Pretty 'n Spring fundraiser for shelter makes the grade

The Pretty ‘n Spring Garden Tea student planning team present a cheque for $3,600 to Deb James, Fund Development Manager for the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie. (Source: Georgian College)

Out of desperation comes greatness.

Or at least that's what Middleton Umolo and her three teammates discovered when they came up empty for ideas on how to raise funds for the Women and Children's Shelter of Barrie in their Georgian College Event Management class.

"We were really struggling with an idea for an event," Umolo said. As the March 11 deadline approached, "We figured, okay, if we raise $1,000, we'll at least have done something."

After tossing out a plan for a wreath-making show (too expensive), they settled on a garden tea, she said.

"We wanted to channel empowering women and the spring season as well," Umolo said.

As soon as they got the ball rolling, it seemed to take on a momentum of its own.

They started to receive donations from the community for gift baskets to auction off, they found a local musical group, the Hillbirds, to perform, added a photo booth at the luncheon, and hosted a live art auction.

"We sold 25 tickets at $25 within two weeks," she said. "The stuff we got from the community was amazing. All of a sudden, everything just worked out for us."

The Pretty 'n spring Garden Tea event raised $3,600 for the Women and Children's Shelter.

"We were told that will cover the food costs at the shelter for three weeks," she said.