Last year at our Church Picnic we had a dunk tank fundraiser, for the first time. We raised $1000 for OCC, and were very happy with that. You can read about it here.
This year we had no idea what to expect. The weather was not great. There was a light rain during our church service outside, and through out lunch. We weren't sure how many people would stick around. But we trusted God would provide. We had the dunk tank scheduled after the relay races.
During the races, I was put on the spot with no warning and interviewed about shoe boxes, and the impact they are having. At first I drew a complete blank. And then words came out and I know that they were from God. Because I couldn't have said it that well.
And then it was time to begin. Our crowd was very different than last year. It was a much younger crowd, and smaller at first. Last year we dunked a different person every 1/2 hour. This year we wanted it to go a little quicker. We decided to do it one person after another. No break in between. We had asked 8 adults. And one child.
Another learning moment. We wanted to include a few kids in the fundraiser. We had permission slips they had to bring back but it was May long weekend so the there weren't many kids in Sunday School. And then we didn't have Sunday School as we had church campout. So we only had one child respond. Timing is everything. Next year we need to send out the permission slips at a better time.
We had a goal of $1500. If we met that goal I would go into the tank. (Thankfully I had grabbed some extra clothes on the way out the house in the morning.)
We started with the lead singer, Bob, from of one of Praise Bands. He had an umbrella, while sitting, waiting to be auctioned off;) And hats off to our Auctioneer, Warren. He did a fantastic job!! The crowd really got into it as well. Each person was auctioned off once and then every time there was someone willing to bid on a second throw. Our participants were so great, agreeing to go into the icy cold water twice. (Note to self try to find warm water for next year)
Here is Peter, one of fabulous Grade 1 teachers awaiting his fate.
Brrr. It's cold.
Eva preparing to go in.
It was fun to see Matt, a Sask Riders fan, dress up and really get into it.
$500 to dunk a riders fan.
After Matt, our 5th participant we had met and exceeded our goal! I couldn't believe how high people were bidding. I was blown away. And I realized I would be going into that frigid waters now too. But it would be worth it.
It is nerve wracking waiting for the ball to hit the target. Wes waiting to go in.
Pastor Rob, he participated last year as well.
I love the smile on Mr.Wiebe's photo as he is throwing.
And this picture has a great story!
We were on one of our last participants when Michele (pictured in pink) came up to me and said that she had someone offer to donate $500 if she went in. She had no extra clothes but she would do it. Again I was shocked, shocked at our congregations generosity and that she would be willing to go in unprepared into cold water all to help support this great cause. She was a great sport went in and got dunked and even offered to get dunked again. And the second time we received $325. We received the most amount of money for her, someone not even on our list.
Now it was my turn to go.
We had WAY exceeded our goal.
Blown it out of the park!
I said I would go in, but we were trying to figure out who would throw the ball. But others thought I should be auctioned off. At this point I couldn't think clearly, lol. I was feeling that everyone had been so generous that I shouldn't be auctioned off. I went up to take my seat and let others decide my fate. I can't even remember how it happened, if they started auctioning or not, but someone from the crowd yelled $500 if Jer (my husband) and I go in together. 2 for 1 deal.
At first he said no because he had no extra clothes.
But a second later he was taking off his shoes and socks and climbing up the ladder to join me.
You can see the video here. Ok well it's not working to upload the video.
2 on a seat didn't really work.
I was trying to figure out what to hold onto.
If I held onto the back of the seat I would have scrapped my arm.
If I held onto Jer I would push him down.
So I ended up loosing my balance and fell in.
Ahh good memories.
In the end we raised over $5500 dollars!
To God be the Glory!
Eternity will be changed forever!
Now we are praying for guidance into how to use this money.
Do we up the number of boxes we pack?
Do we have a community packing party?
Or do we add good quality shoes and underwear to each box?
Or does God have other items we are to add?
A HUGE thank you to everyone who made this event possible!
