We had a very successful fund raiser
for our very small rural church last night.
Each fall we have a harvest sale/barbecue
which contributes a good portion of our church income.
However a portion of a former art teacher and church member's estate
which her family didn't need or want was donated to the church.
Her original art work was sold at the harvest sale
but the remaining items, many coffee mugs,
costume and silver jewelry, scarves, baskets, etc.
were too numerous to sell individually
so last night we had our annual chicken pastry/chicken salad supper
and set up 60 quite attractive groupings of items
from a couple of remaining pieces of art, a hand-knit afghan
to groupings of baskets, mugs, pottery, scarves, dishes
(including some depression glass pieces).
We announced the silent auction in all the area newspapers
which brought in a few people that had never been to our events before.
The forty-five minutes following the dinner was spent socializing
and rushing around laughing and bidding against each other.
The additional $1300 plus
which was received from the silent auction alone
will help us quite a bit with our limited resources.
The bartering and sharing of items
after the bidding was finalized was equally enjoyable.
We've decided to do this again next year
with donations of white elephant items,
gifts that we receive during the holidays
that are the wrong color or size, etc.
as well as items that we no longer can use.
We've found even older items which are not wanted by one person
becomes another's treasure
--I'm thrilled with my baskets, Weller pottery wall vase,
and hand turned brown pottery mug to add to my collection
and I shared my 200 Years of Universalism mug
and several other items with friends.
Do any of the rest of you have fun projects to raise
money?
We've been trying to find successful ways
to spread our fundraising efforts around the year
instead of concentrating on just one major event
in the fall at the time of year that there's so much competition!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Carol Simmons
Outlaw's Bridge Universalist Church
Seven Springs, North Carolina
(approximately 30 members)
"Carol Simmons" <csimmons@eastlink.net>
Go to the Profile of Outlaw's Bridge Universalist Church.
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