DD's Team/PICTURES/Advise

[Elaine "Lady Blue"]

Since there's not much going on except for some of y'all having clinics, I need some help/advise.
I need to do a fund raiser for DD (Renee) for travel ball fees. She & two others on the team are the only girls whose
family is not rolling in $$$$$. The team fee is $500, the
park fee is $165, and then we have weekend motels, gas, food, etc. I was thinking about buying a TV and raffling it off--what do y'all think? I'm just a poor blue, but need bucks for the kid. Due to my present health, I may not be able to umpire until May or June.
For those that are interested, you can see a picture of
Renee and her team @

http://www.renegades.designasylum.net

Go to the photos and Renee is the left handed batter labled
'renedecap' as a rise ball had just hit her in the head!
De-cap--lol The pictures didn't get everyone on the
present team, they were from 1 fall tourney only. For some
reason, the Web master deleted all of the 2001 photos.
Oh yeah, it wouldn't hurt if some of you ordered some of our
fantastic shirts, pins, or hats either!!!

Thanks fellow Blues!

[kono]

Elaine - Have you tried a sponsorship letter?? Have Renee bring it door to door in the business communities in your area. $10 here, $25 there adds up after a while. I'm in the same boat with my daughter. $550 team fee plus a trip to North Carolina at the end of July.

As for the picture - She has good taste in bats. It looks just like the one my daughter has.

-Kono

[Elaine "Lady Blue"]

Kono,

Good idea, Kono! I did this once for an entire team, but not for just 1 player, I'll see if she'll do it!!
As for the bat--Worth Michele Smith--I picked it out and she
liked it. I like Worth as the grip is narrower than some brands and feels more comfortable if you have small hands.

Elaine

[kono]

The thing my daughter likes about the Michelle Smith bats is that the weight is more evenly distributed compared to others. A 22 oz. M Smith bat seems lighter than a 22 oz. Redline because of the moment caused by the weight at the end of the bat (sorry - I spent 20 years in an engineering position). Better distribution = quicker bat speed.

-Kono

[Gulf Coast Blue]

Raffles are a good Idea.............

You can also do a split the pot raffle where 1/2 of the money goes to the winner and the other half goes to the one doing the raffle.......that way you are not out any money to start.......

However.......if you can get a business to donate the item you are raffling, you are not out anything either.....

Some of the best raffles I have seen are multiple winners........get local businesses to donate dinners, sporting goods, gift certificates, etc.............have multiple pulls and multiple winners.......sometimes people are more likely to purchase tickets if they think they have more than one chance to win.......

Also, make sure you reconize any business that gives you anything............a letter of thanks goes a long way in their eyes..........

Joel

[Just Curious]

Elaine...
We have seen our share of raffles and the prize list doesn't always have to be "hardware". For instance, my wife is a professional photographer and I like to fish... Well she always offer a portrait of some kind and I provide a guide service for fly fishing... Donating or winning something that's personal can be pretty neat too!
cl

[Elaine "Lady Blue"]

The team is starting a fund raiser this weekend which I've started as it was profitable for our high school team. It's
called Hit-A-Thon. Each girl (or parent) collects pledges for how far the girl hits. At a designated practice, each
girl hits 5 times, the distance is averaged and then the
girls collect.

Example: Renee's average was 125'

Joe Goodguy pledged .10 per ft. 125 x .10 = $12.50

or if the folks prefer, just pledge a flat fee. This is easy and very profitable.

Some folks from different boards have emailed me with some
great ideas, too!

Thanks to all!!