For nearly a decade, I’ve been writing about how we can live more sustainable, eco-friendly lives, especially with kids. Through increasingly divisive battles about the “right” ways to move forward, we always come back to strong and resilient communities propelled by conversation, collective action, grace, and cooperation. I’d love for you to subscribe to the newsletter and join a thoughtful conversation on climate action and building community through connection and civic engagement as sage neighbors.
a basket of goodies to lighten the load
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The news is heavy (and sometimes we need to step away from it for a time). But ya know what’s always light and fun? A community-focused raffle basket, no matter what you put in it. 🧺 Bonus points if it’s filled with sustainably-minded goodness or gifts from your local small businesses, makers, producers, and creators. What a fun way to promote their businesses and brag about the fantastic products and services they share with neighbors. I’m not great at gift-giving, but I love putting together themed raffle baskets. I enjoy the creativity that goes into curating a basket of gifts to auction off to support a meaningful non-profit organization. This year, I’ve been tasked with preparing raffle baskets for the annual fundraising dinner for our local library, an organization for which I sit on the Board of Trustees. I opted to prepare two baskets: a kids’ quiet time basket and a golf basket. My pre-teen/teenage boys are partial to the golf basket, though you can’t beat a Yoto Player for kids! golf basket
kids’ quiet time basket (screen-free)
best place to buy basketsHands down, the thrift store is the best place to find baskets for the raffle. I ran to Goodwill and bought these two baskets for $1.99 and $3.99 (which I think are a bit pricey for secondhand woven baskets, but they didn’t break the bank). I was home and back in under 30 minutes. On Amazon, similar baskets start at $10 each. Most sell for $20 or more, and they take two days to arrive, even if you have Prime (which you probably don’t need, even if you use Amazon). Womp womp. more themed basket ideasIf you’ve got a community fundraiser coming up and want to prepare a fun themed-raffle basket, consider this list of sustainably-minded raffle basket ideas I created. It’s sort of a running ideas list for myself, but why not share them with you, too! 😉 tell me what I missedWhat are your favorite themes for raffle baskets? Some of my fellow library board members are doing:
Do you have a go-to theme for raffle baskets? What would you open your wallet for to win at (almost) any cost — that’s the real question, right? 💰 |
Sage Neighbor | On Building Community
For nearly a decade, I’ve been writing about how we can live more sustainable, eco-friendly lives, especially with kids. Through increasingly divisive battles about the “right” ways to move forward, we always come back to strong and resilient communities propelled by conversation, collective action, grace, and cooperation. I’d love for you to subscribe to the newsletter and join a thoughtful conversation on climate action and building community through connection and civic engagement as sage neighbors.
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