Words of Wisdom

Hi everyone,

Before you get too excited about a fellow student getting all philosophical with ‘words of wisdom’ I would like to state the words of wisdom came from someone I spoke to, but I will get onto that later.

Sorry it took me a couple of weeks to update you on the ‘A Night at Colosseum’ Youth Focus event, I was waiting to get some photos from the night. I thought if you were able to see the effort that went into it you would appreciate my blog a bit more. Just to recap: the night was a corporate annual fundraising evening for Youth Focus (a not-for-profit organisation assisting young people showing early signs of depression).

The night started off with a group of volunteers meeting in the Swan Room in Burswood, which is next to the Grand Ballroom, to be briefed on the tasks that needed to be carried out that night. Everyone was really friendly, and a few people had helped out at previous Youth Focus “Night of Nights” events, and had some really interesting stories to tell. It was a bit difficult to try pick up on what exactly needed to be done at this stage. However, as the night progressed I began to better understand each task and its importance to the night. Guests started arriving about an hour after our brief, and we were placed in the foyer to talk to them about Youth Focus and encourage silent auction bidding.

Silent auction items ranged from signed merchandise to artwork to Tupperware packages to 5-person dinner packages cooked by Masterchef contestants. I was very impressed with the variety.

 After this we able to enjoy the entertainment that was provided on the night, as we were not required again until the main auction. There were some very talented gymnasts during the introduction, followed by four of the Ten Tenors.

Our next task was to ‘spot’ during the major auction – this meant making an ‘L’ shape with our arms to bring bidders to the attention of the auctioneer. There was a lot of energy in the room during the auction. Some of the items included a signed ACDC guitar, holiday packages to Broome, Margaret River and Bali, helicopter rides and a media package. Some items were sold at over $15,000. More than $330 000 was raised on the night in total.

After this, all volunteers collected raffle tickets and money. Concurrent with this there was a mad rush to ensure all silent auction items were placed in the Swan Room for collection by the winning bidders. All winning bidders had to be located by table number which was a bit of a mission given that most guests had taken full advantage of the continuous supply of wine by this stage and were busting a move to “Video Killed the Radio Star” and other such 80s songs on the dance floor. The volunteers were all free to go by about 12.30am, and by then I was exhausted! I really enjoyed the entire process of being involved in the event.

Just a quick update on where my friend and I are at with the event we ourselves are creating for Youth Focus:

Last week we met with the Key Client Manager from Nova 937 at their Subiaco office. Not only did she provide details of another contact to assist us with securing a band for the event (the founder of Heatseeker and Supersonic Events), and some double passes to premier movies this month () but she also provided us with some words of wisdom. And here it comes:

“When you’re working for not-for-profits, don’t waste your time trying to build relationships with people who just want to gain something from you. Build relationships with contacts who want to contribute to the cause just as much as you do. You’ll achieve much greater results”.

I found this to be a very interesting point which I had not yet explored. That is why she led us to the founder of Heatseeker, as he is very philanthropically inclined.

Ok so I paraphrased the quote a little bit haha but the general gist is there. I hope anyone who is looking to become involved in not-for-profit organisations can take something from it too! I was quite inspired.

I would love to hear from anyone who would be interested in helping out at the event – face painting, balloon tying, selling raffle tickets or food! It will be held in January, which is a bit far I know, but just in case it takes anyone’s interest.

I apologise for the ridiculously long blog. Congratulations on getting this far. I hope you are all enjoying your placements and learning from the people you’re working with.

Best of Luck,

Renae