Relief Sale Newsletter

 

Sounding Board

North American Relief Sale Newsletter
March 2005

Coordinators' Report

At the last count, MCC has received over $12 million in contributions in response to the Asian earthquake and tsunamis. This is the largest response that MCC has ever received for a single project. Ronald J.R. Mathies, MCC executive director, was recently quoted in the Mennonite Weekly Review, "The generous outpouring of donations and support has been humbling."

We recently attended Resource Generation meetings in the Akron, PA office of MCC. In addition to the challenge of managing and dispersing these relief funds, MCC has the challenge of responding to the influx of new donors. At the last count, over 20,000 first time donors have given to MCC for this relief effort. MCC needs to effectively report back to these donors how funds raised have helped others and also needs to seek ways to encourage these donors to become involved in the full program of MCC.

Do you realize that our Relief Sales face a similar challenge? The market surveys that we have conducted at last year's Relief Sales indicates between 20% and 40% of the attendees were attending for the first time and most of these people were not familiar with the goals and work of MCC. They were very impressed with the atmosphere at the sale and the quality of the goods at the sale - but we have the opportunity to tell them more about our mission and MCC.

As your committees are planning for the 2005 sales, keep in mind the opportunities presented by those who will be attending for their first or second time!!

 

Blessings,

Doug & Harriet Berg

North Am. Menn. Relief Sale Coordinators

 

 

North American Relief Sale
Biennial Workshop

Hopefully you have the dates of May 26 & 27, 2005 blocked off on your calendar and are making your plans to attend the Biennial Workshops at the Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. Registration forms were sent to each Relief Sale chair and MCC office or you can download the form on line from the Workshops page. In addition to three full sessions and the quilter's workshop there will be 11 individual workshops scheduled during this two day event. These workshops will be led by professional marketers and Relief Sale volunteers with hands-on experience.

The quilter's workshop will be led by the Ontario Relief Sale quilt committee on site. You will also have the chance to interact with two ladies who have been conducting research regarding the quilting program in connection with relief sales over the years.

At the conclusion of the workshop you will then be able to attend the Ontario Mennonite Relief Sale & Quilt Auction in nearby New Hamburg on May 27 & 28 and the Mennonite Community Sale in Leamington on June 4.

Also of interest will be the Waterloo County & Area Quilt Festival May 19-29 and a chance to view the "Passing the Comfort" exhibit in nearby St. Jacobs May 24-27. Area attractions and contact information is available on the registration form.

The schedule is intended to provide you with a tremendous amount of information and new ideas. One of the real benefits of this workshop will be the interaction between other people. Interaction with many other volunteers who serve on relief sale committees from around the USA and Canada. Interaction with the MCC senior staff from the provincial and regional offices. Interaction with the committee and staff of the Ontario Relief Sale. These one-on-one conversations will provide you with the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn how others have dealt with similar issues.

We are looking forward to getting together with you in Ontario. Two years ago the Biennial Workshop in Didsbury, Alberta drew 80 persons from 22 sales and we hope that we can top that number this year. We need all of you to make these workshops successful!

 

 

Total Penny Power 2004:

$486,932 Cdn./$392,687 US!

The majority of Relief Sales are now participating and are finding this program is a lot of fun for all ages, a great learning tool and profitable as well. The Penny Power per cent of Relief Sale total contributions to MCC range from 2% - 27% with an overall percent of 8.2%. What a demonstration of working together!

Contact your regional/provincial offices for resources available. There is presently a Water Works Tool Kit available. By summer 2005 a Food Project Tool Kit will be presented.

A brand-new fun 4-minute DVD is now available to keep the Penny Power excitement going. Each chair person was mailed a copy. Additional copies may be obtained from the regional/provincial offices.

Goal for 2005: $510,000 Cdn ($428,000 US)

 

Total income generated by Relief Sales has topped $6m Cdn./almost $5m US for 2005! This was the result of a lot of hard work and volunteers working together as we continue.

Thanks for a job well done!

 

Find information on Relief Sale Bike Events.

Contact your regional/provincial office to post your bike event.

 

The North American Mennonite Relief Sale Brochure is now available.

This lists the information for all of the Relief Sales and includes a brief explanation of MCC and the purpose of relief sales. A great tool to use for new donors and a great way for relief sales to help each other. Contact your Chairman or your provincial/regional office.

View the Relief Sale calendar:

Canada Sales US Sales

 

A fun activity that generated a lot of pleasure all day at the Arkansas-Missouri Mennonite Relief Sale in Harrisonville, MO was a farm wagon filled with shelled dried corn. It was like a giant sand box without getting the sand in your shoes!

 

 

 

 

MCC's Theme for 2005 - Moving with Compassion

In addition to the long-running MCC themes "In the name of Christ" and "A Christian resource for meeting human need", MCC has developed a series of annual themes. The theme for 2005 is "Moving with Compassion" - how notable in the year of response to the Asian disaster.

A resource CD has been developed for 2005 which contains artwork for the MCC logo, the theme logo and photographs that cover a broad range of countries and programs. These items may be used in your Relief Sale promotional materials. Contact your provincial/regional office to order the Moving with Compassion Resources 2005 CD.

The Media is always looking for interesting local news stories that Relief Sales can provide. Recently numerous sales have discovered submitting articles to newspapers containing information on the recent Asian disaster tied in with the local relief sale efforts to support this type of response has met with much enthusiasm. This does not have to immediately precede your sale - interest builds over the year. Many times reporters will then contact the relief sale to obtain additional information and write their own story.

Go to http://domino-18.prominic.com/A5584F/PressRelease.nsf, the MCC web site which lists current news stories or contact your provincial/regional office for current news information.

Also, if you review the components of your sale, you will find quite a few interesting topics - highlight the 99 year old woodworker or the 12 year old photographer or the antique auto restorer or the huge quantity of verenika prepared - every sale has at least one unique story! Keep the public informed about who you are and what you represent. When they see the notice of the time and place for your next relief sale, they will be anxious to attend.

 

 

Passing on the Comfort

The War, the quilts and the women who made a difference

A new exhibit and book are soon to be released, weaving a patchwork of stories between North Americans, Dutch and the quilts tying them to each other. Passing on the Comfort tells the stories of An, a Dutch woman, during World War II, and Lynn, who grew up hearing about the comfort of these items, and the North American quilts that brought them together.

Stitched by women in Canada and the United States, the quilts were sent to Europe during World War II and distributed by Mennonite Central Committee workers. They were left in the care of a Dutch Mennonite woman whose home had served as a refuge for many weary souls: hungry children, Jewish fugitives, and, after the war, Mennonites fleeing the Soviet Union.

In cooperation with the Dutch Mennonites and the Dutch government, MCC workers distributed clothing, bedding, soap, food and other necessities to both Mennonites and non-Mennonites. The Dutch Mennonites' assistance was a key part of this effort. In the first year of distribution, one out of every 10 Dutch people received something from MCC.

For decades, the quilts - and the wartime memories of sorrows and joys they had come to represent - were packed away. Now "Passing on the Comfort" pieces together the stories of those who stitched, distributed and used these gifts of comfort. The quilts stand as a silent witness to the horrors of war, and to the women whose courage and compassion made a difference.

The large exhibit is being developed to tour North America for the next three years, primarily at Relief Sales. It will give people the chance to see how quilts warmed the hearts of people in need and how, more than half a century later, quilts are still needed in Mennonite Central Committee's work at helping others, "In the name of Christ."

The display will begin its tour at the Pennsylvania Relief Sale, April 1-2, and the book is set for release in early May. Information on the tour and book are available at www.mcc.org/quilts or you can contact Lois Flickinger, project coordinator:

(717) 625-4058

 

Larry Guengerich, MCC Media and Education Coordinator

 

 

Relief Sale Auction System (RSAS)

I want to introduce myself by telling you why I decided to write the RSAS system. My first reason is that I keep hearing the amount of money that is being spent on software and I felt I could make it less expensive and consequently more funds could be sent to MCC which is our goal. The second reason is that the auction software you can buy is geared towards all auctions and this system is written specifically for relief sales.

The RSAS system contains all elements needed to run a relief sale which are - the auction system, 80 reports including mailing labels, monetary and item contribution receipts, cash balancing reports, church and individual contact information, four-year sale history, and sales analysis.

Bidder registration is made easy because for bidders who have attended previous sales all you need to do is verify the information, click a button and they are registered. There is the capability of printing the auction item listing for the sale and organizing it by item number, time slots, or category. It gives you the ability to enter the Fair Market Value which is then used to calculate the contribution for the purchased items and can then be printed for the customer.

The system is written using a MS Access data base. It runs with MS Office XP 2002 and Windows 98 & higher. It uses about 8MB plus the data information data base. It can be used on a wire or wireless network by multiple users. The cost of RSAS is $500. I can also help with your conversion from your current data base to RSAS for a negotiated price.

If you want more information, please email me at . If you want to see a live demo, please come to the Relief Sale Biennial Workshop on May 26 & 27 in Waterloo, Ontario.

 

Dale L Miller, Treasurer, TriState Relief Sale