Updates

It has been a few days and there is much to update on. Big things first- Sugar and Spice went well- I am very relieved. The place looked beautiful- the Hard Rock is a wonderful venue, all the participants showed up and did a great job. Our Berklee musicians were great, the DJ was awesome- he was actually one of the best DJ's I've ever heard. The body painter did a great job and the tacky pick up lines and best lips contest were successful. The food was really good too. I have never been to a mashed potato bar before- I don't even like mashed potatoes that much, but these were delicious. Our volunteers did a good job- we recruited from the Single Volunteers of Boston and my sister's friends came to help as well. Jill, one of Cordelia's friends was our Valentines Vixen- she wore big red wings and her job was to sell raffle tix. She did a great job- the raffle raised almost $500. People looked like they were having a really good time. It was an event that I would have enjoyed attending even if I wasn't involved in. The event planner waived her fee as well which I really appreciate. It was a really nice gesture. She also donated two purses for the silent auction and helped chauffeur the band members to and from Berklee.

This is an event that has a lot of growth potential and could definitely be bigger. I don't know yet if I want to do the same type of thing next year, although I would love to have an event at the Hard Rock again. This event was a small fundraiser, so there is definitely a lot of room for growth in that department and we can also increase the attendance number.

I've learned a lot lately. I feel like I've made some mistakes these past few months and I have reinforced the importance of listening to one's instinct. I've been in new situations, so it is understandable that there is a learning curve and things don't necessarily go as smoothly as one wants them to. I'm learning ways to communicate better. I'm also learning how I can do certain things better- particularly the small tricks that boost fundraisers and ways to increase our mailing list. I have learned everything on the job with Project Smile- I didn't go to school for any of this, I didn't have prior business experience, I had no contacts and no network. The reason that we are here today is because I listened to the good advice that I have received along the way, I've paid attention to details and I have worked really hard to do things the best that I could possibly could at that time. As I learn more, as I get more experience, things keep improving. The funny thing is that I have also learned that just because someone is an expert in their field doesn't mean that they have all the answers and one needs to figure out what advice should be followed and what advice should be ignored. I guess it goes back to listening to your instinct.

Anyways, I'm glad this event went well and I'm glad it is over. I have been really stressed about it, so it is a relief to know that things are fine and that people enjoyed it. I am still waiting for a sponsor check, so hopefully that will come in soon and we can put everything to rest.

On Valentines night, I did a silent auction at Flirt Fest which went well. We raised $500. I know that isn't a lot of money, but considering it was only a few hours work, I wasn't carrying any overhead beyond the sports items I bought and I didn't have to market anything- it worked out great. I would love to do more auctions like that. I really appreciate that Jeff- who runs Boston Event Guide (the company that we market some of our events with) offered me the opportunity. He also helped get two gift certificates donated for the auction, both of which did really well. I also finally sold a framed photograph that had cycled through two other silent auctions without selling.

Well, that's it for tonight. This week, I'm going to keep working on getting people to the Sharks game on Saturday night and get back to work on grants and contacting more departments and working on our date auction and anniversary celebration. I was going to go eat some grapefruit, but my stomach is feeling a little off, so perhaps that's not the best idea. I am so excited for tomorrow, I'm going to see Dirty Dancing with my sis! Cordelia got me tix for Christmas- such a cool gift. Until tomorrow friends..