I've organised quite a few events through my role as Development Worker but never one on a personal level. I still needed to raise £1400 and what better way to do it than through a huge fundraising event. A colleague at work came up with the idea of a Race Night, we then included an Auction and then thought we'd go all the way with a raffle too.
Preparations started just before Christmas, we only had 6 weeks to organise everything, I love a challenge! Lincoln City Football Club donated the venue for free which was fantastic, and we also started the process of obtaining Auction and Raffle prizes.This was by far the hardest part of the whole event planning. About 60 leters and emails were written asking organisations for donations towards the Auction but in the end most offers of help came from friends.
New Year arrived and posters went up advertising the event and tickets went on sale. Once again colleagues came to the rescue with the designing of the tickets (they looked fab James, thank you). They went on sale at £5 each. The target was to sell 100 tickets ... we managed about 80 which was amazing. Gemma, my partner in crime, and whose support made the whole event possible became my catering partner ... we decided a buffet would probably be best. Never actually prepared a buffet for 100, I have now! Entertainment for the evening came in the form of a disco, again free of charge, I would, at this point like to thank Chris for helping out at the last minute.
Steve Robinson from the Aegis Trust very kindly offered to come along on the evening and with him he bought the Rwandan section of a brand new mobile exhibition that is currently making its way around the Lincoln area. This gave everyone at the event a chance to see and read a little about Rwanda.
The 3rd February arrived and I have to be honest, I was so nervous. Knowing that so many people had bought tickets and were coming with high expectations of a good night out is quite a responsibility. Worst of all I also new that I would have to say a few words to start the whole event off. Oh my goodness, I so prefer being behind the scenes ... thank god I was stood next to a table, I needed it to put my notes on as I was shaking so much. Of course once that bit was over I was fine ... just as everyone said I would be!
Gemma's friend Jo very kindly offered to run the Race Night section of the evening as well as the Auction, and after a slightly worrying start where we thought we were paying out more than we were taking, everything started to settle down and the pennies started to mount.
We had five Auction prizes on offer. A day at the races for 2, and Executive Box for 10 at LCFC, a long weekend break in a cottage in Derbyshire, a Climbing Wall experience and a weeks stay in a Villa in the South of France. All items were successfully purchased which was amazing. Once the raffle was drawn the fundraising part of the evening was over. Now it was disco time, a chance for everyone to relax and have a bit of a dance.
I am completely overwhelmed at how successful the evening went. Everyone had a great time and went home happy. Through the genorosity of everyone who attended I raised a massive £1220.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who attended, and in particular to Gemma, Jo, James and Chris whose valued help made the event possible.
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