Catherine's Craft Fair: What's New

Reflections

2010-06-29T21:10:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm doing this a little late... or maybe right on time, as this is about the time every year when I'd begin preparing in earnest for the Craft Fair.
Last year was my last Craft Fair in the incarnation everyone has known it for the last ten years: handmade crafts and fun in my side yard. The actual day was less emotional and more anticlimactic than I anticipated. It was a lot of fun, and we raised some great money for AAMDSIF. I can honestly say that they are very excited about the work that we did.
I'm getting a little nostalgic for the fair these days- there is much less to fill my summer days than there used to be, and the work I am doing, I don't enjoy quite as much as I loved finding a new angle from which to write donor letters or revising my Information poster board with a new statistic. But, what I mostly think about is all the happy memories I have of the fair: friends, family and community members coming together for a wonderful (and beautiful- to this day I marvel at the string or good weather we chanced upon) day of crafts, games, food, music and fun. The most exciting year for me personally was probably the fair that was at the very beginning of my sophomore year- the first year we had live music, the year we broke $2000, and the year one of my old nurse practitioners from the Jimmy Fund stumbled upon the fair. But all of the fairs had their own wonderful elements, and I cherish all those days and the excitement and fun leading up to them.
This year, while we were all going through the college admissions process, I had several friends tell me they wrote about volunteering at the Craft Fair in their essays, or that they think the Craft Fair helped them get in to college or--even better-- that volunteering at the Craft Fair made them really think about giving back to an important cause. And I've heard numerous times from the folks at AAMDSIF about what a difference the fundraiser makes, and how important it is to them that I do what I do. I guess when I look back on it, that is really all I could ever ask for: lots of happy memories and people whose lives are better because of what I did.
I love the fair, and I will miss it dearly. I am planning to continue working to support AAMDSIF in some way in the future.
Stay tuned, because we're NOT done! My brother Ian and two of his friends who are veterans of the fair have committed themselves to holding some type of fundraiser for AAMDSIF this fall. I'm leaving it completely up to them, so we'll see what they come up with, but I'm sure it will be great.

Final preparations

2009-09-05T19:08:00.002-04:00

So no moonbounce, but I have managed to build what I like to call a Reverse Dunk Tank! It dumps the water on you instead of dumping you into the water. I'll have to find some volunteers to sit in it...
This is the time that we're doing the final preparations, making lists, gathering supplies. There's a great line up of volunteers committed to serving the fair. Some of them have been helping out for quite a few years, but the only person who has earned the distinction of being a volunteer for all ten fairs is my brother Ian. He was only 6 when we started doing this, but he was there, helping me hang up posters and mix lemonade. This year he has his sights set on the cotton candy machine.
I'm feeling pretty good about where we're at right now. At this point, most of it is routine. I hang up flyers, send press releases, and just generally get the word out.
I just love doing all of this so much, the run-up to fair day gets really exciting!
Hope to see you all there!
Catherine

The Work Continues

2009-08-02T16:28:00.003-04:00

Alright, so sponsor letters have been sent, I have redone the Information poster, and plans have been finalized with the bands. Next week will be some early press releases to my "reach" media outlets (to borrow a phrase from the college-search lexicon): national news outlets, the Associated Press, Oprah and other major talk shows. You know me, I like to aim high. On the off chance that one of these places agrees to feature the Craft Fair, it will mean a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of these diseases.
I'm thinking about creating some sort of video of the Craft Fair to serve as a retrospective since this Fair will be our tenth (!). In addition, I have been adding bits and pieces to the book I'm working on about the fair... it's in the very early stages, but I'm enjoying writing about the little things I've learned from the Fair.
I'm also making crafts, which is quite fun. We have a ton of materials accumulated over the years.
If you know a crafter or are a crafter, I can hook you up with materials if you would like to make stuff for the fair. If you have items already made, we welcome donations. Also, if you have small toys that can serve as prizes, we would love those too.
One exciting tidbit: we may be getting a Moonbounce this year! More details to follow.
Thank you all once again for your support.
Catherine

And So It Begins...

2009-06-25T11:11:00.003-04:00

Well, now is the time of year when planning for the Craft Fair starts in earnest. I have tentative confirmation for the musical groups this year: the Jazz Combo and Distant Sun are both planning on returning. They have been amazing supporters of the fair and have donated their time to perform. The live music really adds another dimension to the fair, and I am so grateful to them.
I'm working on getting the word out about what donations we need and the need for volunteers by updating the website and this blog, and submitting the Fair as a community service event on serve.gov, President Obama's site promoting his "United We Serve" campaign. I'm hoping to get people to donate crafts, supplies, and publicity work through these sites.
In the next few weeks, letters will go out to our regular sponsors and donors. I will start talking to Craft Fair cabinet members about the plans for this year's fair. I'm excited to once again be starting the planning for the Craft Fair, because it is work I really enjoy doing.
Thank you all once again for your support.

Early planning...

2009-02-03T18:02:00.002-05:00

Well, although it is the dead of winter, planning has started for this year's Craft Fair. In all likelihood, this year's fair will be the last, since I will be starting college in the fall of 2010. Just the thought of not working on the Craft Fair anymore is weird for me, since I have been doing it every year for the last 9 years. I'm trying to focus on planning and not getting too bogged down in the details...
Anyway, recently I started writing a book about my experiences with the Craft Fair. I realized that I have learned a lot from the Craft Fair about hard work, perseverance, the power a written letter can have, and lots more. I'm hoping to find a way to sell the book to raise money for AAMDSIF.
I have also recruited several friends and family members to what I like to call the "Craft Fair Cabinet". These are people who have volunteered at a lot of Craft Fairs, and who will be helping me keep track of everything that needs to be done, and they will help bring new ideas to the Fair. I'm really excited about working with them.
Soon I plan to begin mailing some early letters out, mostly to national media outlets and other larger-name donors. My hope is that I will be able to raise awareness about bone marrow failure syndromes and AAMDSIF through media coverage of the Craft Fair. I did not get any reply from the shows and organizations I wrote to last year, but I am hopeful that I will get a reply this year.
Thanks to everyone who reads this site, and contributes to the fair! I am very excited for this year!

THANK YOU

2008-10-04T17:47:00.002-04:00

A huge thank you to everyone who helped out at, donated to, came to, and supported the Craft Fair. Despite the last-minute change of venue and the bad weather, we were able to raise almost as much money as last year. It was a wonderful day, and I am working on getting photos up on the website, as well a a few other little additions. I am so appreciative to all of you who help every year to make it such a success. I am so fortunate to have so many good friends and such a great community. The Foundation and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This money will go to support the wonderful work they do helping the thousands of people whose lives are affected by bone marrow disease.
Thank you again for all your help.
Catherine

Tropical Storms, Community Houses, Silent Auctions, OH MY!

2008-09-05T18:52:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been a crazy couple of days as we nervously watched increasingly depressing weather reports. However, my mom and I made the decision to move the fair to the Community House in town. Thankfully it was available and they were kind enough to rent it to us at their non-profit rate. The set-up there is wonderful, and we are really looking forward to it. Directions to the Community House and around congestion on 1A can be found on the home page.

If anyone cannot be with us tomorrow, but would still like to bid on our Silent Auction items, you can do so by e-mailing your bid to jakmak@aol.com between 11 am and 2 pm only. Please put BID in the subject line. We will try to inform people of the current highest bid, but it may be a bit difficult. If you would like to make a donation, please send a check made out to AAMDSIF (with Catherine's Craft Fair in the memo). E-mail c7a8t9@aol.com for more information on where to send checks.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped us out, donated, and made this craft fair run.

Here are our silent auction items:

Book autographed by Bill Cosby

Jersey autographed by Mia Hamm

Book autographed by Jamie Lee Curtis

Autographed photo of Tim Wakefield

We also have:

a $25 Anton's Cleaners gift cert.

a $30 Weathervane Tavern gift cert.

a $35 Indigo Bar and Grill gift cert.

Home Stretch

2008-08-29T23:04:00.002-04:00

First exciting piece of news: The Red Sox Foundation has sent the "item" I was promised and it is an autographed picture of Tim Wakefield. Sox fans, get ready for bidding war! My parents and I are working to divise a method for those of you who will not be able to make it to the fair to send in a bid.
Second exciting piece of news: the amazing folks at AAMDSIF have helped me find a way to work around the limits corporations have on donating to individuals. They make it so easy to do this work for them! Many thanks to all of them for their support. From the first time I contacted the former Executive Director Marilyn Baker to my most recent e-mails with staff members evryone has been so supportive of my efforts.
Third exciting/mildly terrifying piece of news: the craft fair is in only 7 days and 11 hours from now! While I am very excited, since the fair is such a fun day, I have quite a bit to do in the next week. Between the craft fair and school, I am going to be very busy. It all ends up being completely worth it when I get to enjoy the day of the fair with so many family and friends. Thanks again to all of you who make the craft fair so much fun and such a success every year.

More Planning

2008-08-18T19:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I seem to be hitting a small barrier in terms of getting sponsorship. Several businesses have responded very generously with donations for the silent auction. However, many of the businesses I have approached regarding donation of supplies or monetary support have replied and said that they are unable to support the Craft Fair because I am not a registered 501 (c) 3 charity. Since AAMDSIF already does all the good work I want to do with my fundraising, it doesn't make sense to apply for tax-exempt status. Any good lawyers out there know a way around this one?
We have gotten generous donations from several companies. Just for Fun stepped up for the sixth or seventh year in a row to donate cotton candy and popcorn machines. The folks there are so nice!
I am still in need of donations of hand crafted items and volunteers for the fair day! Please e-mail me at c7a8t9@aol.com for more information or if you are interested in helping.

D.C. and the AAMDSIF conference

2008-08-18T19:36:00.001-04:00

7/31/08
Mom and I returned yesterday from the AAMDSIF conference. It was a wonderful trip and we were able to meet lots of great people, both patients and families as well as some of the Foundation's staff. It was great to meet some of the staff people, whom I have been e-mailing for a number of years. They were also quite happy to meet me, having heard about the fundraising I have done. This year was the Foundation's 25th anniversary so they had a lovely dinner to celebrate. The executive director gave a great speech inviting all of us to the 40th anniversary for, hopefully, a celebration of the eradication of bone marrow failure diseases. The next day the foundation hosted an event called Capitol Hill Day, where patients and families met with members of Congress to get their support for pieces of legislation which would help sufferers of bone marrow failure diseases. It was a lot of fun to meet with staff and members of Congress and to see how law making works up close and personal. The conference and Capitol Hill Day are just two more examples of the wonderful work of the foundation. I hope to help them continue this work by raising as much as possible at this year's Craft Fair.

Press and Sponsorship

2008-08-18T19:35:00.000-04:00

7/28/08
Sponsor letters went out this week to all our past sponsors: Just for Fun, Crosby's, Stop and Shop, and Shaws. I also sent letters to quite a few new sponsors, hoping to get donations for the Silent Auction and general support. I also inquired at a few places about getting Craft Fair t-shirts made. I'm really hoping that works out.
Mom and I are off tomorrow for AAMDSIF's first Congress Day. That's right, I'm going to Washington! We'll be meeting with members of Congress and their staff to raise their awareness of bone marrow-related issues and some laws and projects that they should vote infavor of to help support those with bone marrow failure issues. I'm very excited, and I'll be sure to put up a report. I also plan to talk to some of the staff people at AAMDSIF about the Craft Fair. They have been very supportive of my efforts in the past.
Early press releases are going out to the calendar of the Globe, a few local TV news channels, and the calendar of a local radio station. Hopefully our press coverage will be increased this year! If anyone has a contact at the Associated Press, let me know! (Seriously, I'm planning on calling them.)

Planning

2008-08-18T19:34:00.000-04:00

7/9/08
Plans for the Craft Fair are already well underway. This year, both the Distant Sun and the High School Jazz Combo will be returning to provide live music.
This winter, I wrote to several organizations asking for their support of the craft fair. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sent me a very nice rejection letter (not surpising, given that the craft fair does not pertain to any of their fundraising directives). Newman's Own agreed to give a grant to AAMDSIF, and the Red Sox Foundation promised me "an item" for my event. The best response I got was from the Mia Hamm Foundation, which sent me an autographed Mia Hamm jersey! so this year, the craft fair will feature a silent auction in addition to all the usual fun. If you would like to donate to the silent auction, please e-mail me at c7a8t9@aol.com. We also need volunteers and donations for this year's fair. For more information on that, please visit the How You Can Help page.
I hope everyone is having a great summer, and I look forward to seeing you at the craft fair this year.

Introduction

2008-08-18T19:31:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!
I decided to move the "What's New" section here so that it's a little easier for me to make entries, and easier for all of you to read and comment on them. I'm transfering all the earlier entries I made as well. Please check back for updates on craft fair planning, I will try to write regularly leading up to the fair. Also, please comment so I'm not talking to myself here! :P
Thanks,
Catherine