For several years, even before I took out on my own with RavenWood Creative I was helping a charity with its marketing materials and graphic design. The charity was called Crossing the Finish Line and it helps adult cancer patients get away for a week-long respite from doctor’s appointments, chemotherapy, and the drag that cancer has on a family. I had a personal reason to help. I went to high school and college with its founder Pete Bossow and his then girlfriend and future wife Marci. Pete died at the age of 30 from a rare form of testicular cancer, but before he did friends and family gathered to raise money to send Marci and Pete on a little getaway. Little do we know then that that simple beef and beer would become a movement that Pete with his dying wish and Marci with the tenacity of a badger would take and run with.

Ten years later and hundreds of families later the charity had a problem… Crossing the Finish Line (CFL) with its nautical theme and sailboat logo didn’t mean anything beyond the close circle of friends and family that were there when the charity began. The was a disconnect and lots of confusion, was it a sailing charity, running charity or confused with Canadian Football? So CFL set out on an arduous task to re-brand itself and set itself up for expansion and more success. I’m glad I was there to help them decide on a new URL name, tweak the logo and the look of their marketing materials and RavenWood Creative will continue to do so as the charity continues to help patients and families, “take a break from cancer.”

Below is a letter that President and Founder Marci Schankweiler recently sent to announce the change. Congratulations For Pete’s Sake.

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Dear Friends,

I write today to share incredibly important news with you.

After many years of discussions, formal research, substantial guidance from marketing professionals, significant soul-searching and prayer, I have decided to rename our organization. I am very excited about this change!

Over the years, we have received substantial feedback that our name, Crossing the Finish Line, didn’t clearly communicate our mission or service. Many people thought we were a running organization, and some questioned why a running organization would have a sailboat logo. Others thought that perhaps we only serviced young adults with a terminal diagnosis. Most didn’t know the inside story of the name in that it came from the lips of my late husband Pete Bossow about one month before he died of cancer. Collectively, the overall sentiment was that our name, while beautiful and meaningful, did not capture the essence of our mission.

Our formal name, beginning today, becomes For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation. We will most often brand ourselves as For Pete’s Sake, accompanied by a simple, yet effective tagline that quickly communicates what we do:

For Pete’s Sake, Take a Break from Cancer.

In developing the new name, we:

1. ensure that Pete, who is our inspiration and guiding force, will always be at the center (literally!) of our organization;

2. communicate what we do in a concise manner to current and potential donors—give cancer patients and their loved ones a break from cancer;

3. differentiate ourselves as the only cancer respite foundation for young adults and their families in the United States;

4. provide a communication platform that can easily translate to our diverse audiences such as donors, patients, oncologists, social workers, etc.;

5. grab attention and leave an impression with marketing; and

6. lay the foundation to take our organization to new heights by serving more and more people every year.

Eleven years ago when I lost Pete, the visionary of this organization, I didn’t know much of what my future would bring. Today, with the unyielding love and support l have received from you, we have provided respite vacations to thousands of cancer patients and their loved ones. We have received national recognition from People magazine for our work. We have begun to solidify partnerships with travel industry icons such as Southwest Airlines and CheapCaribbean.com to serve more people in more places. And we stand on the cusp of realizing our dream of serving record numbers of waiting families that desperately need a break from the cancer battle.

To do this, we need to simply and effectively communicate what we do and how we are different from any other non-profit in the country. This letter is the first of many ways that we will communicate our unique program and our new name and tagline.

Please check out our new website, www.takeabreakfromcancer.org. You’ll see immediately that the people you have generously helped are prominently featured all over the site. My hope is that you view it knowing that you’ve played an integral role in giving them a break from cancer.  I deeply appreciate your support.

Fondly,

Marci Schankweiler

FPS Founder and President

P.S. Many thanks to the following companies for their support in our branding process: Sides Media, Vault Communications, Princeton Partners, Modern Graphics,RavenWood Creative, iBeast Business Solutions, Inc. and Stellarpoint Group. I encourage you to visit their websites and witness firsthand the talents they offer!