Of the four years they have been doing this event, this is the biggest yet. The stands take over three of the four corners of the intersection, selling lemonade (both pink and yellow varieties) to passers by for donations to pediatric cancer. They also had a silent auction, live local music and guests from the local Star Wars Society, all part of the event.
Their fundraising goal was $10,000 which they had raised the previous year. By 11am, only one hour after they started, when our family stopped by, they had already raised $2,000. One of the big draws was the family four pack of Legoland tickets that they were giving away if you donated $80 to the cause. By 11:30am, the tickets they had on hand where gone and they had to start taking IOU's. As FM94/9's DJ, Hilary put it best "It is so California of us," referring to the the state tax returns.
According to Amy Miller, the event had much more press than in previous years including on-air segments on both KUSI and NBC 7/39. It was overheard Amy saying that she doesn't want this event to get any bigger. And neither do the neighbors. The cops came by at least twice in the hour that we were there, responding to neighbor complaints regarding music volume and crowds in the street and sidewalks. If it does get much bigger, they would have to look at a different venue, which would be a sad prospect to both the Miller Family and the community as a whole.
Our family hopes they continue this successful fundraiser at their home for years to come. Not just because it is within walking distance, but because it shows the collective power of good in our community.
--Thomas playing with his lemonade cup--
2 comments:
Hi there - I liked the small community feel of it also, but I'm wondering how much more they can do, how much more money they can raise for such a great cause with maybe even just one larger event?
I know it's a lot of work, but I bet they could get tons of volunteers and even easy city cooperation.
I got a couple pictures from it, I don't know the courtesy of posting photos on someone else's blog. I'd be happy to send them along.
I can post them with a photo credit to you if you would like... You can send it to karmiclifeevents@gmail.com
Sara
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