Monday, Aug. 30, 2010

New Bethany fundraiser goes casual

Organizers opt for finger food, marketplace to raise money for elder care site

New traditions will abound next month at a fundraiser for a local institution.

Members of the New Bethany Guild are preparing for an annual fundraiser Sept. 11 at New Bethany Residential Care and Skilled Nursing facility.

The money that is raised will help offset the facility's operations costs.

"We are planning a fundraiser called The Marketplace on New Bethany Square," said Barbara Parreira, one of the organizers. "We will have five 'stores' selling everything; fresh produce, arts, garden, bakery.

"We are also having a 50-50 raffle," she said. "This is a pre-function raffle. We will split the proceeds with whoever wins."

Parreira stresses, "(Tickets) will not be sold the night of the fundraiser."

This year's event will not include a sit-down dinner as in past years. Instead, organizers have opted to continue a more casual mix-and-mingle social started in 2009.

Parreira also said there will not be an auction this year. It has been replaced with a slightly more suspenseful way to raise funds from donated items.

"We have something called Pick-a-Price," said Parreira.

"We have some high-end items. You take a piece of paper with your bid number and put a price that you're willing to pay for that item into a little container and whoever puts in the highest amount wins."

Parreira says there will also be a second raffle during the marketplace event.

Dinner breaks from the traditions of years past as well.

"It's basically finger food. It's not a sit-down dinner," says Parreira.

"That's what we used to have. Last year we changed the whole program so that people would be able to come and mingle rather than sit down at a table and just sit."

This year the plan is to bring in several caterers; people will be able to stroll through the marketplace in the courtyard as they munch on goodies.

New Bethany is a nonprofit elder care facility. It is highly regarded by many members of Los Banos' community.

It is owned and operated by The Community of the Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and is supported in part by the guild's fundraising efforts.

Tickets for the event as well as the pre-event raffle are on sale now. Both are available at the New Bethany facility or from any member of the New Bethany Guild.

Parreira said that she is willing to help people locate a place to purchase a ticket. She can be reached at 826-3764.

The New Bethany Guild is hoping for a large turnout.

"The Guild has been helping with fundraisers every year for 11 years. We raise money to help the sisters supplement expenses, because it's very expensive to run the facility," Parreira said.