AFSA Family Matters Trustee Update

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With Valentine’s Day approaching, here are some fund-raising ideas to bring in money for your Chapters:

• Bake Sale – bake some Valentine cookies and cupcakes and sell them at the office (if allowed). You can also check with a local business to see if they would allow you to set up a little stand in their store.
• Valentine Raffle – have people donate nice bits and pieces and raffle them off. People will buy tickets and, if they have the winning number, they win one of the items.
• Valentine Dinner – for those on active duty bases, why not have this at the Club? Your event can be as showy or as informal as you’d like. What about a lunchtime Valentine meal with your spouses? Or maybe an evening young teen event?
• “All You Need is Love” Disco – this doesn’t have to be a mushy romantic event. What about a “Back to the Sixties” Valentine fundraiser? The advantage is you can target couples as well as singles. Find a venue, book a DJ and get your groove on with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, and all your other 60’s favorites. You could even have a Dance Contest with a small entry fee. If hiring a DJ is not in your budget, I’m sure there are members out there who could play DJ for one night.
• Cards – you can either buy and sell Valentine cards purchased from the $1 Store or, if you have some crafty members, then consider making your own cards. Come up with a few easy designs to show and take orders. You can even personalize the cards to the buyer’s liking. Just be sure to sell them at a cheaper price than Hallmark?
• T-Shirts – you could set up a FREE Valentine's T-Shirt Fundraiser with BonfireFunds. Design some cute and clever t-shirts that people would love to buy for that special someone.
• Gift Baskets – ask a handful of generous volunteers to make gift baskets for you to raffle off, with different themes of sweets, bath products, kitchen cutlery, wine tasting, etc. You could even ask your local stores for donations to keep the cost down.
• Coloring Contest -- Valentine’s Day isn’t just for adults. Kids love it, too! Why not host a coloring contest for a low entry fee – say maybe $1.00. You can purchase coloring books at the $1 Store and each child would receive a page to color. If you want the same page for everyone, then just select one and make copies. Personally, I think this is the best way to go. Prizes can also be purchased at the $1 Store. I suggest having different age brackets to keep it fair.

Take care and God Bless!

Patti Dalzell, AFSA International Family Matters Trustee

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