MCC FESTIVAL RAISES HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS

 

Event Benefits Refugees Around the World

The cooler weather didn't keep folks away from the annual MCC Festival Auction and Relief Sale, which drew thousands of people to the Abbotsford TRADEX to eat, shop, visit, play, listen, bid and give, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for displaced people here at home and around the world.

Addressing the audience at Sunday's closing Festival of Praise, Relief Sale Coorindator Dora Hoeppner joked that she'd been looking forward to the Sunday for “quite some time.”

“But it is definitely a Praise the Lord day,” she said, sharing that the preliminary total for the weekend was nearly $650,000. “Many refugees will have a place to call home because of your participation in this event.”

Hoeppner gave a few interesting statistics, including the fact that folks at 28,000 vereniki (Russian perogies) and 1500 lbs of farmer sausage.

While donations are still being tallied and the offering from the Festival of Praise still needs to be added to the total, it is clear that the MCC Festival was a success drawing people of all ages to volunteer and to give.

The auction on Saturday morning began with the traditional, symbolic auctioning of a loaf of bread which sold for $205,000 from a multitude of bidders – the highest bid being $25,000. Another symbol was also auctioned: the “Homes for Bangladesh” travelling quilt – so called because it “travels” to MCC events around Canada and is symbolically auctioned at each event to help families in Bangladesh rebuild homes lost to Cyclone Sidr last year. Since this year's festival supported MCC's ministry with refugees here and around the world, this symbol of home, made by quilters across the country, was a fitting contribution to this year's event. It brought in $25,000.

Other highlights included the quilt auction which raised over $20,000 with the feature quilt “Little Cabin in the Woods” bringing in $1000 The highest selling quilt “Embroidered Flowers”, went for $1650. The silent auction was also a success raising over $7700.

Wheels brought in some large donations as well. The Yamaha Vmax motorcycle, donated by Clearbrook Yamaha, sold for $7950 and the brand new RV donated by Fraserway RV, sold for $12,500.

The Penny Power booth brought in over $20,000 but the coins are still being rolled and counted. The coin drive this year raised funds for food related projects in Mozambique. This amount is matched 4-1 by the Canadian International Development Agency through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

“One elderly lady spent all evening Friday and all day Saturday rolling coins. I could hardly keep up with her” said Phil Schafran, Director of Resource Generation for MCC BC. “And when I thanked her after the Festival was over, she said, with a twinkle in her eye, ‘Yes, my doctor told me I shouldn't come!'”

But perhaps the most astonishing figure in this Festival comes form those who didn't find anything to buy or bid on and simply gave, donating more than $177,000 at the donations booth.

“Some people just come in and say ‘I don't need to buy anything, I just want to give',” said Susan Beachy, MCC's Director of Finances, who worked at the donations booth.

Donations continue to be counted and the offering from the Festival of Praise still needs to be added to the total so the final count will be even higher. All proceeds benefit MCC's work with refugees and displaced people all over the world including places like Sudan, Colombia and Iraq. You can learn more about MCC's work worldwide when you visit mcc.org.

Prince George Mennonite Fall Fair, September 27, 2008

The 24th annual Prince George Mennonite Fall Fair happens September 24th in the Civic Centre from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Find treats to delight the senses at the baking, plants and produce, crafts, fair trade coffee, and farmer sausage booths, and the well-stocked Ten Thousand Villages market. Search out bargains in the used clothing, used books, garage sale and silent auction areas. A day at the Fall Fair won't be complete without a "Full Meal Lunch" of cabbage borscht, farmer sausage on a bun, dessert and beverage. Children of all ages can have their faces painted and buy a balloon. This event will support the MCC WaterWorks projects as well as the Christian Life Centre and Ness Lake Bible Camp, both in Prince George.

World Fair in Beautiful Black Creek May 24, 2008

It was a gorgeous weekend and many came to participate in this terrific event, which supported MCC Micro-loan projects in Cambodia. Thanks to all the volunteers who made this MCC World Fair a success!