{photo by Deena Eschenbach}
How are your raffle ticket sales going? We are so encouraged by the stories we are hearing, and want to share one of them with you today. Deena Eschenbach and her son Finn (Primary, Track B) signed up for one of the Saturday Sale slots at Vons to sell raffle tickets for our Sand City fundraiser. Deena wrote in to tell us about how it went:
Fundraising, I have to be honest, I am not a fan. My first response is an inward groan, followed by a forced smile. I should know by now my kids see right through me. Finn is the youngest of five, and we have had our share of fundraising over the past twenty plus years. Pancake breakfasts, barbecue chicken dinners, car washes, bake sales, auction items, etc. you know the drill. Too many times I would pick up the slack due to time constraints and a feeling that there was too much on our plates – the constant art of juggling all the balls of home education. However, now I find myself in a much different place financially and am without the option to cover the cost. I was grateful for the opportunity to sell the raffle tickets at Vons.
I have to admit I felt skeptical about our success with the high price tag for each ticket. I hoped we would sell 10. We took a small stack of books from last year as well as Finn's journal, art projects and 50 printed raffle fliers. He dressed in his costume from history day, and we loaded his backpack with snacks and a blue Gatorade for my little Dodger fan. (A little blue food coloring once in a while seems to go a long way in his world.) We arrived a little before noon set up a small table and he got to work approaching those entering the market with flier in hand and a smile on his face. Many were encouraging, kind, and patient as he slowly tried to explain the purpose of the fundraiser as well as the flier. He took the first several rejections hard, but then adjusted his attitude and tried to have fun. By 1:45 with fifteen minutes left in our shift he had sold 10 tickets, and said, “ I bet we can sell 2 more Mama.” Faith of a child, he did just that. With success on his side he went to one our neighbors and sold the last three tickets. Wahoo!!
We were abundantly blessed by our adventure. We met people whose path we would have never crossed, even a gentleman who worked for President Ronald Reagan, when he was governor of CA. We shared hugs with old friends we had not seen in years. Also, we answered questions about our home education journey, especially how needs have always been met in areas or subjects that were out of my reach. Most importantly however, Finn grew in confidence and saw how a little bit of effort and enthusiasm can make any goal achievable, and even fun.
Thank you Cozy, for all you do to make the fundraising experiences both positive and profitable.
Wow, we love this! Thank you, Deena, for sharing this story on the blog. And thank you, Finn, for your diligence, hard work, and great attitude in spreading the word about what SLOCA is up to while helping to raise money for our school. Excellent job!
We are so grateful for all of our SLOCA families out there raising funds this month – we couldn’t do what we do without you. Keep up the great work!
