Big Fish

Sorry to post this here, but I think the C3 crowd is probably the most helpful bunch in this forum, so here it is. At the Bloomington Gold this year there will be a Caravan to the "Relay for Life" which is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Being a cancer survivor and having participated in the relay event last year, this event is of very special interest to me. The Caravan will leave from the Friday night "Luau" party and travel to the relay event. The Bloomington Gold organizers are looking for ideas in raising money to help the Cancer Society's cause. Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated, and I will pass them on to the proper people. :seeya

PRNDL

I don't want to put anybody on the spot, but if you could convince an owner of say, an original L-88 to give rides for $5 (just a short ride around the parking lot, burnout optional) maybe I'm a sucker but I would sure pay for that! :lol: MJ

Paul L

Taking strangers for even a short ride can raise a host of liability issues (potential for personal injury) that you may wish to avoid. But I assume the general public will have access to the cars on a cruise day/parking lot type of setting. Many parents and most children dream of Corvette ownership. But for the majority that dream will never come true.

Have you ever noticed that cruise days can consist of owners spending hours shooing kiddies away from the vehicles? Take a different tack and leave the drivers' doors open (ignition keys out). Choose 3-4 cars from different generations. Invite the kiddies to take the driving position (alone or with Mom or Dad) and capture the moment (ask permission) with a good quality digital camera (5.1 megapixel). Have a PC and printer on hand with photo quality paper. If the parents wish a nice print can be produced on the spot. Do not set a fee but note that donations would be appreciated. Under these circumstances you may be surprised how generous people will be. And the kids will have a pic that they will cherish for quite some time. Your costs will be minimal (mostly the print paper) and you will generate a lot of goodwill that may spill over to your next event.

JBR

I like the photo op. idea. You might just generate a real love for the old vettes in the new generation also. At the same time helping the fund raiser. :cool:

verskel

:iagree: Photos are great and it'll be a hit with the moms & kids ! :thumbs:

Paul L

You are not getting a good response so here is another idea. Hold an event at a local retirement (not nursing) home where people are still lucid and not into dementia. (I regret that I have personal experience with the latter with my Mom.) Again the pic angle. Get Mom and Dad together with the kids and Grandpa and Grandma together for a memorable pic. Some of those Grandpa's drove Corvettes with Grandma alongside. Now they suffer in silence in homes owing to various forms of illness. And crave those old days. Nice opportunity to put a little spark in their eyes and get the whole family together for a pic. Bring along a BBQ with hot dogs and hamburgers. Not expensive. If you wish to get done to base/crass levels, many of the old folks have money and in all likelihood will have lost Family and friends to cancer. They will no doubt appreciate the event and contribute accordingly. Might be worth a few hours of your time. A local newspaper might donate the promotional space.

Big Fish

Paul67, those are both great ideas! I'm afraid I have to agree with you on a liability problem with giving rides. That could open a major can of worms for the driver, the Society, and everyone else even remotely involved. The photo shoot ideas were passed on the the B-Gold people, hopefully I will get a response and I'll be sure to let everyone know how it's going. In the meantime if anyone has any more ideas please keep them coming, thank you all very much for your help and responses! :seeya

Paul L

Glad to be of some assistance. The liability matter arises from some recent Club efforts here to take kiddies for a brief Corvette ride on behalf of the Children's Wish Foundation (children in palliative care). I do not have the details at hand but parents resisted the prospect of Corvette "hot-rodders" taking their kids out in the cars. So it is not a trivial matter. E-mail me and I can put you in touch with the person who is negotiating the matter if that is of interest.

SmokedTires

We just had a speghetti(sp?) dinner for my niece who relapsed with Neuroblastoma (childrens cancer) that had a pretty good turnout. They also had some raffles that helped out ;) Good luck with your turn out :cheers:

joeveto

This idea of mine could be a real reach. But let me suggest:

Are there going to be any celebrity Corvette people at the event? For obvious reasons, Duntov is not available. But will Dave Hill, or anyone else who is known to be a known Corvette contributor be there? The reason I ask, is because I think it would be really cool to have a guy like that either sign my license plate, or one of my wheels, or, I don't know.

And I would pay for this.

If you could get someone's buy in, who is famous enough, pertinant to Corvettes, and willing to stand around for an hour or so and sign stuff, you might be able to raise some dough for a great cause.

Just a thought.

no_radio

There may not be time for this one, but....
The Pearland, TX high school band raffles of a C3 every year. They sell tickets for $20 I think, or 5 for $100. One of the guys had two daughters in band, he started doing it, they made a lot of money off this, although they had been doing it for a few years and probably picked up return customers. Being a Corvette guy he really enjoyed picking up the car and detailing it, etc to get it ready for the new owner.
email me if you want his email address if you want to learn more from him, jeffsclassics@yahoo.com
Jeff

JBR

I agree with N0_RADIO there is a high school in NY state That does the same raffle every year. They do make a lot of money. Pays for the car and lots left over :cool: