On November 20th, the Victoria Curling Club played host for my fundraising event. I worked so hard to make it happen, and for the week leading up to the event was like I was living a nightmare. I imagined no one showing up, no one bidding on the silent auction items, and not even raising enough money to cover the cost of the event! I think Jerry Michael saw that stress in me a few days before the event, as he casually reminded me that I was "just trying to be a good host." With those words I was able to calm down a bit and realize that I was just trying to make sure everyone had a good time. My efforts seemed to have payed off!! This was an event that I worked harder on than any event I have run in the past.
The only analogy I can use comes from the quote from Field of Dreams, you know the one, "If you build it they will come." With the help of Daniel Goodfellow, we built it, and more people than I could have imagined came!
Daniel and I managed to keep costs to run the event down as low as possible. My uncle Stan helped with the hall rental, Anna's friend Cris saved us money DJing, Daniel donated on the food order, and Victoria Print Press helped out with a deal on printing the tickets.
The silent auction was a huge success as well. There were 23 gifts to bid on, and every item had at least one bidder. I just want to take some time now to recognize all the sponsors to the event:
Sea Cider
Booster Juice
Cobs Bread
Panago Pizza
Ooh La La Cupcakes
Thats Hot Salon
Pharmasave
Fish Hair Salon
Safeway
Christies Pub
Shine Cafe
Silk Road
Spinnakers - Sips Bistro
Moksha Yoga
Red Robin
Leanne Chamberlain - Mary Kay
Debbie Janes - CPGA Teaching Professional
Highland Pacific Golf Course
Avril Crockatt - RMT
Jack Thame - Donations of Whale Watching Certificates
Thank you, I couldn't have done it without the sponsors. Please read the list and make sure you support the businesses that helped me!
With the night moving along smoothly, Cris Heath took the microphone and welcomed everyone to the evening. He did an amazing job throughout the night as the MC, and because of his efforts, the announcements all went smoothly.
Anna led off the speeches by highlighting her experience in Kenya, and she was able to give the audience some perspective of where their money was going to. She asked everyone to look at the drink they had in front of them. With an average $5 value, she reminded us that 8 children could see a doctor for that amount in Kenya, as children pay only .60 cents for a visit. I was very honored that Anna spoke, as she has been such a huge support and influence for me taking on this trip.
Alright, it was my turn to get on the mic. For what it is worth, I have done speeches before, a fair bit actually, but never anything like this. I wanted to tell everyone how thankful I was for them being there, and upon trying to do just that, I was able to look up and catch so many amazing faces in the crowd. This was the moment I realized how much love and support I have in my life, and it was really difficult for me to hold back the tears. After composing myself for a moment, I was able to explain how special it is for me to have a dream and a goal, and to now be able to share the dream with so many other people. My personal dream became our dream, and I will try my best to share it with everyone along the way!
The silent auction was a success, raising $925 dollars
Tickets were sold at the the door by April, who did an incredible job welcoming people all night!
The tickets were sold by donation with a suggested donation of $5. After tallying the ticket total, guests bought tickets for an average of $8 dollars a ticket! AMAZING!
My dad, Jack, did an outstanding job running a 50/50 draw as well.
He ran the total to $170, and announced for one last push to get the amount up to $100 for the winner and $100 toward the project. He was easily successful, as about 5 minutes later we were drawing for a $100 prize.
Melissa Anderson was the lucky winner of the draw!
The night turned out to be a HUGE success! After costs were covered to host the event, the money was collected and $1225 was collected to take to Africa!
I am looking forward to another post soon, as I just found out my placement in Tanzania!
