Stampingleeyours: My Charity Work

Hi there!

I would like to speak with you about a new way I’ve been doing business and at the same time helping people in my community as well as my downline.

How It Began

About 2 years ago I was approached by one of my customers who is a Club Builder for Civitan International. They are a Civic Orgainzation that helps people in the community.

She was starting a new club in my area and asked if I would join. I told her I didn’t know if I had time …with my business and all. She said do you have time for lunch? Well needless to say I was sort of shamed into going but loved what I heard and what I learned about the club. We have speakers every month that inform us of what is going on in our community as well as who needs help and why. It intrigued me…so I joined. It wasn’t long before I was asked to be Chaplain and now one of the Board of Directors as well.

One of our members was the Director of Activities at the Pace Center for Girls (these are girls that are at risk) and asked if I might come and start an after school program for these girls. It would only be a couple of times a month after school for about an hour and a half ….just way to keep these girls off the streets and busy doing something fun.

I agreed and was saddened at what I saw…..don’t’ get me wrong it’s a great school and they have a wonderful success rate but these girls were tough and I knew I had my work cut out for me. They had hoodies on, they had most of their faces covered….heads on the desk and didn’t want a thing to do with me. Slowly I got one girl to try stamping and then another. Not all participated that day but that was to come.

After visiting the school and building a trust relationship with these girls I noticed the hoodies were down and I could see their faces as well as they’re eagerness to stamp. They actually looked forward to it. They even looked through the catalog to see what sets I had for the next time I came.

One day I said: “ How would you like for me to build you a Stamping Corner in your school so you can do this all the time and not just when I come?” They seemed hesitant and said “Right”!! I said no really….how would you like it? They said they would. Now I was committed and no turning back and I hadn’t a clue as to how I was going to do this.

So….I asked for help and pooled my resources. Called a meeting of my downline and asked for help from my Civitan group.

At the meeting I told my downline what I had done and what I had promised…..I asked who wanted in and who could help make this happen. I had six girls volunteer their time and efforts and supplies to make this a reality.

The Plan

My plan was to have a "Mega" stamping event with seven Demonstrators all responsible for inviting their customers and creating and cutting set ups for one card for all people attending.

The interesting thing was that some of these girls didn’t have any customers and just never had luck booking a workshop or class. Now they felt comfortable asking them to come to a Charity Event to benefit the Pace Center for Girls. It made it so much easier for them.

For instance I have a Demo that was a Hobbyist for five years and never had a class or a workshop…..she brought 10 people to the event and now has a customer base. The same thing happened with others…..this was working to not only help those in our community it was helping my downline.

The event did happen and it was small with only about 38 people. However we raised almost $800 for the Girls at Pace and my Civitan Club donated a Big Shot for them.

Since then we have done 12 other events for different organizations in the area and have been able to donate close to $13,000 and several thousand pounds of food for the food banks. We have done events for Lea’s Place a safe place for children removed from the home. Miracle League Baseball League – for disabled children. Second Harvest Food Bank….food for the community…and lastly for the Salvation Army….we did an Angel Tree and were able to do Christmas for around 70 children

You see part of the admission is two cans of food for every event no matter who it is for.

Shared Responsibilities

We all have responsibilities with these events and they are a lot of work but are a win-win for all the right reasons.

Each Demo as I said are responsible for a card design to do at the event.
Then each Demo is assigned task.
Collecting Raffle Prizes (5 per Demo), Kitchen Duty and set up, setting up and braking down their room, Raffle Board,Stuff Bags with set up for the customers, Set up of Raffle Room, Creating a Flyer and Save the Date to send to all customers and more.
We collect Raffle Prizes as it’s a sure and effective way to collect monies for our charity and our customers love it. We normally Raffle off a Big Shot or a set of Markers but the other items are collected from local merchants for Raffle.
We provide a 501c3 and letter of intent from us as a group as to what we are doing. We’ve had hotel stays, Limo Rides, Dinners, Spa Treatments, Manicures, Pedicures and more….we normally raise between $600-$1000 per event.

Fees

We charge a minimal fee of $25.00 and that includes a light lunch usually provided by a local restaurant. It’s amazing how many people want to help.

The monies are then split between the Demonstrators to pay for their supplies and usually a little extra. This has enabled some of my Hobby Demos to stay active. The supplies for the event are sales towards their quarterly minimums and usually they get orders that day. So it has really taken the burden off of my girls to solely meet their minimums.

Location

We do these events at a Storage facility…I know that sounds funny. The Managers are fellow Civitans that run a beautiful state of the art facility and have given us as many air conditioned units as we want. We each have a unit/classroom, lunch areas (about 6 units), Lounge area and Raffle Room where all the prizes are displayed. We have about 20 units that we use and it’s all FREE! They have even hung signs in the hallway that says Stampin’ Up! Parkway!

You see we in turn have advertized their business and they love that. They have rented units to some of our attendees who might never have known about them.

Making a Difference

The fabulous part of all of this is that we are making a difference in our community and we are keeping our customers happy and interested. They love these events and love the thought of helping just by attending and bringing two cans of food. It’s created a community of sorts…a place to gather every other month and see people they have become friends with.

Another great aspect is what’s it’s done for my downline ….they have grown so much with their businesses and have recruited and promoted and built their customer bases. They have grown as individuals as well. I am so proud of all of them for helping me realize my vision which we now share.

For me….well I finally “Get It”!! I used to wonder what Shelli meant about stamping is so much more……now I know…..it really is!

Want to do what I do? You can!

Find a Civic Group or Charity and be passionate about it
Talk with your downline….this cannot be done alonge……in order for it to work we need to agree and be able to show our passion to customers and friends on what we are doing.
Be a Team Leader…discuss everything….leave no stone unturned
Discuss different charities (I became aware of so many just by being in the Civitan Group I’m in.. We discuss which one touches our hearts and go for it.
Work as a TEAM - Which means Together-Everything-Always-Matters!!!