RS Service Auction / Clothing Drive

My calling right now is the RS Activity Committee.  I serve with some talented ladies and our goal is to make events that get more than the average 10 sisters to show up.  Our chair (Gina) came up with the idea of having 2 or 3 different options each time to generate a larger crowd by covering more interests.

A few weeks ago we held an activity that I did a TON of work on.  We started publicity for it like 2 months before it started.  We had 3 big activities that night:

1 - Quilt Tables.  One of our ladies makes baby blankets and the ward ties them.  We are going to donate these to the Detroit hospital (thousands of babies go home each year without anything except what the hospital provides).

2 - Clothing Swap.  We asked people to go through their closets and bring their gently used items to our swap.  I came home with a bunch of 4T girl pants!  We had a ton of items left over.  We were going to take them wherever and donate them but my friend Rachel saved the day!  Her parents live here and they are serving a mission in Detroit.  It's an inner city mission that is just focusing on helping the people - trying to break the poverty cycle.  They have a mission like that in SLC but this is the first city they're trying outside Utah (or so that's what I've been told).  Anyways, they just made an agreement with the Salvation Army.  Clothing/items that are donated can be credited toward an account for the church.  Then bishops can send members who need stuff to a local Salvation Army with a voucher to use money out of our account!  AWESOME!  It's like DI!  They sent a truck to the church and picked everything up for us!!!  YAY!!!!!

3 - Service Auction.  My friend Jamie and I were in charge of this one.  We asked the RS and YW to donate a service item for the silent auction.

Examples
- Food: bring cookies or bread; offer to teach someone to cook; will bring you dinner- Crafts: teach someone to knit/crochet/sew; bring hair bows to share; bring a blanket to donate- Kids: babysit while you go to the temple; plan an FHE for your family- Skills: instrument lessons; teach how to use computer; teach dancing- Personal Care: haircuts; manicures- Services: do yard work; house cleaning; write their missionaries; help getting started with genealogy

The more we discussed logistics we decided an actual auction would be too hard with all we had going on.  So it was more like a "Service Drawing."  We gave everyone 5 slips of paper to write their name on, then they could put it in the cup attached to the item.  When we did the drawing we decided that it was alright if someone won more than one thing (who knows, maybe they needed those things).  I am so happy with our turn out!!  We had like 60 items to give away that night.  Many items were things people brought that night (like baked goods) but some things we will need to follow up on (like babysitting).  I sent an email to all the follow up items and we will check back in a month to see if they have something figured out.  Hopefully it will get people together who normally don't hang out - an opportunity to make new friends in the ward.

I won 3 things that night!  I got "Clean your bathrooms" by this darling 12 year old (I think I'm going to ask her if I can switch for babysitting cause I saw her name on the paper and thought that's what she was giving away - oops!)  I won another babysitting from a 13 year old.  I think I will ask the younger girls to just come watch my girls while I am upstairs doing a craft or something.  And I also won a ceramic bowl.  I thought that it meant she would make a bowl for me, but when I talked to her I found out that I am going to be making the bowl myself!  She has a potters wheel and a kiln!  COOL!

I gave away vinyl lettering for their home, of your choosing.  And a digital invitation/announcement/card/etc (not cause I'm great at it, just cause I like doing it).

In these photos you can see some of the cups we used are decorated.  Two Sundays before this event I went to YWs to make sure they were excited about it.  I had them use markers to decorate the cups.  I wanted them to feel invested on some level about this activity.  That night they were all walking around looking for the cups they designed.  Success!  I was going to use mason jars with ribbon for the slips of paper but my mom talked me out of it.  She said something like "it's a RS activity, not a wedding reception."  I think we often get stuck on the idea that everything needs to coordinate and be super adorable.  But it's unnecessary stress.  I'm glad she talked me off that ledge!