Hi Everyone!
There truly are not enough superlatives to describe Sunday’s Second Annual Pasta Dinner & Basket Fundraiser. We want to print a few words that were repeated over and over by many….beautiful, meaningful, lovely, fun and awesome.
Stacy Berthelon should be a Major in the Army; her orchestration of this magnificent event was unparalleled, precision and comprehensive. Everything went in lock-step order. Stacy was not executing for her own shower of compliments; her mission was our mission – to raise as much money as possible to support our many initiatives for the underserved in our community. Stacy put together every detail to make the day fun and inspiring for the guests, invaluably useful for the student volunteers, and hit the bullseye for providing so many raffle ideas to generate funding needed for our community.
And, it goes without saying that, yes, we could collect thousands of dollars worth of gifts and provide excellent food and entertainment, but none of this would have worked without all the helping hands. It wouldn’t have mattered the number of baskets presented if there hadn’t been volunteers to sell tickets, answer questions, walk the baskets to the winners and clean up in between and afterwards. We watched as the students diligently made a “pass the baskets along” line and made the job look easy. There was no talking with each other; they were so concentrated and conscientious.
Also integral to molding a successful fundraiser is securing an appropriate venue and finding sponsors to cover the large, basic costs (food, beverages, decorations, signage, etc.). The venue at Lifestyles for the Disabled has to be one of the most attractive, accommodating spaces on all of Staten Island, More importantly, the the physical space is the remarkable personal collaboration the SIGC has been fortunate enough to establish with the staff at Lifestyles. Partnerships/friendships are vastly more important than seating capacity. Our sponsors are important to us but also to our whole community. We are always humbled by their contributions and support. The fact that they have followed the Giving Circle and found our endeavors worthy is so important and very much appreciated. You should all take a good look at the listing of sponsors; it’s the least we can do to acknowledge them and learn about their collaboration with us.
We had students representing a total of nine schools: including 3 colleges, 4 high schools, 1 middle school and 1 grade school.
We also want to acknowledge Tottenville High School’s Culinary Program for donating the delicious apple and pumpkin pies for dessert.
Please know the final count of monies realized isn’t quite complete, but we indeed made a substantial amount of money to be judiciously spread among out many projects for the next year.
The best way to honor Stacy and her team is to continue participating with the SIGC by attending meetings, joining committees, and generating new ideas. We need dedicated support throughout all 12 months; people are hungry and need clothing and daily essentials every day all year long. It takes a village to sustain the needs. Please watch for our Giving Circle newsletters and be sure to raise your hands to help.
We hope to see you on Thursday evening at 7pm for our monthly meeting. Oakwood Heights Community Church, 345 Guyon Avenue. Bob and Linda Ollis of the SSG Michael Ollis Freedom Foundation will be our guest speakers. |
