Package This

Don and I have been asked to Chair the Silent Auction for our children's school's annual fundraiser again this year. The first thing I did was put together a Plan of Action and a Timetable. One of the things I wanted to add this year was a High-End Solicitation Team, a small group of dynamic, excited, energetic people that are willing to dream big and ASK.

For example, wouldn't it be awesome if we could get roundtrip tickets to New York from Augusta, a hotel room for 4 nights at Niagara Falls, a rental car, free attraction tickets for the Maiden of the Mist, etc., and a gift card for gas to put together in one big package? Or what about 2 tickets to the local Ballet, two night's stay in one of the nicer hotels in town, a gift certificate for dinner at one of the more expensive restaurants and a limo for the evening - worth bidding on?

Anyway, that's my dream. We have until the beginning of December to pull this together. We're starting so late this year, though, that I was beginning to think some of these wonderful packages I'd love to put together may only be a pipe dream.

Then . . . one of the Moms told me that she's pushing Sherwin-Williams to donate a whole room re-do. They donated 3 gallons of their best paint - two gallons for walls, one for trim. She (who is a decorator-extraordinaire) is including one hour of her time as a Consultant. It occurred to me that if we could get some other donations along these lines and put them together, we might be able to offer a rather pricey room redecoration with everything included. I spoke with one of my Team Members about my thoughts and she made a suggestion. I jumped in my car and returned with a $50 gift certificate to a wallpaper store to go with the paint and Consult. Now I'm beginning to feel like I'm on a roll. If we can get Home Depot to donate rollers, roller pans, spackling, tape, drop cloths, sandpaper, etc. and someone else to donate flooring and/or window treatments, we may be able to pull off a very nice package deal.

I'm willing to ask. And so are several other people who make up my Team.

And God loves this fundraiser. We find HE always supports it, even when others may not.

We're still bouncing around those ideas and looking for high-end donations that will bring in the big bucks and the people who can afford the big bucks. The sky's the limit. And that's where I'm currently writing from.