Fund-raising At The Copa!

This past weekend we had the first of two Detroit Tiger concession fundraising games.

This opening weekend game was a great to get our feet wet; fortunately our location had us just busy enough! At 1:15 p.m. (3 hrs before the first pitch) twelve of us filed into booth #327 and began counting, sorting, straightening, cleaning, prepping, stocking, cooking and of course panicking! The gates opened at 2:30 and by 3pm we had our first customers and the nerves were all settled. We happily served with smiles lots of hot dogs, kielbasas, nachos, popcorn, beer, pop and a ton of coffee and hot chocolate!

By 5:40 p.m. the game was over and the sad fans were filing out, since the Tigers lost 3-1. Now it was time for some to again start counting the entire inventory which includes the cups, trays, buns, hot dogs, kielbasas, candy, bags of chips, ice cream, popcorn buckets, nacho trays… And others had to clean the grills, pans, nacho machine, hot chocolate machine, counters & floors. Kay & I counted and sorted the cash, collected uniforms, spoilage and journeyed down to Comerica Park dungeons to turn it all in. And then journey down again because I forgot to get my “coupon voucher” and then journey down AGAIN because we forgot to have the spoilage slip signed! Phew…2 ½ hours later we were in our cars on our way home!

It was a lot of work, a long day, but a ton of fun! AND preliminary reports indicate that we rose close to $500 for our Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure accounts! That makes it all worth it in the end!!

Thank you to all our April Angels for your help on making this yet another successful fundraiser!

Batter Up!

This 3-Day season Jen & I are working two Detroit Tigers baseball games running a concession stand or as the park calls them Big League Grills. A percentage of the proceeds from our booth, 8% of alcoholic beverage net sales and 10% of net food & non-alcoholic beverage sales, will be directly donated to our 3-Day accounts. This on average equates to a $500 - $800 donation per game!

We have 12-14 of us working each of the games and our first one is only 2 weeks away, April 9^th, opening weekend, eek! If you’ll be at the Saturday, April 9^th game vs. Kansas City we will be in Big League Grill # 327 which on the 3^rd level behind home plate. We’ll be serving beer, pop, water, hot dogs, kielbasas, peanuts, chips & pretzels, ice cream, etc. And if this cold weather keeps up hot chocolate & coffee I’m sure will be on tap!

Last night, we had our “training” at Comerica Park – where essentially we learned how to pour a beer and up-sell! Which I guess is the most important thing when it comes to baseball and fund raising! The 3-hour training is mandatory for all people working in the stands, so although it might’ve been a bit of a snoozer after a long day at work or at home with little ones – it was necessary. Again, I am so grateful to our 16 friends and family that committed to doing this with us this year! We truly appreciate that you gave up your evening and an entire Saturday(s) – game day, to once again support us.

Quick update: our NCAA Brackets 4 Boobs Fantasy team is in full swing – we currently have 59 players so the pot will reach $600 (thanks to an extra donation) – which means the winner can expect to win $300 and $300 will be donated to our 3-Day funds! Again, as a result of generous friends, family & co-workers we have another successful fund raising event!!

Gratitude!

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our family and friends, Jen and I have filled all of our “volunteer” spots for the two Tigers games! Our 3-hour training will be next month with our first game on Saturday, April 9th. I’ll have our booth number the week of the game so if you’ll be at the Copa to see the Tigers whoop some White Socks butts you’ll have to stop by and say “Hi!”

Two weeks from now I’ll begin my “official” 24-week training schedule. I remember last year how nervous I was when I began this schedule – this year I’m excited! Although, now I realize that 24 weeks is not a lot of time to raise $2300 and get into the best shape I possibly can while maintaining a healthy family life, and working full time. I think I need to take the next 2 weeks and concentrate on balance!

I’ve posted the 24-week training schedule under the Accountability tab – let me know if you’re up for a walk!