Fundraising

Fundraisers. The very use of the word is enough to send most folks packing for the Hills with one hand on the wallet; the other on the forehead. Mostly it's from grandkids who have to support their own extracurricular activities now that school budgets are hacking away at student supplies and even teachers' paychecks. Cookie dough, popcorn, magazine subscriptions, flower seeds, peelers, chocolate bars, the list seems endless, and the campaigns seem constant. Then there are the charitable organizations, most of whom deserve support since they now form much of our social safety net in the age of budget deficits and soaring fuel costs.

But here's one fundraising campaign that is designed to specifically benefit you and your classmates. Our fundraising is meant to ensure the greatest possible participation in our class events by keeping the cost of admission as low as possible while maintaining the highest possible levels of quality for venue, food and refreshments. The April Get Together was just an example of how that could be done. The food wasn't fancy, but it was wholesome. The venue wasn't the Ritz, but it provided a comfortable space for great conversation and mixing. The soft drinks weren't everyone's cup of tea, no pun intended, but it was a change of pace to demonstrate that alcohol wasn't the secret to success.

We believe that the actual 45th reunion should and will be more upscale, but upscale doesn't mean more formal. It just means more special, and part of that still involves keeping costs as low as possible while cranking up the levels on everything else. The money has to come from somewhere. We've been hawking Directories, CDs of the directory, Photos of the Spring Class photos and the like to raise funds to do that. The condo donation by Gary Malin and the resulting drawing is also intended to raise funds for the Reunion. It's not just about the condo stay, which in and of itself is terrific. It's about participation and interest in the class and its members and activities as well. Your participation is every bit as important as the next person. Buy a drawing ticket for $10. You can't win it if you're not in it. Even if the beach is not your thing (like Milton, who hates sand) it's for a great cause. We're developing some consolation prizes now, and for $10 bucks, you can always donate it to another deserving classmate who does love the beach. Gary's only stipulation was that an actual classmate get to use the place. And we have more in store for the future as well but more on that later.

The goal is always to have the class events pay for themselves and still keep a little seed money to kick start future events. Fundraising is one of the few ways we have to do that and still keep the price of admission at levels that ensure the greatest possible participation. If this all works out the way we hope, you'll be amazed at the pricing levels that we can achieve and how much bang we get for the buck. What's $10 bucks get you nowadays? Not even enough gas to mow your yard. 3 trips to Starbucks? Two Reitz sporting events? A movie ticket and a bottle of water. Spend it for your classmates. Spend it for yourself. See Linda, Patty, Nancy or Bob for tickets. The drawing will be held in early August in public at an announced time and place although you don't have to be present to win.