Location: Grossinger City Autoplex
Date: Saturday, October 19, 2013; 7:00 pm-12:00 am
My third stop today was at an
Esperanza event. It is an organization
that I had done a project for previously and today was their Halloween
Fundraiser, meaning that people were expected to show up in costumes. I was in the loop after the CAF project and Wilson
picked me up followed by a stop to get Irina. We arrived at the venue, which was actually a
Toyota Car Dealership. Having done a
Make-A-Wish project at a car dealership, I knew that it was actually a nice
venue for hosting parties and other group activities. Well, it looked like someone else besides us
had the same idea because another event was in progress on the 1st
level. It was a scrabble tournament and
from the looks of it, people seemed to be enjoying themselves and having a good
time. Our event was on the 2nd
level and we got on a really long escalator to go up there.
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| It was after all a Halloween Party |
We saw that most of our crew had
already assembled, including Kinga, who was the EM, Dave, Rich, Peter, Tiffany
and another volunteer that I had not met before, Will. It was truly an all-star One Brick crew and I
was in fact the EC, responsible for ensuring they were having a good
experience. Our first task was to help
arrange some of the furniture, which included a circular table that was
deceptively heavy. Wilson and I huffed
and puffed as we rolled one into place, and then it was time for Stephanie of
Esperanza to give us instructions. The
first place that they required help was at registration, where Tiffany would be
stationed to greet the guests and then check their tickets. If they did not have pre-purchased tickets,
they could buy them for $60 at the gate.
Furthermore, if they announced themselves as being “fans of the band”, they were eligible to get a discount. I asked what band was playing and it was
someone called ‘Cloud 9’, and
obviously I had never heard of them. But
for getting a discount, I would be willing to embrace them as 21st
century ‘Beatles’! Stephanie said that the guests were
coming for a good cause and rather than carry out an interrogation on ‘Cloud 9’ greatest hits, we were to let
them through with a discount should they request one.
Next task was coat check, which
is usually a dull job and Peter, who was under the weather, said he would do it for the duration of the evening. Knowing Peter, even if he wouldn't have been sick, he would have still done it without complaint. Rich and Dave were going to be at the bar where most of the help was needed. Tonight they would be pouring, and since there were no tools available for measuring, their guidelines were to use two fingers for liquor and 4 for wine. Plus there were no recipe’s available, meaning they would be making things up on the fly. What could possibly go wrong! The food station had mini dessert treats and pizza, and someone was needed to replenish the food when supplies ran low. Irina said that she would do that while Wilson was going to be the photographer. Will was going to staff the ‘Fall Fest’ booth, selling advanced
tickets to Esperanza’s November event as well as answering general questions
regarding the organization. Finally, I
was going to be at the Silent Auction and Raffle tables, to ensure that no one "took" the raffle prizes. Wow, things you
have to monitor at a fund-raiser!
 |
| Silent auction and raffle prizes |
I went to my station and looked at
what we had to work with. There were 3
silent auction items – ‘Blackhawks’
tickets, signed ‘Blackhawks’ jersey
and ‘Cubs’ tickets. Besides that there were 7 raffle prizes, 5 of
which were either iPhone, iPad or Galaxy cases, and one was a 'Trader Joe’s' food
bag with various goodies and finally a care package. Around 7:30 pm the guests started arriving
and many were in costume. I was at my
station and many guests were stopping by to ask how they could get the raffle
tickets, at which I would point at a girl who was walking around wearing
wings. Well, thankfully they had not
asked one of our volunteers to do that.
The crowd was getting larger, meaning the bar was getting busier. Tiffany and Will were now pulled into the bar
and that meant that besides my tables, I had to cover Will’s ‘Fall Fest’ table as well. I would move between the stations depending
on the crowd and at one stage I saw a woman looking at the exhibits at the ‘Fall Fest’ table. I went over and tried to sell her a ticket,
only to learn that she was a board member and of course knew everything about
Esperanza. Actually, very few folks were
stopping at this table, while a number of them were now trying to outbid one
another at the silent auction. This kind
of competitive behavior is always good at fund raisers since it is all for a
good cause.
 |
| They weren't as good |
One group of guests walked in and
all of them were dressed like ‘Disney’
characters. I saw 'Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Snow
White’ and what looked like a very liberal interpretation of ‘Mulan’.
The band was in good form and everyone was dancing, including the ‘Beauty’ and her ‘Beast’, though I prefer their dance from the movie, rather than
what was on show here. During a break in
the proceedings, the girl in the ‘Snow
White’ costume walked over to look at the raffle prizes and I asked her
where her apple was. She said she didn't
have one, though she did have her iPhone out in her hand…which ironically is
the new age ‘Apple’. I pointed it out and she seemed to enjoy this
one and mentioned to her friends....though I sincerely hoped she didn't get too intoxicated and think it was a good idea to bite into it!
The party continued till 10:30 pm,
during which all the silent auction and raffle prizes had been handed out, as
well as prizes for the ‘Best Costume’. Now it was time for an extensive clean-up session,
which comprised of taking the garbage out to the back, consolidating the food, and taking out all the alcohol to the Esperanza van in the garage – and it was
a lot of alcohol. I was amazed at the
number of bottles they had used up and the amount they had not. The entire clean-up took us a long time and
it was well past midnight before we left, thus ending a long day for me. I was exhausted and this ‘Sweetest Day’ had taken its toll, both mentally and
physically. And while there are been no “showering of gifts and sweets”, it had
been a useful day for me, having done three very different activities. I had finally been trained in ‘Youth-In-Services’ program, visited the
top of the ‘Jeweler’s Building’ and
had helped out an organization that deserves a lot of credit for what they
do. Maybe I just need a different
perspective to recognize the true meaning of gifts and sweets.
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