Suzanne’s Seva Challenge

Last Sunday was Wellness Day at Ridgley Retreat. I have been working hard and towards this big event for several months. I was so excited to see it come to fruition and how everybody seemed to be enjoying it. It was an amazing day seeing everybody who worked there come together to be part of something bigger that was a great cause. In the end I raised a lot of money with the help of many. I am so grateful that Ridgley Retreat was generously donated by Andie, the owner, for the help of my new friend, Julie Seaman, and all of the instructors and massage therapists who donated their time.

Last night my friend Hillary Murray hosted a Southern Living at Home party. The party was given by Michelle Lucente who offered her entire 25% commission to be donated to this cause. It turned out to be the biggest sales amount of any of her parties, exceeding $2,000! That means I receive an amazing $500! This is much more than I anticipated and is so extremely generous. Bank of America will match this donation and she will have contributed $1,000 total for just last night’s party. I am so excited that my total is now up to $9,400, almost halfway there in about 4 months time. I have 7 months left and know I will reach this goal sooner than I thought. Wellness day is coming up and should be a big success.

I spoke with Diane Rey of The Capital the other day. She said she could write a follow up article for June 13 featuring Wellness Day. She will be able to include all of the amazing people who have helped me in this effort. She asked for a quote and I said, “I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from our community.” I realized that it is ok to ask for and accept help and that this is sometimes a strength and not a weakness.  The primary focus of the article is Wellness Day. I have big expectations for this day. Items donated for the auction exceed $4,500 and we have some good ones. My hope is for 100 people to attend. I, along with Julie Seaman, who has been instrumental in this day,  have put that intention out there.

Emma Charlton just turned 12 years old and decided to have her party for this charity. She invited 20 girls and asked that they donate to the Cambodian Children rather than bring gifts. She sent me  a note this morning that she had raised $400. Amazing!

I was so excited to get two great donations to the Wellness Day silent auction for June 29 at Ridgley Retreat. Both Kripalu and Omega have donated R&R getaways which are valued at over $1,000! I have been working really hard to get donations and the total value of donations is about $4,000. I know wellness day will be fantastic. I had a yard sale for charity last weekend. Despite the rainy day, I had a neighbor helping me, plus some contributions from friends, and made about $240; not bad.  I also have a friend who has a 12 year old daughter having her birthday party for charity instead of gifts this year and she chose the Cambodian Children’s Fund! I was so excited. The good things contine…

I continue to be in awe of all of the people, some whom I know well, others not at all, who have gotten involved in the giving. Giving always makes and impact and leaves a big imprint, I know this for sure.  I have three friends who are giving Southern Living Parties for this charity and we will receive 25% of the income. I have another friend who is giving an All Things Annapolis party to donate to this charity. Just about everybody I contacted for the silent auction for wellness day has contributed in some way. I am blown away by the generousity. I am approaching $7,000 for charity which is amazing. I still have many exciting fundraisers planned so there is no doubt in my mind that I will be in Cambodia witnessing the help everybody has contributed to.

Today I sold rafflet tickets outside of Safeway with one friend for a $150 gift card for the store. I guess I expected to raise a lot more money but after we had to buy the gift card, the profits were much smaller than anticipated. I was touched by the kindness of some strangers. Two people purchased two tickets each and said to donate the winnings if they won. Another man just donated $20 and did not want a raffle ticket. One woman works with girl scouts and wanted to know if they could help in some way with fundraising. It was worth my time and energy for those feel good feelings.

I have now had 2 of the 3 fundraisers planned for this month. Last Saturday we had a special yoga class at the Lotus Center taught by Jeannine Dietz. It was a wonderful class. It was not totally full however, but the group that was there was fun and generous. Yesterday was the mom’s breakfast at my house. I have to say I am glad I am through that day. It was a lot of calling, writing and calling again to make sure people remembered. It was all worth it though because we had lots of fun and raised a lot of money. Best of all, one generous mom, Michelle Lucente who sells Southern Living at Home offered to contribute her 25% commission to this cause. She sold a fair amount at my party and has three more parties planned which she plans to make the same contribution from. This will add up to a significant amount and is really wonderful. I continue to be delighted and amazed by so many people wanting to get involved in some way to help out. Tomorrow I sell lottery tickets at Safeway - I am crossing my fingers for a big number!

I had my first yoga class fundraiser this week and it was so much fun. I love everybody’s enthusiasm about this wonderful cause. The even better news is that I have raiserd $5,000 and am one quarter of the way there. I am on track with the end goal of $20,000 and am so inspired by all of the interest and posative feedback. I am grateful to everyone who has contributed and helped me get to this point.

I am constantly reminded of the magic all around me.  Since the article in The Capital, I have had such wonderful feedback.  A few weeks ago, I had to return a check for $100 since it was payable to the wrong party. When it was returned, after reading the article, they had doubled it and were inspired!  The woman who interviewed me, Diane Rey, put me in touch with a friend of hers.  This friend turned out to be a great contact, and has offered to teach several yoga classes for fundraising as well as help with an auction.  The woman who works in the children’s room at Evolutions has offered to sell cookie dough to the clients for all of the profits to go to my cause. Lastly, a mom invited to the kindergarten mom’s breakfast at my house has offered to sell Southern Living at Home and donate all of her profits (25%) to this cause. She has offered to do the same for any party anyone there signs up to give.  I am again reminded of Oprah’s quote, “When you are on the right path, the Universe will rise up to meet you,” and it has!