Last Tuesday, I once again donned my incredibly stylish (ahem) ‘Delivering Christmas’ apron and my festive Santa’s hat (complete with its sprig of holly) to help another of our local charitable organizations do good this holiday season. Well, actually that’s not entirely true. I was really helping not one, but two local organizations.
There is also a distinct possibility that my holiday finery only stayed on long enough for the photo op, but don’t tell Jeff.
The occasion was NBT’s Annual Holiday Spectacular, the Business After Hours event they host each December in conjunction with Commerce Chenango. Like most BAH events, there was the requisite crowd of local business people, the networking and, of course, plenty of delectable finger foods. But this was about more than just socializing. A total of six local non-profits were also on hand raising awareness and money, as well as collecting donated items, for their organizations.
Canned goods and other non-perishable food items were collected for Roots and Wings; Hospice and Palliative Care of Chenango County were selling the last of their holiday poinsettias as well as ornaments for Light Up a Life; the Chenango County Council of the Arts was selling tickets to their spring raffle, the grand prize being a three-day trip to New York City; and Colorscape Chenango was raffling off an original acrylic painting by Jonas Gerard in support of the annual arts festival.
And last, but certainly not least, was the Chenango County SPCA. Staff and supporters of which were on hand to sell teddy bears in support of the animal shelter.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. That’s only five organizations. But you see, the SPCA’s sale wasn’t just to benefit themselves. Each of the cute, cuddly stuffed bears they sold were in turn donated to Toys for Tots. For $10, you could help two good causes. Two for the price of one. Now that’s what I call giving.
Perhaps the coolest part of the fundraiser/toy drive in one is the fact that the SPCA was able to acquire the bears through no cost to their organization thanks to the generosity of GUND. The plush toy manufacturer donated a total of 100 bears to the cause in response to a request by the shelter’s development director, Sue Reymers, and Cilla Davis, one of their dedicated volunteers.
When I asked SPCA Executive Director Carol Hedlund why her organization decided to team up with Toys for Tots for the fundraiser, she told me that it had just seemed like a perfect combination. I had to agree.
Helping to ensure people took advantage of this opportunity to get some extra bang for their charitable buck, was little old me. Yep, I hawked teddies for the duration of the event.
And I was pretty darn good at it, if I do say so myself. I started with a bright smile and my little spiel about two-for-one holiday giving. If I wasn’t immediately successful in closing the sale, I’d add in the “puppy dog” eyes with a side of begging and pleading. If that didn’t work, I’d pull out what I consider the big guns: Guilt, at which I am a master.
Let’s just say I had a very low failure rate.
We started out by greeting people as they arrived at the event, which was held in the lobby of NBT’s main branch in Norwich. But as traffic by our table waned, we mobilized our forces and made the rounds of the rest of the party.
Stopping now and again to sample the amazing hors d’ouevres, of course.
Despite those distractions – and believe me, those meatballs were a distraction – we (the animal-loving SPCA crew and myself) succeeded in “adopting” all but 17 of the bears we started out with. That means we raised $830 for the shelter, and donated 83 of the cuddly stuffed creatures to Toys for Tots.
Not too shabby for a two hour event, I’d say. I believe all but a handful of the remainder went shortly thereafter. And I’m not surprised – how could anyone turn down the opportunity to help two local organizations, one supporting kids and the other animals, this holiday season? I’m all for two-for-one charitable giving.