Rotary Serves & Fund Raising Planning

           

            Fundraiser event planning, part two: President Lenore Romney said our September Rotary Serves event will take place at noon on Monday, Sept. 24, at Nectar’s in Kendall Yards.  Our services will be to continue planning our fall fund raising campaign to help needy kids, especially at Holmes Elementary School. This will continue the discussion about time, place and details of our fund raising event.

 

            Yule thoughts: With Halloween just five weeks away, or course it’s time for Christmas thoughts.  Club Treasurer Sandy Fink asked if the members want to continue supporting very needy Holmes students and their families.  Strong consensus was to continue the “$40 for 40” program, in which members provide 40 children with gifts with a budget of $40 per child at Christmas time.

 

            Holiday luncheon:  Save the date for this year’s holiday luncheon which will be on Monday December 3^rd at noon at Nectar’s Downtown location at 120 N. Stevens St.  Spouses, family and friends are welcome.  

 

            ‘Serving’ possibilities: Romney raised some Rotary Serves possibilities for this fall.  She noted that finding service opportunities to coincide with a lunchtime schedule on the fourth Monday of each month is difficult.  Weekend service opportunities are easier to come by.    Among the fall possibilities are “Greenbluff gleaning” (if Second Harvest does that project this year) and volunteers for Tom’s Turkey Drive – a Second Harvest event in connection with KREM-TV and Rosauers stores – on November 16 & 17.  Romney is investigating more details on each.  Other suggestions are welcomed.

 

            It does take an entire village – in this case an entire club membership – to stage a successful fund drive to meet the club’s goals to help Holmes Elementary programs and other children in the West Central and near-North Side area.

 

            A dozen or so members discussed some of the questions at the Sept. 17 meeting.  Next week, also at noon at Nectars in Kendall Yards, club members will try to determine the answers.

“It will take all of us to do this.  We are all one big committee working on these details,” said Club President Lenore Romney.

 

            Among the questions:

 

                    How can 20 members raise a net of $15,000 or more to support Holmes’ programs and other activities?

 

                   Can a wine-powered event and other events yield the results we want?  Can one or more vintners and wine shops support the club?

 

                   What is the best time for a fund-raising event?  Early fall? Late November or early December?  Late January or February?

 

                   What is the best venue to succeed?

 

                   How can we fully engage sponsors, members, spouses and guests to rally for our goals?

 

                  How can we best engage Holmes’ staff and administrators in supporting our nearly 20-year history of supporting the school and its students?

 

                  Should we join one or more other clubs in a coordinated fund-raising effort?

 

            As always, it’s easier to come up with questions than answers.  Join us next Monday to help make some of the decisions.