folks know they could walk at their own pace and didn’t have to stay together, but instead, we moved as one group and finished around the same time. That meant the world to me. It showed just how much everyone cared about the cause and wanted to be there.

Some participants brought their families, and they jumped in wholeheartedly. They wore orange, stuck with the walk, and brought this incredible energy that lifted the whole experience. At one point, strangers even stopped to ask what we were doing. Our banner and setup caught their attention, and it gave us a chance to talk about kidney cancer and why we were walking. It was such a powerful reminder that even a small group can make big waves.

What advice do you have for other event captains?

• Don’t go it alone. Build a small team. One of the best things you can do is form a committee. Whether it’s other survivors, friends, family, or coworkers, having a few people to help you plan, promote, and raise money makes the process way easier. You don’t have to do everything yourself.
• Ask for help early and often. Maybe you can’t find a venue. Maybe you aren’t sure how to get people to show up. If you’re stuck, reach out to KCA and let them know what you need. The same goes for your fellow hosts—don’t be afraid to ask for their opinions, to leverage their ideas, or to cross-promote your events.  They all want your event to succeed and can often help more than you think.
• Keep the event simple and accessible. A 5K is a great format because it’s easy to organize, familiar to most people, and doesn’t require a ton of resources. You don’t have to come up with something brand new or out of the box.
• Reach out beyond your circle. Start with your own network but also connect with local community groups, small businesses, fitness clubs, or health organizations. You never know who might be willing to support the cause. People are often excited to get involved when you give them the chance.
• Start promoting early. Give yourself time to spread the word. Post on social, hang flyers in local cafes, send emails to friends and coworkers, and connect with community media. The earlier you start, the more chances you have to build excitement and get people to commit.
• Get creative with sponsorships. Sponsors don’t always have to contribute money. Local businesses can help in other ways too. A coffee shop might donate drinks, a gym might offer free passes as prizes, or a print shop might cover banners. In-kind donations like these can cut down your costs, so don’t be afraid to make the ask.
• I’d reach out to my doctors to promote the event in their offices. Another thing I didn’t think of at the time was asking my doctors if they would help promote the event in their offices. They’re already connected to the cancer community and could have helped spread the word to others who might be interested in getting involved.

Final Comments

This year, we put together a more intentional and engaging setup (shoutout to fellow REA host Lindsay Walker for the great idea to highlight survivor stories). We added a donation station and a large event banner, which grabbed the attention of folks out for a run on the lake trail. Many stopped to see what was going on, and we got to share more about kidney cancer, survivorship, and KCA’s mission. It was an effective way to raise awareness and make the cause more visible.