WHEN FUNDRAISING MEANS A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL - NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES WE DO IT.....WE’VE NEVER MISSED HAVING FUN

In the past few days, after the “For Our Friends” benefit concert, at the Opera House, (for the victims of the recent mainstreet fire in Gravenhurst), people have been remarking about how efficiently we worked in a matter of days to pull it off. Andrew and Robert aren’t too sure how to react but always brush off the suggestion that it was anything exceptional. It’s not too much different from many other fundraising events we’ve put on over the years. They’ve been brought up into this lifestyle, where efficiency and strict adherence to protocol is absolute.....no exceptions if we can help it!

As I’ve written about before, and not that we’re androids or anything, but there needs to be a wee explanation about our code of conduct, when it comes to event involvement. We’re not a cult but if we were, it would revolve around a mantra professing the nirvana of “extreme organization.” Try it. You’ll like it!

Suzanne and I respectively, have been involved in fundraising ventures for decades. Suzanne grew up in Windermere, and was tied into all types of village and church fundraisers. Her father was Lion Norm Stripp, and her mother Harriet was a mover and shaker with the Women’s Institute and the Windermere United Church. If Suzanne wasn’t offering some assistance on Lions Club projects, she was helping to put together quilts for W.I. raffles. She was a member of the 4-H Club as well, all organizations with a strong sense and commitment to community.

When I was editor of The Herald-Gazette, in Bracebridge, and President of the Historical Society, back in my live-for-the-moment twenties, I got involved in all sorts of fundraising events, from 10 kilometre fun runs, to blueberry and strawberry socials at Woodchester Villa and Museum. I was one of the founders of the Herald-Gazette Rink Rat Hockey Club (still an active recreational team), and the annual Lovable Losers Hockey Tournament (I came up with the name). As we assisted many community projects and programs, such as the Blades Precision Skating Team.....and even helped purchase a new arena ice-resurfacer, Suzanne and I jumped from one fundraiser to another. It could be to help the museum one week, and then assist local athletes needing funding, the next. We had a blast. It was a lot of work but when you see the outcome from the effort, and the continuation, such as with the Lovable Losers Hockey Tournament, still helping to fundraise after all these years, well, it’s a real nice feeling. There are so many, many folks who dedicate themselves to making our communities better......as fundraisers.

Our boys got their start in the fundraising enterprise, courtesy of Roger Crozier. When I started working with Roger, a former National Hockey League All-Star netminder, back in the mid 1990's, Andrew and Robert were eager to join with efforts to establish the Crozier Foundation for Youth. Andrew, a long time Detroit Red Wing fan, was absolutely dedicated to Roger, (an Original Six player) and was speechless when he asked both boys if they would join him for a mainstreet Bracebridge parade. He gave them bags of candy to hand out, and it was with great pleasure that they both donned Red Wing sweaters for the long trip down that crowded street. It was a milestone event in their young lives and one they haven’t forgotten whenever another project rolls around.......and someone they respect needs a helping hand.

When Roger died, our family stayed on and worked with the American chapter of the Crozier Foundation, which lasted 12 years; especially rewarding was our volunteer work with the Bracebridge Sports Hall of Fame. Andrew was the display co-ordinator for five of those 12 years. In that time he handled Ace Bailey artifacts and trophies as well as Roger’s stick, skates and mask. Talk about a kid with bragging rights.

We all worked as the food services providers for the annual summer skating and hockey school, which the foundation hosted at the Bracebridge Arena. We looked after the food needs of about a 75 to 100 kids and instructors over the week. We had to run a tight and healthy ship and there was no exceptions to the standards set by Suzanne, the head of the kitchen, and the Crozier Foundation protocols. We did this for quite a number of years, and it did impress standards of operation for everything else we’ve been involved in since.

Our biggest event was the New Year’s in August fundraiser, Roger hosted the summer before his passing. The Crozier Foundation turned the Bracebridge Centennial Centre into a ballroom, and a summer night, into New Years Eve. It was the most amazing event and transformation we’d ever witnessed, and although our role was minor in comparison to other tasks assumed by more accomplished fundraisers and decorators, we made well over a quarter of a million dollars in one night, to help fund the local chapter of the foundation. We had congestion at the Muskoka Airport that night, as corporate jets, belonging to MBNA, a financial institution where Roger was a chief executive, arrived in an hour-long frenzy from offices all over the United States. Executives brought cheques with them. But money came from many places that night, and Suzanne and I watched with gaping mouths, as the cheques kept on coming throughout the big band bash. It was something we had never seen before, and it brought the matter of fundraising to a sharper peak for us.

Our fundraisers now are somewhat less aggressive.....we’re a little older, and the boys a little busier now with their own mainstreet Gravenhurst business. But as we put together events for so many worthwhile causes over the years, we still operate on the same protocol as we did for New Years in August, the Crozier Skate Camp, the Loveable Losers Hockey Tournament......and we are always rewarded at the conclusion, by being able to offer some financial assistance to those who need it most. If we appear to be overly concerned about organization and scheduling, and put our heads down when we get in fundraising mode, forgive us our excesses......it’s a habit we’re not willing to kick.

Admittedly our soft spot is for the Salvation Army Food Bank. I’ve written a lengthy series, most recently, on the life and art career of Ada Florence Kinton, a well known Salvation Army mission worker, (who died in the early 1900's), and have re-published the articles (all dedicated to the Gravenhurst Food Bank) in this blog collection. You can find former columns on this site. Here is the May column. If it doesn’t raise funds, hopefully it will help raise awareness, about the importance of food banks today.