Thread: How to rasie money for a family before Christmas?

My husband wants to help our friend and his family have a nice Christmas this year. Our friend and his wife have two daughters ages three and seven years old. They have been through a lot this past year. Their dad was in a motorcycle accident recently. I will donate five hundred dollars but I would also like to raise twice as much. I have never held a fundraiser before and I don’t know where to start. Does anyone have any suggestions?

local radio stations or TV stations ... they always look for human interest stories

What a nice thing you're doing! When my husband first got sick, 7 years ago, people did the same for our family and it really meant the world to us. It's probably one of the best Christmases we'll ever have in a lifetime just because we know that so many people, perfect strangers, actually cared.

Sometimes that's the best gift you can ever give someone.

That being said, I'm thinking it might be a little late to embark on any major fundraiser but don't be deterred by that.

It was just two people....two people who don't even know one another....who decided to help in our case and all they did was mention it to a friend here, a fellow church congregant there, someone at their child's school, etc. asking them to buy a gift for one of the kids, a gift card, or whatever. From there, it just took off and snowballed entirely through word of mouth. When all was said and done there was the participation of a PTO, two church congregations, a sorority, a frat, police department, fire station, a couple of 55+ communities and assisted living facilities, a doctor's office, several businesses, and only God knows how many people because I can't even begin to guess.

So don't underestimate the power of the grapevine, talk to people about it, and always remember.....it's not going to matter one bit to the family how much might not be under the tree Christmas morning. What's going to matter to the girls is that "Santa" did visit and the parents will be touched by knowing that someone cared enough to do this for them and that they aren't alone.

Good luck!!!

You can also try locally owned resteraunts. They always like the publicity. Especially if you can get a local musical act to perform for the charity.