A wrap up of our May 2019 fundraiser for Cure Brain Cancer Foundation (CBCF)

craft craft prjects crafting together crochet crumbz craft cure brain cancer fundraiser knitting state schools relief program yarns

Our fundraising month of May this year was spent raising funds and awareness for Cure Brain Cancer Foundation (CBCF).  When we approached them to tell them we would be fundraising with a series of events and an overnight Yarn-a-Thon they were (understandably) excited as no-one had ever fundraised for them in this way before.  They sent us stickers, pens and mini colourful cranes – the crane is their logo, and information on the story behind it and what the colours represent.

That got Kay thinking (any excuse to get creative that one!) and knowing how people had loved crocheting butterflies for last year’s fundraiser (butterflies being the logo for beyondblue), Kay decided to make a wire crane frame which we could then fix crocheted flowers onto, in coloured sections, representing CBCF’s logo. Lucky her husband Barry is an engineer as he was tasked with creating it! And so it began – we had a series of events in May, kicking off with a fantastic beer and crochet night at Watt’s River Brewery where the brewers not only donated their venue to our cause, but also gave raffle prizes and a percentage of their takings on the night to our fundraiser. 

Other local businesses generously supported the event too with friands and cakes donated by chef Ben Arnold (My Little Kitchen),

delicious cheeses (Yarra Valley Dairy),

and sensational wine (Pimpernel Wines)

and the night was a huge success, with 80 people filling the brewery, crocheting, drinking, eating pizza and cheese boards, learning about beer from the brewers and generally having a fantastic night, all in the name of fundraising.

Kay and her team had pimped the brewery with giant crocheted bells, garlands and of course, the wire crane, suspended from the ceiling, watching over us all.

Here's Kay with Watts River Brewery co-owners Hanna & Ben - stars of the night, esp Hanna, who was doing to work of two people! 

Our fundraiser event was featured in our local press, who are long time supporters of our charity events each year and we were once again, touched by the number of people who heard we were fundraising for CBCF and shared their stories with us about losing a loved one to brain cancer.

A couple of lovely CBCF volunteers, Anna and Annie who live in the region (Mt Evelyn) heard about our events on facebook and joined us in crocheting flowers for the crane and joined us at our 24 hour overnight knit too which was super.

 

Throughout the month of May - fabulous volunteers crocheted flowers with yarn donated by Crumbz (carefully chosen in CBCF's corporate colours), and people posted them in to us so that customers could purchase them for $5 each, and have them fixed onto the crane who was by now in pride of place in the shop window for all the world to admire.  

During the month of May we had a yarn night, showcasing a new range of Wooladdicts yarns we were stocking and people joined us for a glass of something bubbly and to hear from the Wooladdicts team about the range. Crumbz donated 5% of the takings that night to CBCF – and the bank account amount kept on growing.

 

One of our lovely customers Irene dedicated an entire day to help Kay fix the hundreds of flowers on to the crane – peoples' generosity knows no bounds.

 

And we finished up the month of fundraising with our 24-hr overnight knit where people came and knitted and crocheted at our shop from midday on the Saturday when the sun was shining and plenty of youngsters helped us get cracking

through to midday on the Sunday, and some crazy nutters stayed and knitted/crocheted the whole 24 hours! 

Entire jumpers were made in this time, here's Kay modelling one - it was phenomenal to see!

Each year we’re impressed by the amazing souls who carry on crafting into and through the night, with much hilarity

and an amazing amount of lovely nibbles always help; Barbara made cup cakes adorned with tiny paper cranes for us to sell and enjoy as we crafted away 

and the wonderful Barry saw to it that none of us flagged as the new day dawned and he revived the crafters with a very welcome bacon and egg muffin cooked up on the BBQ

Sunday arrived and the shop was full of helpers, crafters, shoppers and supporters and a huge triumphant cheer went up at midday as we reached the 24 hr point, celebrated with a glass of bubbles. 

Donations continued to arrive, from office collections, to donations from dogs (!) and the generous extended Crumbz family, of customers, passers by and well-wishers, dug deep and together we raised a whopping $4,550.55 which is fantastic.

People are already asking if we are running our fundraiser again next year and the answer is of course – YES.  And we have selected State School Relief Program to raise funds and awareness for in May 2020. State Schools’ Relief assisted more than 56,000 students in Victorian government schools last year with school uniforms, shoes and educational resources. Every day, SSR hear from schools who have children attending, without the basic necessities required to participate fully in their education.

When approached by a school regarding a vulnerable child needing assistance, SSR provides quality footwear and their own brand clothing which they deliver to the participating school free of charge. Other branded school uniform items are subsidised, with parents making a contribution to each branded item of clothing.

 

So...save the date for our fundraiser on 30/31 May 2019 and we'll keep you posted as to what exciting events and activities we'll be running and what fabulous items we can all create next May, to raise funds and awareness for such an important cause. 

 Til then - happy crafting :-)


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