Hot MesseS made a mess! We took advantage of our creative strengths and pulled together a successful Paint Night, raising over $1400 toward our team goal.
Kate and Jill, artists extraordinaire, led the charge. Jill worked on the logistics and pricing, while Kate found a picture, gathered donated and discounted materials, and taught 40 eager participants to make lilies (or starfish) look good.
Once we settled on a date, Friday, July 31st, we had to find a venue. Fortunately, Paul, who is like a second father to Jill and I, had an in at a local social club. He secured the hall and a bartender for us.
From there, Jill and Kate figured out price per ticket ($45) and we set out promoting the fundraiser. It was slow to start. We depended mostly on word-of-mouth, Evite invitations, and email. As the date got closer and the numbers weren't where we wanted them, we made a Facebook Event page and invited everyone.
It still took about a week or two to catch on. We needed payment up front to help cover the costs and we limited the tickets to 40. But once, it caught, it spread! We filled up quickly in the two weeks prior the event and had to start turning people away.
The night of the event we met down at the Calabrese Club early. The tables had been set up already. We added tablecloths, and set the stations with water, brushes, easels, and canvases. As people filtered in we put the paint pallets out. We also set up at table for basket raffles, and one for pizza and chips.
Right on time, people started coming in. Jill gave me a somewhat organized list of who was coming and if they paid. We sold raffle tickets at the door and directed people to the baskets. The bar was open as a cash bar and people mingled about.
Once the seats were filled and everyone settled in, Jill thanked everyone for their support and introduced the team. We weren't painting, just hanging out and being in the background, sometimes causing trouble....
It was neat to see everyone's blank canvas transform into bright oranges, purples, and greens. The main picture was of two tiger lilies with their leaves set on a dark purple and green background. Despite Kate leading everyone with the same direction and painting, there were 40 very different pictures in the final.
That's how I see MS affects us. While it attacks the body and the nervous system in distinctive ways, it manifests differently for everyone. I hope by continuing to raise funds for the National MS Society, we can continue to paint everyone's picture full of bright and vibrant colors.
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