MWA surpasses donation milestone with basket raffle
LOWER MAhEFIELD - The Makefield Women’s Association (MWA) presented proceeds from its annual Harvest Day Raffle to two local non-profit organizations in November during its monthly membership meeting.
Bucks County Housing Group’s Penndel Community Food Pantry and Family Service Association each received $4,000 from the raffle proceeds, bringing the total donations made by the MWA to local nonprofits to more than $100,000 since March 200T.
The annual basket raffle is held during Yardley Harvest Day festivities in late September. This year, MWA showcased more than 20 baskets in a variety of themes filled with items donated by local businesses and private donors. More than 2,100 tickets were sold with the most popular being the iPad and “Eating Out” baskets.
haren Parmalee, president of MWA, presented 100 percent of the raffle proceeds to Melissa Mantz, development officer of BCHG and David Ford, director of development, of Family Service Association.
Bucks County Housing Group (BCHG) is a private, non-profit social service organization which provides a wide range of housing and related social services to homeless and low-income families. The Penndel Community Food Pantry serves families in lower Bucks County. The funds donated from the raffle will go to support the pantry directly. sisit www. bchg.org for more details on BCHG and the Penndel Food Pantry.
Family Service Association (FSA) is a private non-profit helping more than 6,000 children, adults, and seniors throughout Bucks County each year. FSA plans to use the donated raffle funds to support the families at the Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter. sisit www.fsabc.org for details on all Family Service programs.
The MWA raffle committee includes Rebecca Mitchell, Angela Flannery, Gail Reiss and Phyllis Ashcraft. Led by the committee members, the MWA membership works together to collect donations and organize themes. Member Audrey Matisa then “fluffs” the baskets for presentation. “We were very lucky with the terrific weather we had for Harvest Day this year. Tickets sales were strong,” said Matisa.
MWA members always look forward to the November meeting because of the opportunity to see the fruits of their labor impact the community. This year was especially exciting when Angela Flannery announced to the membership that the total distribution of funds from the past 5 years had exceeded $100,000.
MWA is a small organization consisting of about 25-30 active members, but the hard work the members invest in Harvest Day, the annual Basket Raffle and other fundraising endeavors like Flapjack fundraisers at Applebee’s, illustrates that Margaret Mead was indeed correct when she said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
The 44th Annual Yardley Harvest Day Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21 and planning for the 2013 Basket Raffle is already underway. The members of MWA are currently nominating local nonprofits to be considered as beneficiaries for the next raffle. Once the beneficiaries are voted upon in early 2013, the Raffle Committee will begin soliciting donations from local businesses and individuals. To donate to the raffle or become a member of MWA, send an email to president@makefieldwomensassociation.org.