Sunday, August 5, 2007

Bake Sale Blues

As mentioned previously, I am a 4-H leader. This is my way of staying in touch with something that meant a lot to me when I was growing up. I loved 4-H. I was thrilled when the firstborn was old enough to join. Now all three are involved in the program and that makes them 5th generation 4-Hers.

Our club is always in need of funds for the treasury and for the past two years had done a bake sale as a part of Heritage Day, a celebration in our small village. Two years ago the kids did it in the pouring rain and made nearly $120. Last year, sunny and warm, only brought in about $20....what a disappointment. Not to be discouraged, after our Tuesday meeting, myself and two other moms decided we were suckers for the project and would do it again.

This year the weather was perfect....sunny, breezy and very pleasant. There were lots of people there to see the parade...and then stroll Main Street to check out what was there. Unfortunately, there were about three other groups that had the same idea as our club. At 1pm when we decided to call it a day, we had about $28.50 in the till. That isn't a real accurate measure of how few 50 cent items we really sold. Most, if not all, who stopped and purchased items gave the kids more money then they spent and told them to keep the change. One gentleman bought one dollar worth of treats, handed my daughter a $20 and told her just to give him $10 back. People are generous.....and it was appreciated. There was always a chorus of thank yous from the kids when they finished a sale.

Amanda, Melissa and I had plenty of time to discuss next year (gluttons for punishment????) and have a strategy for next year. SHHHHHHH.....its a secret, can't let those other three groups in on our idea.

No comments: