There is hope! We had a successful fundraiser! This weekend about half the team (Franklin, Colleen, Madison, Ben and Erica) participated in trial one of the first ever ‘Can you Beat It Fundraiser’ and it was a huge success! We came up with the inspiration back in early September, but never mustered enough courage to actually try it.

The fundraiser is very simple and only requires a little bit of enthusiasm, determination and Franklin’s adorable puppy-dog face. It went a little like this:

We picked a neighborhood outside of Chapel Hill and started at arbitrarily-named house ‘number one’. We all walked to the front door and crowded around the porch step. The idea was to intimidate the owners with sheer volume into giving us a piece of unused furniture, clothing, or old electronic. Kidding. We didn’t use scare tactics. Instead, we told them our story, about our mission, how Habitat operates, what we were trying to raise, etc. and explained to them that whatever they donated, regardless of size or value, we would take to the next house and ask the new owners if they could “beat it” in terms of value.

So, at our first house, the kind people there donated to us a pair of worn snow pants– light blue, slightly faded at the edges, size small, but overall great condition. Wow, we thought– what a really nice pair of snow pants– we were inclined to just pack up the fundraiser right there and call it a day with our newfound treasure. But, we didn’t.

We walked on to the next house and presented the owners with the same spiel, but this time also flashed our prized snow pants for them to gaze on. Evidently, the neighbors were in a highly competitive mood that day or in amidst an untold neighborly feud, for when it came to charitable giving, this couple was quick to find something of higher value– they came back with an exquisite framed picture. We were amazed! We were two for two. We  thanked them generously for their donation and moved on to the next house.

Rinse, repeat, an old picture frame and a pair of snow pants later, we had ourselves a 30″ TV. And then a whole wardrobe of clothes, and then a bicycle and then a couch. I was a little surprised we didn’t walk away with a new starter home. The fundraiser worked wonderfully!

At our meeting tomorrow night, we will start discussing the best way to sell our donated goods and new ways to spread out to more neighborhoods and do it again. That’s all for now, we’re still fundraising like crazy and very thankful for everyone’s support. Enjoy the pics below!