GRAB A CHRISTMAS 2022 BARGAIN – AND RAISE MONEY FOR A GOOD COMMUNITY CAUSE!
My Silent Christmas Charity Auction for Ainslie’s Pavilion Project…
As many of you know, over the years I have held an auction for Ainslie’s Pavilion Project. After a year’s delay the Christmas Auction is back!
Supporting a charity that is close to your heart is a great way to ‘give back’ when you have a business. As you will read below, raising funds for Ainslie’s Pavilion is very much a personal aim that also supports close friends, and a local community too.
Find a charity that means something to you, that you can support through your business. It shows clients that you are grounded in your community and that you want to give back, and you are not only about business growth, but also have a heart.
I have run Ainslie’s Pavilion Project since 2015, which is when sadly, she died following a 12 year battle against breast cancer. Her husband, Phil and son, Alex are both very keen cricketers and over the years, Ainslie had watched them both play. However, in the last few months of her life she was unable to attend home matches at Purton Cricket Club, because there is no wheelchair access, and no toilet facilities for anyone in a wheelchair, or in fact for girls.
Phil and Alex decided that a great legacy for Ainslie would be to refurbish the Cricket Club pavilion, giving access to people in wheelchairs, people with disabilities and girls – proper changing rooms etc, so that no one in the future had to face what Ainslie had, had to face.
As the family’s friend, I was asked to take on the marketing. Our aim was to raise the seed-funding of £50,000 by 2020, as that was the 200th anniversary of Purton Cricket Club. After we had raised the seed-fund, which was to show that we had commitment to the project, we could apply for grants. We managed to hit our target in 2020, but of course, the pandemic got in the way things moving forward. Now, this year we can continue with the journey for Ainslie’s Pavilion.
As a collective, we’ve raised over £60,000 with many people being involved, but the lion’s share has been done by Alex, Phil and me doing lots of fundraising myself, with things like my Christmas Auction. In the five years leading up to 2020, I must have raised £7,000 – £8,000.
Over the years, friends, and businesses have been generous, donating auction prizes, and this year is no different. So far, among this year’s amazing auction lots are:
- Gloucestershire Gin
- Flower brooch
- Chunky bracelet
- Heart brooch
- Star cufflinks
- Small square bracelet
- Spotty pashmina
- Ladybird cleaner
- Welsh Gin
- RAF picture
- Coral handbag
- A selection of books by Lis McDermott
- Photoshoot by Barbara Leatham
The bidding started on November 1st and ends on November 30th – so you have a whole month to bid – the perfect place to buy some Christmas presents, in the knowledge that you are helping a good cause.
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