Going, going... to a good cause
Annual Milk Fund Appeal off to a fast start with WOON Radio auction
WOONSOCKET – Each year Dave Richards typically starts the annual Milk Fund charity drive by starting his WOON Radio station’s supporting Milk Fund Auction on Dec. 1 for just under a month of fundraising.
But because Thanksgiving came early this year, Richards decided he had to break with tradition and get the radio auction up and running this week with the first Coffee ‘An show of the week on Monday or lose up to four auction days before it ends on Christmas Eve.
As a result, the 86th Annual Milk Fund Appeal ended up with one of its best opening day tallies ever.
“It was so well received, I was flabbergasted with the support we got,” Richards said of the better than expected interest in the first official Milk Fund fundraiser.
Milk Fund Chairwoman Lisa Carcifero, who joined Richards at the microphone for the first day of auctioneering, was equally impressed.
“We started out with a bang, thank you to everyone, “Carcifero said of the final tally and two $1,000 donation checks that also came in during the program.
The Milk Fund auctions are held from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the Coffee ‘An program Monday through Friday until Christmas Eve, and Romeo Berthiaume continues the fundraising work on his Saturday Show program from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. on the Saturdays leading up to the holiday.
The shows gain sponsorships from local businesses interested in helping the Milk Fund and help from donors who provide the items, gift certificates, event tickets, and services auctioned by Richards and his auction helpers, Joe Callahan, WOON production manager, Dave’s wife, Denise, and the volunteers who handle calls and inventory items to hit the airwaves on a given day.
There are callers who connect with the station seeking a particularly good bargain but also those who bid on something they might not really need, to help the local charity and its mission of providing a regular supply of milk to working poor families, families experiencing joblessness, and those in special need such as seniors having difficulty providing for themselves.
The Milk Fund, a charity intend- ed to help meet the nutritional needs of disadvantaged local children, was founded in 1932 by the Woonsocket Child and Family Service, now the Community Care Alliance, and The Woonsocket Call. Over the years, the campaign grew in leaps and bounds as a vibrant local business community and the city’s always giving residents turned to the Milk Fund to help those in greatest need in their community sometimes raising over $90,000 annually to provide a steady supply of milk to those eligible through the course of a year.
More recently, the tallies have declined to a degree as the variety of organizations seeking public support around the holidays increased, but the Milk Fund still does its part in helping families make sure that children’s nutritional needs are met.
During the auction on Monday, Richards had four tickets to the Polar Express train ride to auction off with a listed value of over $200.
A live holiday-decorated boxwood tree was on the desk to go out and gift certificates from Li’l General, the Village Haven Restaurant, a Stop & Shop gift card and a Hatchimals toy egg up for bidding with a number of other items.
The Hatchimals toy went to Chris L. for $26, the Village Haven certificate to Deb T., and the big item of the day, the Polar Express tickets to Jenny Chan for $120, a sum Richards finally determined to be worthy after a short bidding war between Chan and Glen B. Although losing out on the Polar Express, Glen B. did win a $20 bid for a gift certificate from Henry’s Auto Parts in Blackstone.
Although something like the train ride ticket had a higher value that the funding collected, Richards explained it is always a tradeoff between giving the auction participant a good deal and bringing the needed funds for the Milk Fund.
“If you are getting 70 percent of the value of the items for everything that was donated, that is a good auction,” Richards said.
As for what the auction will bring in by the end of this year’s Milk Fund appeal, Richards declined to guess. It’s even hard to predict the final tally for the Milk Fund overall but Richards said unofficially, he would like it to be more than the $42,000 raised during the 85th edition of the Milk Fund.
“I really want to hit $50,000 this year,” Richards said of his unofficial target for the drive.
Carcifero said she would be happy with “just a little bit more money than last year.”
Goals can sometime overshadow the good work that is done every year.
“Every dollar goes out to families and the Milk Fund provides dozens of families with milk each year,” she said.
When a family must decide what to do with whatever support it does receive, having a steady supply of milk in the fridge at least frees up that support for other needed items, she noted.
Richards also believes the Milk Fund expands the support that is available to distressed families.
“The food that is best for you, fresh fruit and vegetables, is also the most expensive and with the help of the Milk Fund, you have more choices because it loosens up the pocketbook a bit,” he said
The kick-off auction benefited by a visit from Richard Picard, a retired vocational teacher and member of the local Morning Star Lodge of the Masons.
Picard, treasurer for the Masons, brought along a check for $1,000 from the Royal Arch Chapter authorized by Pawtucket’s Chapter No. 4 of the Masons, and another $1,000 check from the Masons’ Holy Sepulcher Commandery No. 8, out of Pawtucket.
“We support the work the Milk Fund does in the Blackstone Valley and believe it is a very good organization,” Picard said.
Richards also noted that the Milk Fund Run and Walk put on earlier in the month by Judy Sullivan of The Gym LLC, with the help of Sen. Roger Picard, the Savini family and their restaurants, and Valley Transportation, collected $900 that will soon be added to the tally.
And now that the Milk Fund is underway, its volunteers are already thinking about other ways to help.
Callahan said he will be offering a challenge to the station’s listeners that might affect how he ends up looking as the Milk Fund appeal ends.
“If I raise $300 by Dec. 21, then I will go on the show on Dec. 22 and have my head shaved, Callahan said.
His wife, Gail, has said the fundraiser would be OK to her, but his daughter, Jocelyn, has her misgivings about what he might look like afterwards. “She’s not happy about it,” Callahan said.
But if it helps bring in $300, Callahan said he is all for it. “I’ll have my barber, Edge Barbers and Hair Salon on Pulaski Boulevard in Bellingham come in shave my head live on the air,” he said.