Last night I did some version of managing a fundraiser at Shady's Burger Joint on behalf of ORR. Like many a good experience, it was a learning experience.
The first lesson I learned was that Murphy's Law is undeniable - if it can go wrong, expect that it will, and know that nothing ever goes entirely according to plan. The sky was cloudy, grey, and threatening rain. The sound system went nuts after wires were somehow rearranged, the chord for the mixer and the piano stand were somehow forgotten at home, the photo booth was barely withstanding the wind, let alone being noticed by customers, and the merchandise table was let pretty much unmanned, as I ran around trying to manage other things. Also, it seemed that no one actually knew what we were there for. It was quite clear that I was in over my head. I had a list and a plan and it all went out the window once we got on site.
Even so, the musicians were quite understanding, working with me through the lack of order and the audience was quite supportive. Several friends came out to support myself or musicians who performed. One of my little sister's teachers came out to show support and brought clothes to donate. There were a few faces I had not expected to see who came out and really showed support, bringing along friends and clothing. One of our own ORR staff members came out and supported, even handling the merchandise and donations for some time.
The other lesson was that I have to ask for more help - it's something I don't quite do naturally and when I do it, it is with hesitation and reservation. My family was helping me with everything and several of the musicians, some of whom I had been meeting for the very first time, offered to lend a hand. At that point, it was to late to equip them to help me with those items that I would have needed help with.
Of course I could not have accomplished anything without some help. My family helped me with much of the prep - building the photo booth, making the props for it (tedious,work with adorable results) , as well as origami and posters. Family friends lent us sound equipment, one of the musicians brought mic stands and additional mics/equipment,and two of my gifted friends came out to handle photography. Shady's of course allowed us to use their restaurant as a venue and donated 10% of sales from the duration of the event.
Despite the many mishaps that were, it all worked out and came to show the beauty of community - so many people working together to make this happen and so may more supporting the cause. Not every customer who watched our performers chose to donate money or purchase merchandise, but just sticking around to show support meant so much. I brought a large box for clothing and left with more clothes than I could fit into that box. Folks donated money, tipped in favor of the artist or the cause, and came to speak to me to learn more about what we were doing.
I recognized one woman and her husband from their rsvp on Facebook, who happened to be the parents of a high school classmate of mine. I wanted to stop and tell them that, especially his mom, who's face was like a mirror image of her son's. One couple came to see me towards the end and purchase t-shirts (we didn't have their size). They bought an album (the only sold that evening) and gave the rest of their cash. We talked for sometime and I came to learn that they knew my youngest brother as their daughter had been in class with him. One of them handcrafts guitars (how awesome is that?!) and gave me a few suggestions for how to help the organization and get more familiar with the Dallas music scene. They left me with contact info and some serious encouragement.
On the whole the evening went not according to plan, but well enough to have made an impact. We raised $325 and collected several articles of clothing (I haven't counted them yet). This marked the first of what I hope will be many more Music Night Fundraiser that I will be orchestrating for ORR.
Look out for an update on the clothing count and photos from the event soon!