6 posts tagged “fund raising”

The silent auction didn’t go very well.  The crowd never came.  Our cell group came, and another few friends, but that was it.  And we had advertised and done quite a few things to get the word out.  We had fun but we all knew that this is not what we’d worked so hard to create for a fund raiser.  People kept apologizing to me, as if any of us could fix it.  I was ok with it during the event, but after our friends left there was no more point in keeping the disappointment at bay.  I was very down about it.  Hubby was sad also.  We went home dragging.

We got some tremendous donations of items for the auction so I faced down the daunting task of working out what those precious people wanted done with their donations.  Some took them back and others said for us to keep them and continue to try to sell them.  A guy gave us his $200 guitar and another friend told us to clean out the garden center that he’d closed a while back so we had lots of gardening books and accessories.  We did finally sell the guitar and we still have lots of garden center stuff left.  I have a lot of artwork and jewelry left but I don’t think that’s a big deal. 

I didn’t know it, but Pastor got on the phone with the Elders and got approval for us to price the work that didn’t sell and leave it out for Sunday morning.  And he made two announcements during the service for people to come over after the service and shop.  My Dad came back to take the money again and people came through and bought up quite a bit of the stuff.  There is still lots left.  I haven’t heard what the final total was, I’ll probably get a call about that tomorrow.

I feel kind of silly in a number of ways.  I spent an entire day working with a few other women making decorated sugar cookies – working late into the night and well after my back had started to kill me… only to sell them for a very low price Sunday morning.  And I busted my bum after the cookies to make a bunch of chocolate - back still in pain.  I put together plates of chocolate to sell and I still have most of that.  And it’s perishable so it really must be used right away.  So I don’t know what to do about that but it may be as simple as a visit to the Mission.

People helped us.  Donna baked cookies, never once using the timer.  They were all perfect.  Her husband Ed walked in Saturday evening, saw the dishes and just started washing my dishes.  That just blew me away!  And Brenda and Dave made all the auction sheets, that took quite some time.  And Marta helped me unpack and display all the stuff.  Jane and Rachel helped me decorate cookies after a long day at work for Jane.  I think she was already very tired, but she stayed and helped me.  My parents came and helped, Dad took the money and Mom put out the food.  They brought food for the reception but it was barely touched.  One couple placed a bid well over the retail price on a piece of my art glass.  I brought the retail price to her attention and she said they knew that, they just wanted to bless us.  About made me cry.  I'm amazed at these people.  We have some amazing friends.  It wasn't that long ago that I wouldn't have been able to say that, our move to this area is still quite recent. 

I guess I’ll chalk it up to the economy.  People were very willing to give us the stuff they had but with extreme gas prices and such, it was easier to give us stuff than to make purchases I guess.  It makes the donations that did come in even sweeter. 

I got a number of suggestions on how to improve the event so that people would come.  I wasn’t entirely open to hearing those things after my humiliation.  But people want to be helpful.  One woman was convinced that we needed to hold the sale on a Saturday morning, during yard sale hours.  And advertise to the yard sale crowd.  I wanted to tell her that yard sale shoppers are not my demographic, but I played nice.  And one lady wanted us to take over a room in the church and always have it open after church for people to go shopping.  (NOT going to happen.)  Anyway, it is what it is.  And mostly I’m just grateful that it’s over.  We’ll go back Monday to pack up the leftovers.  Where on earth am I going to put all this stuff?!

In the end, all this work and even the humiliations along the way will be nothing compared to actually holding our children in our arms.  No matter what, it will be worth it to bring home our children.  Whatever it takes.  Yes. Whatever. It. Takes.

Well, the big fundraiser weekend is over and I’m sitting at my desk feeling rather amazed about the whole thing! 

I got off work Friday and went straight over to the church to get started wrapping up details.  I decorated sugar cookies and worked on displays in the fellowship hall.  There were a number of friends there working on pulling together the donations for a huge yard sale.  They worked until late and it was fun to have their company in the fellowship hall as we worked.  My in-laws arrived from Indiana and even though they looked quite tired, Hubby’s mom helped set out jewelry boxes and a variety of other things.  Hubby and his dad went off to bring us some ice cream and we sat for a while with the marvelous flavors they brought from a new ice cream shop in town.  Yummm...  I worked for a bit longer and then we sent the in-laws to my parent’s home for the night. 

Saturday morning I took my time getting going because I was tired from a long week of preparation.  Hubby’s mom arrived and started to help me finish up some chocolate and put together the last of the displays in the fellowship hall.  Hubby’s dad and hubby spent most of the day working on a few things around the house, including a new faucet in the bathroom and a new valve on the water heater and the window air conditioner installed.  Hubby and father-in-law went for Sub sandwiches for dinner and as we were finishing up my parents arrived with the fruit and vegetables.  The Mothers put out the chocolate as I showed them where it went and we put out all the other munchies as well.  As we were finishing up the food displays and lighting candles, the first guests started to arrive.  And at 7:00 when the fund raiser was officially starting, there were maybe 4 or 5 guests.  After a while though, the numbers started to swell and we had a crowd. 

A friend of mine is a professional violinist and she brought along a friend who plays harp and they played music for the event and really did a lovely job!  What a blessing they are and a beautiful addition to the evening!

At about 8:00 we showed the video that I made a while back giving some of our history in this journey toward parenthood.  I watched people watching the video and was blessed by how people allowed themselves to connect emotionally with it.  I think it is a lot to swallow in the five minutes of the video since it represents an often painful journey, but at least it is mercifully short.  I found myself comforting my friends who were moved by my story.  How’s that for a strange twist?!

The Art

I had small tables with a jewelry and artwork of a variety of media.  I also had a table where I had old jewelry that was significantly reduced in price.  The SALE table.  That may well have been the hit of the evening.  Most of the time there were ladies huddled around that table trying things on and giving each other feedback.  It was fun to interact with the people the same way I did when I had the gallery.  I could help them choose things that looked good on them, and make suggestions on things they should try on.  It was a very interesting evening and I really enjoyed interacting with “clientele” again.  And I saw quite a bit of that jewelry Sunday morning in church – which was a delightful surprise in some cases because I did not take care of the money so I had no idea who had purchased what.  I really enjoyed that.

The Chocolate

We had a whole table of just chocolate.  I had made twelve kinds of truffles and caramels and my Mom brought another three kinds in addition to the cookies that both of us made.  And because there were so many choices, people may have been a little overwhelmed.  So I found them gathered around the table making recommendations to each other on which ones “you just have to try!”  I heard special compliments on the lemon truffle and the marzipan which was a favorite of quite a few folks.  Surprisingly, the dark chocolate truffle with cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper was a favorite for quite a few people.  I was very surprised by that but it is a completely unique flavor to an American palette.  And of course the South American dulce de leche cashew was widely favored.  Yummmmm!   My very favorite truffle of them all (a Hazelnut crème) never actually made it to the table though we did use it in the assortments that we made.  And a friend of mine later remarked that the chocolate wasn’t like home-made chocolate, it was like a cute boutique chocolate – “you know, the good stuff.”  That was a really sweet compliment and it felt really good to hear that. 

Before the event we made plates that had one of each kind of chocolate.  We carefully wrapped them up and set them aside for people who had ordered via email.  I’ll be mailing these out this week to friends, plus we sent some via family members.  It will be fun to hear how these go over with those who receive them over the next few days or so.

At the end of “Art & Chocolate” I went to my dad who had been manning the check out station.  I asked him about the total and he had me guess.  My guess was low.  Hubby had a number in his mind that he was hoping for.  And when my Dad showed him the figure, it was double what hubby had hoped for!  Yeah, talk about dropping my chin to the floor.  My response was “holy cow!” but we quickly changed it to “hallelujah!”  It had been a small and very casual crowd, they were comfortable and enjoyed each other’s company.  And they blessed us WAY beyond our expectations!  I have not seen the checks, and I don’t know who gave what.  My dad took care of all of that.  But it really packs a bunch when you see a big figure and know it translates into being that much closer to bringing our children home.  What an amazing thing is unfolding in my life!

The crowd thinned out and I started packing up the artwork and jewelry.  And the Mothers worked on the leftover chocolates, putting them out on plates in nice assortments and my Father-in-law carefully wrapped each one in plastic wrap.  We had 25 or so of these assortments prepared after the event.  So we gained permission and made a quick announcement in church Sunday morning that they would be available in the fellowship hall.  Well after the service let out, Hubby’s Mom and I quickly sold those plates to the crowd of people that were sucked in like magnets.  As people shoved cash my direction and wrote checks, it was another overwhelming moment for the weekend.  Some dear folks were just too late and it was gone.  People wrote checks for more than the chocolate, and some wrote checks without even taking any chocolate.  A friend looked me in the eye and asked me how I was doing.  I told her I was going to go home and bawl because I was overwhelmed.  She hugged me tight as I tried to pull myself together. 

After church, and after the chocolate blitz we went to my favorite place for lunch.  And then home where I folded my tired bod into my bed and vanished from consciousness until someone gently shook me and said it was time.  The in-laws, hubby and I drove up to my parents home, planted ourselves around the kitchen table and enjoyed leftovers from the event.  Fresh fruit (including kumquats – which I really like) and fresh vegetables.  We popped some of the lady finger popcorn that my in-laws buy and yes… we shared a plate of chocolates.  Yummm!  Still good!  We talked and played Rook (an ethnic Mennonite card game) into the night.

I’m humbled and amazed.  Really!  I’m trying to take lots of photographs and write it all down.  I can’t trust my memory to keep it.  Our children need to know how much anticipation and generosity went into bringing them home.  If they can understand the miracle that brings them to us at some point in their lives... well, that will indeed be a beautiful thing!  For now I’m struggling to get my own mind around it.  Humbled.  And Amazed.

Well, I love creating big events.  I really enjoy the challenge of creating a celebration that people will enjoy.  I haven’t done this since the Katrina Benefit concert and I’m feeling all kinds of insecurities with this one.  I don’t mind raising money for any good cause – but when the money goes to benefit me, (well, our adoption) suddenly I’m all bashful.  I’ve been just thinking of these events as a way to share the joy of this adoption with our friends and family, I just have to stay focused on that.

I’ve really been through the ringer with this event though, so many fears and insecurities have really been playing leap frog through my head.  What if the (name of family from church) family shows up with their (I can’t remember how many) unfettered children?  They’d make short work of a bunch of dainty chocolate, those kids have skills!  And there is that dear sweet man that puts away a whole huge portion of desert in the time it takes him to walk from the buffet back to his table.  Then it’s time to go back and fill that empty plate.  Suddenly I’m frightened of a grown man and little grabby children!?!  THEY should be afraid of ME!  LOL!

On the flip side, I’m terrified that my mother may be right.  Oh, she says I’ve made waaaay too much.  And she doesn’t like the flavors I made and on and on.  Hubby thinks people may treat the truffles like M&M’s.  I even fear that there is a chance that we went to all this trouble for a very small crowd.  But I’ve made flavors that I think are really really good, so if there are lots and lots of leftovers I’ll just pretend I’m a member of the above mentioned family.  And then I’ll pack up a bunch up to give away to people I like.

The in-laws are coming, the in-laws are coming.  Yeah, the same father-in-law who wants to ask the owner of the gallery why that painting isn’t $8 instead of $4000.  He’s an adorable sweet little man, but “Art & Chocolate” isn’t exactly his thing.  And Hubby’s Mom will be a big help with food and clean up.  And when the event is over, I’ll be vanishing to nap for a nice long while and leaving the in-laws for Hubby to entertain.  That will be lovely.

Come to think of it, I have conservative Mennonite family members who may feel a little uncomfortable with this event.  I make my living selling things like jewelry – which is something they don’t wear because of their scriptural convictions.  And their church doesn’t allow musical instruments and we’ll have a violin and harp duo there.  I am free to create my work outside their realm, indeed I feel that I have a scriptural mandate to release the beauty of God in the earth.  I happen to do that through jewelry and I have no apologies for anyone on that.

So even with all my insecurities and fears, I am going to make it through this event.  It was great to read R.G. Ryan’s post this morning and it really helped me to kick in some perspective.  I AM GOING (pant!) to MAKE IT (pant pant!) through (pant, pant!) this event!  It’s Art & Chocolate – what’s not to love?!  And if it is horrible, I’ll go home and take a pain pill and go to bed.  And then it really will be sweet.

With a nod to R.G. Ryan’s “Toxic Thought” post this morning, here is a fresh perspective.  You see, the truth of this event is simple.  I’m an artistically gifted individual.  Don’t worry – that’s not as arrogant as it sounds.  Cause I know that this gift did not come from me so I can’t take the credit.  We ARE ALL GIFTED in some way or another as God chooses.  I happen to be able to create art and people don’t seem to have any problem buying it up.  I happen to love sharing really marvelous chocolate, and I know that sometimes people really don’t mind buying that either.  (At least I don’t mind shelling out big bucks for the good stuff.)  And when it came time to celebrate the fact that it seems that God is FINALLY going to allow us to become a family – well – what better way to celebrate than to share a bit of who we are with our friends and family?  So yeah, I’ve had a real time of it with this event.  I’ve been very insecure and afraid at times.  But that doesn’t change the pure and simple truth of the purpose of the evening.  We are going to be who we are and share ourselves with our friends and family as they share in the process of bringing home our children.  And I think that’s cool.  No matter how freaked out I am about it. 

I am soooo tired and the pain killers I took earlier didn’t even phase the back pain.  I know I was supposed to be pacing myself but I guess that didn't work out so good.  I am working at bringing together details for our fund raiser this Saturday evening.  I’ve got more work to do between now and then and I really hope I can get it all done.  I’ll have help the night of the event and that is great.  My in-laws will arrive Friday night.  So on top of everything else we need to get the house looking good enough for guests.  I know that the event will be fun and we’ll enjoy ourselves.  And it should be fun to see how people respond to the chocolate we’ve worked so hard on.  And I know that afterwards I’m going to be really really tired.  But we’ll have guests, even after the party is over.  And Sunday afternoon when I’d like to sleep for four hours to recover from this incredibly long week?  We’ll still have guests.  I have thought about it.  And it’s just going to have to be ok for me to not play the hostess this time.  I am not happy about it.  But I’m thinking that’s just going to have to be the way it is this time.  I'm not built for marathons.  Who am I kidding?  I'm not even built for a good sprint.

I’m working on fund raising events for April, May and June here in Virginia.  There will be one in July in Indiana as well.  We chose to do three because I love planning events, we think bringing home our kids is a really big deal, (LOL!) and it gives people options for their calendar and interests.

Plans for the “Art & Chocolate” event are coming along. 

We’ll be serving chocolate, fruits and vegetables and Colombian coffee at the event so come prepared to enjoy an array of flavors.  I’ve been working on some formulas for truffles and chocolates.  I stumbled across some “dulce de leche” which is a South American milk based caramel.  I’ll pair that with cashews and chocolate.  Another is a vanilla truffle that starts with steeping a vanilla bean in heavy cream for a while until the flavor develops.  The cream is used in a ganache that becomes the filling of a decadent truffle.  While imitation vanilla can be overbearing and overly sweet, the real thing is delicate and earthy and I love it!  Earl Grey is my favorite tea and I’ve been exploring a way to make an Earl Grey truffle that I think will be quite good.  I’m going to try a blueberry truffle idea later on today if I get the time.  And the marzipan that a friend made is divine!  I tried a bit of the marzipan with some of the chocolate that it will be dipped in and I nearly melted on the spot.  It was sooo good.  I’m also in love with the chocolate cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper truffle that I made.  I haven’t found anyone else that likes the idea yet, so I may be the only one eating those.  I guess I’d better make a big batch then.  LOL!  I’ve been enjoying the creative process of exploring flavor, texture and color combinations.  It’s outside my usual media but I love it.  And since I got pretty good at making chocolate years ago in the family business, I have the skills.  Chocolate and art are a few of our favorite things and this April 19^th event is our opportunity to share them with you.

I’m also working at putting together a collection of artwork that will be for sale at the event.  I’m planning to share a variety of media and proceeds from all purchases will benefit our adoption fund. 

• First and foremost there will be jewelry.  Lots of jewelry.  Mostly pearls, natural stones, Swarovski crystals, sterling silver and seed beads.  There will also be some hand made polymer clay beads in the collection.  This is all hand made artisan one-of-a-kind jewelry.
• I’d designed a line of cards from my watercolor and mixed media work.  These cards double as a display for a pair of matching earrings.  The combination of a pretty card, a fragment of poetry and a pair of earrings in an envelope make a beautiful gift for a friend.
• I’ll bring a collection of soaps.  Again, it is outside my usual media but it has been fun to toy with the combination of color, texture and fragrance.  And it’s great fun to have an exotic soap in the bath each morning plus they make marvelous little gifts any time you need a small token of appreciation.
• Recently I’ve explored a photography project in Staunton, Virginia.  I’ve taken photographs of local architecture with a specific focus on the letters of the alphabet.  These black and white photographs can then be arranged in words for a creative accent to the home.  I have about 100 photographs in the architectural series as well as a home series that were all taken inside my home, mostly in my kitchen.  I will bring examples of each letter to the event and guests can place orders for the letter combinations they would like. 
• Some of you have seen my line of watercolors with poems that I’ve written over the years and I’ll be offering this collection for sale at the event as well.  They are colorful, vibrant and heart felt.
• And if I get some time, I’ll package up some hand made polymer clay beads I’ve made and offer them for sale as well.

Once this Art & Chocolate event is over, I’ll be working full tilt on the Benefit Concert that we have scheduled for one month later.  I’m hoping that the details can come together in the short amount of time I’ll have to focus on it.  It will be a casual evening of music and entertainment that will be very diverse and interesting.

Our June fund raiser will be a Silent Auction.  This will be my chance to get out a bunch of odds and ends in my collection of artwork.  I’ve pieced many quilt tops over the years and Hubby’s Mom and Grandma’s are working very hard to see that some of these quilts are assembled and hand quilted in time for this auction.  These quilts are each in a variety of wall hanging sizes.  I’m really looking forward to seeing how they turn out.  I’ll also be bringing out oil paintings, pen and ink drawings, pencil drawings as well as leftovers from my season of working in art glass.  And of course there will be more jewelry and possibly some beads.  It is hard to tell what all else will turn up for this auction, but the evening will be very interesting. 

Would you like to help with our Silent Auction?  If you have something of value that you no longer need (no clothing please) please let us know.  I’m really curious to see how this event goes.  I’ve seen these done in the past and they can be very interesting and fun. 

Well, that about does it for my update.  I’ve got some work to do so I’d better get back at it.  It will be a very busy three or four months with these fund raisers, working at the adoption paper work, working and our various commitments.  It’s going to be fun.  Thanks all! 

I’m working on three fund raiser ideas for adoption fund raisers.  I have three ideas that I’m working on. 

First, Art & Chocolate which would be my chance to pull out all my gallery merchandise and set it up for people to purchase whatever they could possibly want.  We’d make up a bunch of chocolates and chocolate deserts (plus some healthy stuff) for snacks for the evening.  People can eat and browse and hopefully find good reasons to part with their hard earned money.  I can certainly price things at attractive price points.

Second, it seems like it would be fun to do a Prairie Home Companion kind of evening and invite all my musical and creative friends to come and sing/play and perform with me for the fun of it.  I could pretend I was Garrison Keeler for one evening.  At first I was thinking it would be the entertainment for a meal, but the focus would be more on the meal.  But after I thought about it I’m wondering if we shouldn’t put the emphasis on the performance and have light refreshments afterward for guests to hang around and enjoy each other.  Sounds fun, right?  Sounds fun to me and hubby would certainly be busy running sound for the event.  It’s both of us in our element – me on stage and him at the sound board - so why not?!

Finally, I thought of a silent auction.  I’ve got all sorts of stuff I’ve made that someone else might be interested in – if we could find the right someone’s.  And I could hit up my artist friends for donations.  Everyone else hits up artists when it’s time to raise money… so maybe pegging that one frustration of this line of work might not really be appreciated – I don’t know.  But I always look at those kinds of donation requests as a chance to unload something I hate that didn’t sell for me but still has some value.  We could also invite in all the people we know who do Pampered Chef, Tupperware and whatever else people are selling these days.  They can donate whatever they want from their sales to our adoption fund.  I think this idea could work. 

We’re working with the dates of April 20^th, June 14^th and May 24^th.  It was hard to find dates that would work for us just because of my work schedule and wedding cakes that are always scheduled on weekends.  Some of the weekends this summer are going to be pretty intense for me in the bakery.  I’m hoping I’ve got what it takes physically to do that and these fund raisers.