For
the past six years, the Fredericksburg, Va., Alumnae Chapter has hosted its
Crop for a Cure event — a community scrapbooking crop whose sole purpose is to
raise money for St. Jude. People come, toting their bags, tubs and even
suitcases full of scrapbooking supplies. They sit in groups of eight and do what they do best: craft.
Crop
for a Cure is the brainchild of Lisa Diskin, Toledo, one of the founding
members of the alumnae chapter. Knowing that officially forming an alumnae
chapter would require an annual service project of some kind, Lisa wanted to
create something fun and interactive — something that appealed to most people.
Shortly after starting the chapter, she was invited to participate in a
scrapbooking crop. The pieces fell together, and the idea was born.
The concept of the crop is simple: avid scrap-bookers pay an entrance fee for an all-day event where they can come, sit and craft for hours. There's food, donated door prizes and some other special treats mixed in. It's a great way for crafters to share ideas, supplies and support a worthy cause. As Lisa describes, "It's a scrapbooking crop inside of a fundraiser inside of a big, old party."
The first year, there were 26 women who gathered in the gym of a local Catholic school. This year, there were 144 in that same gym. One big draw of this year's crop were the three main raffle items: a Coach bag, a getaway night at the Gaylord National in Washington, D.C. which also included a Vera Bradley bag, dinner and a water taxi to Alexandria, Va., and a basket filled with $500 worth of scrapbooking supplies. The day also featured a silent auction with nearly 80 items donated.
However, regardless of whether they won one of the big prizes, each scrapbooker took home a goody bag and an acrylic tumbler with the event logo on it.
Thanks
to great community participation, ("People are calling us to ask to donate,"
Lisa says) the chapter is able to provide the high-quality give-a-ways that
attract people to the event. At the same time, the community support helps
off-set the cost of hosting the crop and more money goes to what's most
important: St. Jude. And this year, the total raised was $11,700.
