Successful Christmas Clothing Swap Fundraiser for Schools of Africa
As the year 2023 drew to a close, we were highly motivated to organize a fundraising event for the Schools of Africa Project. Some of our local women leaders have been involved in similar education projects overseas for many years, making the conditions of the Schools of Africa a stark reality to them and near and dear to their hearts.
We decided to organize a clothing swap, focusing primarily on children's clothing and considering how it could benefit young moms in our community. The idea was to bring the event to where people were already gathering.
We proposed hosting the event during the lunchtime following the Las Vegas Family Church service. The church was enthusiastic about supporting our "Christmas Clothing Swap." On December 17, 2023, we were given the opportunity to briefly mention the WFWP-sponsored schools and explain how the event would function. There was no price or value placed on the clothing – everything was free, and attendees were encouraged to take as much as they liked. However, we requested that they consider making a year-end monetary donation for the Schools of Africa. Even if someone wasn't interested in the clothing, we asked for a five or ten dollar donation for the Schools of Africa.
We were deeply touched by the generosity of many donors who brought lightly used clothing and the positive response from people who contributed a few dollars to the giant coin jar we had prepared. By the end of the day, we had collected more than $780.00 in our humble coin jar, and a few large sponsors had put in checks, all together totaling more than $1,800.00. Half of the clothes found new happy homes, and we still had seven bags and four boxes of clothing to donate to the Salvation Army. It was a highly successful community service and fundraising event.
Supporters savored the cookies arranged on the table and found information on the nine different schools in Africa that WFWP supports.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the members of the Las Vegas Family Church for welcoming our event and to everyone who made donations.
