A Fundraising Birthday Dinner for Sustaining All Life
Last August I received the invitation for each of us in the RC Communities to do fundraising for Sustaining All Life,1 but I decided I was too busy with the harvest on our farm to take on2 another project.
When I received a second letter in September, I got the idea of using my mid-October birthday as a focus of a fundraising dinner. I love to use my birthday as a time to share with friends and family more about who I am and what I care about. This was perfect!
I began to draft an invitation letter and came up with3 this first paragraph:
“Crisp leaves underfoot, the cold air of the first frost, the flavor of the last tomatoes, all remind me that my birthday is coming soon. To celebrate I’d like you to join me for a fundraising dinner. The meal will be a simple affair featuring foods grown and cooked at Singing River Farm. However, good food is only a small part of the evening. I plan to include singing, a silent auction (sale of farm produce, jams, pickles, crafts that I’ve made), and fun activities, as well as sharing about our love and concern for our beautiful planet. Sliding scale is $10 to $200.”
I went on to briefly explain why I want to support the Sustaining All Life delegation to attend the climate conference in Paris, my goal of raising $500, and the details of the event.
As soon as I e-mailed the letter to about a hundred friends, I started receiving replies saying either, “Yes, we can come,” or “No, we cannot come but we’ll send along a check to support the fundraising effort.” This was going to be fun!
Fifteen people joined my partner and me at the dinner. I led activities to help us get to know each other, we did a mini-session, and I talked about Re-evaluation Counseling in general and the Sustaining All Life project specifically. Each person was offered a copy of the Sustaining All Life pamphlet.
The best part of the evening for many folks was a Human Treasure Hunt. Each person got a small sheet of paper with instructions on it to find someone in the room who . . . uses a bike for transportation (one example of the climate-friendly actions listed). Then we sat in a circle and shared what we’d learned or what had surprised us, which led to an interesting discussion.
By the end of the evening I had reached my goal of connecting with friends and family about our caring for the environment and had doubled the financial goal I’d set. In addition, some of the people who attended are interested in learning RC. What a success!
Chester, Vermont, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion listfor leaders in the care of the environment
(Present Time 182, January 2016)
1 Sustaining All Life is a project of the RC Communities. From November 30 to December 8, 2015, a Sustaining All Life delegation was in Paris, France, bringing RC ideas to the activists gathering there during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change.
2 “Take on” means undertake.
3 “Came up with” means thought of.