Importing Email Addresses Is Fun!

Hi friends,

Hope you are all doing well. You don’t know me but I feel like I know you. I’ve been behind the scenes of Extra Life for the last two years directing the IT services and support. I oversee the IT operations for CMN Hospitals but you can think of me as the guy that makes Doc look good! HA

Stuff about me in case you care: I’m married to the woman of my dreams… I have a 20 month old boy who is a complete HAM... I have blonde hair but somehow grow a red beard which I hate… When I was growing up I was addicted to Command & Conquer, Red Alert, Tiberian Sun (shout out to my old clan Alpha Centauri)… I may also think I’m funnier than I really am. Enough about me this is about you and the great work you are doing.

For the next few months I will be giving you some tips and tricks for using Extra-Life.org and maybe even share my secret family white bean chicken chili with bacon recipe (you didn’t think I could work bacon into this blog post did you?)

This week we’ll be covering the Email Address Import Tool. The Email Address Import Tool is really handy if you use any type of webmail (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, etc.). The import tool will help you bring in all your email addresses from your webmail and save you countless of precious gaming hours by not needing to individually add email addresses by hand. After importing your address book you’ll be able bombard your friends, family, and even your nemeses with emails to participate or sponsor you in your Extra-Life quest.

Let’s begin

1. Make sure your computer is on, if it’s not, turn it on.

2. The second step is to go to the Extra-Life.org home page, from there you can log in to your Extra Life account at the top of the page

3. After logging in you’ll be taken to your fundraising dashboard. From your fundraising dashboard click on “Send Donor Invitations & Updates” that I so perfectly encircled in red:

4. At the top of the Send Donor Invitations & Updates screen you will see an “Import from Webmail” link:

5. Once you click, a list should have appeared as if by magic

6. On that list there are 8 different email providers you can chose from. Choose the provider that you use. When you click on the cool blue link, you have to sign into your selected email account. If you’ve followed instructions correctly you should see a list of all your email contacts. Go ahead import all those bad boys and personalize your message about why extra life is important to you and why you Extra Life.

7. Give yourself a high-five for completing the email address import tutorial!

Why I Extra Life

To be serious for a minute I’d like to tell you why I Extra Life. On May 18th, 2012, the bravest superhero I know and nephew of mine was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Extra Life - meet Colin

Colin is a happy 3 year old loved by his whole family and as you can imagine the news was devastating to all. Due to the chemo Colin can’t run around and play superhero outside like he used to. The chemo and drugs make his legs weak and immune system fragile. What hasn’t changed is his will to fight and his super powers of course.  Colin has a long journey ahead of him and the least I can do is Extra Life for 24 hours to help the 170 Children's Miracle Network Hospitals that treat kids like him.

If you don’t have a reason to Extra Life this year I encourage you to find your reason. At the very least know that your efforts do not go unnoticed and the money you are raising goes to help kids with superhuman strength like my nephew Colin.

Your friend,
Nick

P.S. If you don’t have a team and would like to join Team Colin click here.

Summer Fun

Hope you guys are having an awesome summer! It's been exciting for those of us on the Extra Life team at CMN Hospitals. We had an INCREDIBLE time at E3 in Los Angeles. Our wonderful friends at the show hooked us up with an amazing spot for our Extra Life booth to help spread the word about the cause. We were able to catch up with lots of Extra Life players and supporters and make some new friends.

While we were there, we teamed up with some of the gaming industry's finest to record fun videos we'll use to help encourage people to sign up. Stay tuned, they will be coming to a computer near you soon.


                   The lovely Frag Dolls, getting ready to rock their E3 recording

After E3, we were soon back in the the City of Angels to shoot a video with gaming legend Robert Bowling and actor & gamer Rick Malambri. This duo headed to our member hospital, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, to star in a video spot with a Miracle Child--one of our hospital patients who inspires all of us. The video will be released right here, on this blog, very soon.

We are a few months out from game day and the community is already amazing us with the amount of enthusiasm and support around Extra Life and the kids and families who are helped by it. From those of you signing up to play, to those making donations and everyone who is helping spread the word—thank you! You are making a difference in the lives of the kids who are, right this very minute, in a hospital room. These kids want to get home, have camp-outs, play hide and seek, swim, ride their bikes and enjoy the summer the way it's enjoyed the best: by kids.

 

Thanks for helping to make that happen.