Fundraising Adventures

Among the excitement of Stylists, music and acting preparation there was always an undercurrent of nagging reality---the three of us going to this event in Los Angeles required lots of money, thousands of dollars, even with me being given a free pass to attend. The JRP organization required specific payments on a rigid timeline in order for our family to move forward in this opportunity. In the detailed prep information we received from JRP regarding the iPOP event there was a lengthy section filled with fundraising.

I felt a continuous nagging sense of anxiety. How were we going to raise the thousands of dollars needed in a few short months? This was such a personal, non-traumatic activity, why would others want to financially help for our family ?

The first thing I chose to do was pray often, listen to the inspirational thoughts I felt and try to have faith. I also knew that the three of us had to feel like a team in order to make this work. I became the “idea” person of the team, Maria the money handler—she was always the best Banker when we played Monopoly…and James became the voice of reality reining me in by his very clear teenage perspective.

We had been told by JRP that one of the parents oversaw a concessions stand at Qwest field in Seattle. We could sign up to work during events there, with the proceeds of the evening being divided up among those who worked. Anyone we brought with us would be counted towards our efforts as well, the money would then be sent directly to our JRP account.

Qwest field is a mammoth sports facility where professional football and soccer games are held. Seattle is about a 2 hour drive one-way for us. To make it cost effective for us I knew that we would need to bring several friends with us each time we worked there in order for it to really pay off. Our adventures at the field will be the subject of another post.

In another approach to fundraising, I went to the director of the Chamber of Commerce in our town. Her family had also been involved in theater; lucky for me she was an avid supporter of both family and the Arts. She invited me to write a brief article for the Chamber’s monthly newsletter, which I did. This introduced our efforts to the business community. She also suggested specific businesses that might be supportive of displaying our music CD.

We made little CD display boxes and took them to a few stores that allowed us to place them on their counters. For a donation to our trip fund, patrons could take home a CD.

Also, I did a Google search for fundraising ideas and came upon a free site that allowed one to make a page with a photo regarding the funding need, and then it sent announcements via email to our friends; it also had a money collection point on the site. I was pretty excited about that idead. I made a neat little announcement with a pro looking photo of (heartthrob handsome) James, posted it and waited. We had a few contributors to it, but I realized that I needed to do a lot of promoting of the site to get the notice we needed.

Another good step in fundraising--I enlisted the help of an enthusiastic young woman, friend of our family, Melissa who added the needed support to our flagging spirits. She made phone calls for us and was a great sounding board, always positive that we would be successful.

We held two Yard Sales, receiving an overflow of goods from friends who wanted to help….and also discovered in an unsettling way that permits are required in our little town for Yard Sales, and there actually is a (very) dedicated Yard Sale permit checker, who doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humor.

Donations to our cause came in from dear friends and relatives. We sang door-to-door for Veteran’s day---also the subject of another post. We gave a free community concert at our wonderful local bookstore at Christmastime where we received donations and enthusiastic support; we had a lengthy and positive article written in our local paper about our project.

As the deadline approach for final payment we were still more than a thousand dollars away from the goal. We were discouraged, I began to have second thoughts about the whole venture, yet as I prayed about it the negative thoughts were replaced by peace. I knew this was a good choice for us at this time and I had no idea where the rest of the money would come from.

Then I received a phone call from my parents. I had not asked them for money, wanting to be independent and also not sure how they felt about our project—the child in me afraid of negative opinion. My mother asked how much more money we needed. When I told her, she said that she and my dad would like to loan us the rest, that they supported us in our dream.

Tears of gratitude welled up as I spoke with her. In my childhood she was always the one who bought the final boxes of Girl Scout cookies from me. She always bought chocolate bars or stationary at my school fundraisers, and that always surprised me because she needed neither of those things.

Gratitude, love, thankfulness…the anxiety was gone and replaced by deep emotion for family, friends and our community. We were really going to go to Los Angeles.