RK Benefit Report and Volunteer Opps

Sorry for the length here, but there's a lot related to the benefit that needs to be hammered out.  If your River Kid does not receive this email directly, please forward the information and discuss.  Thanks!

Several kids have been hard at work pulling the final details of the benefit together.  The walkthrough at City Museum last Friday was very helpful.  We have a layout in mind and some additional ideas for decoration.

After talking with CM it is apparent that we will need to hire a caterer to manage the event.  That's bad news for the budget, but does lighten the load on us a bit.  The good news is that we were able to hire Mike Johnson (Boogaloo Café and Barcelona Tapas Restaurants) who caters the NCS auction every year AT COST.  He is being extremely generous.  Mary Welsh is working out the details with him this week.  Thanks, Mary!

Volunteer Opp: We will need to make and hang some light-blocking curtains at the event.  Any sewing families out there want to take on this task?  We'll pay for materials...Let me know and I'll get the specifics to you for construction.

We have requested a donation of seating and tables from Aries Rentals. Jessica Ryan made the calls to start a conversation with them.  They are taking her proposal to their financial advisory committee to see what they can do for us.  They will offer us at least 15% off and as much as 100%. We'll be hearing back from them soon.  Thanks to Jessica as well!

We have also received a donation of an overnight river trip on the Mississippi with mike Clark and Big Muddy Adventures.  He will be at the event.  If you haven't met this guy, you need to.  He's one of those people that makes the world a better place everywhere he goes.  His enthusiasm for rivers (and life in general) is contagious.  Mike has agreed to take River Kids out in canoes once a month for the rest of the year as well.  I'll post dates and allow for signup as dates are made available.

We'll need lots of help to pull off this event.  Hours of planning will only become reality with the help of all River Kids.  Here are some Volunteer Opportunities for the coming weeks:

1. Curtain (see above)
2. Selling Event Tickets (in the Hallway the first 3 weeks of school - Before and After School)  7:30-8:15 and 3:30-4:15  (These are the busiest times...you could sell for longer if your schedule allows...We'd LOVE to have the table up at least once in a while in the 5:15-6:00 range as well.)
3. Selling RK and Green Roof Merchandise in the halls (Separate from ticket table, but at the same times.)
4. Decorations - Decoration will happen from 11:00-12:30 on Sunday September 20.  This involves hanging streamers and setting up all the posters and trash items from the rivers.
5. Seating Setup - same timeframe as Decorations - we'll need to arrange 300 chairs in rows and cocktail tables behind those at the event.  We'll need tablecloths put out on tables as well.
6. Story Collection and Editing - The kids' concept for décor was to have stories from various river folks that express the significance of the rivers in some way.  I do not have ONE story yet.  I will be able to get some collected, but I'd like to forward them to someone who will edit them down to size and pic a picture to go with them if there isn't one from the person who wrote the story.  I WOULD ALSO LOVE TO COLLECT RIVER KIDS' STORIES! Send a paragraph or two to me if you're interested...parents and kids.
7. Herbie's Hood - We are being allowed to bring Herbie's hood fromt he junkyard down to CM on or before the event so it can be on display at the event.  I need someone with tools who wants to plan on removing the hood and transporting it to the event.

There may also be some opportunities to help with the catering...that's not finalized yet.  I'll let you all know.

Please take a look at the list of opps and see if there's something you can handle.  The most pressing is the sales of tickets and merchandise.

Let me know via email if possible, or in person as necessary, if you plan on helping.  I ask for email because of the hectic nature of the first couple weeks as is.  Though I've got a memory like a safety deposit box, I can't always find the key.

I should also note that there are a number of new members from 4th grade already helping us out with the event!  Thanks to those families for jumping in early.

See you all soon!

Ben