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Actually, the VFW was hosting two events.
The first was Operation Promgirl with a Chili Fundraiser & Silent Auction.
I asked Dawn Schultz, founder of Operation Prom Girl, to give me a few details about the event.
The first was Operation Promgirl with a Chili Fundraiser & Silent Auction.
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| Dawn Schultz |
Today, at the Wildomar VFW, we had a Christmas fundraising chili function with a silent auction fundraiser.
Operation Prom Girl [was] founded in Wildomar. What we do is help girls get to the prom that can't afford it, or have some kind of hardship or special circumstance.
Today's fundraiser, all of the proceeds are going to go to help more girls get to the prom in 2017. Our event is going to be April 8th of 2017 and we've had 100% plus increase since we started this program three years ago.
Operation Prom Girl [was] founded in Wildomar. What we do is help girls get to the prom that can't afford it, or have some kind of hardship or special circumstance.
Today's fundraiser, all of the proceeds are going to go to help more girls get to the prom in 2017. Our event is going to be April 8th of 2017 and we've had 100% plus increase since we started this program three years ago.
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As indicated in the chart above, the event continues to gain
more and more participants as each year goes by. |
• • •
The second event was Toys for Tots, sponsored by Joseph Onello. 
This event is actually going on all day (till 4pm) Sunday, December 4th, too.
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| A group shot in front of the boxes for toys. From left to right are Daisy, John, Mayor Bridgette Moore, Daisy, Jose and three members from the Marines (one taking a photo) that are thousands of miles away from their homes. |
Over at the Elks Lodge, less than 100 yards to the west of the VFW, was the Elks 18th annual Christmas Tree Lane event.
It was a packed house with estimates of more than 400 people in attendance.
The Elks Lodge had 10 trees worth at least $1000 apiece on display.
The trees had various themes decorated by different teams.
Each tree had it's own ticket bucket to deposit tickets into. The idea is that you would buy a ticket, your chance to win it big, at a dollar per ticket.
However, if you were to buy in bulk, you got far more than one ticket per dollar spent.
Here's a peek at the secret ticket buying formula:
(fine, it's not a secret, but I'm sticking with that description anyhow)
It was a packed house with estimates of more than 400 people in attendance.
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| Panoramics are always difficult to share online, but here's a look at the crowd a few moments before the drawings began. See if you can zoom in and spot someone you know. ☺ |
The Elks Lodge had 10 trees worth at least $1000 apiece on display.
The trees had various themes decorated by different teams.
- Be your own Santa
- Movie Night
- American Home
- Beautiful Patio (this one was huge and worth $2500)
- Santa's Computer Room
- An Old Fashioned Christmas
- Man Tree
- Christmas Candyland Toy Tree
- Tween Tree (with a new Xbox One)
- Little Tree, Big Bucks ($1000 in cash)
Each tree had it's own ticket bucket to deposit tickets into. The idea is that you would buy a ticket, your chance to win it big, at a dollar per ticket.
However, if you were to buy in bulk, you got far more than one ticket per dollar spent.
Here's a peek at the secret ticket buying formula:
(fine, it's not a secret, but I'm sticking with that description anyhow)
- 1 for 1
- 6 for 5
- 13 for 10
- 30 for 20
- 75 for 50
- 160 for 100
- (I wonder how many tickets they'll give in exchange for a Nolan Ryan rookie card?)
Not too sure how many tickets were sold, that tabulation hadn't been made when I was asking around, but I personally saw tickets that started at 50--- and others that started at 54---.
UPDATE: The total amount that this one day event raised was $14,750.
Next year, remember to buy early and often... after all, it's for the kids. ☺
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| A non-panoramic view of the crowd from about 20 yard line near the opponent's endzone. |
All of the proceeds from the raffle support local school scholarships and other charitable needs.
One such past recipient, Makenna Olson, has since graduated from SFO and is now working on her Masters in Urban Planning at NYU.
It was definitely a festive atmosphere and busy too.
Though I'm not noted as a fan of elbow to elbow crowds, this one is always fun be at. It only lasts for about an hour before people head back to their homes, and the ruckus dies down.
It was definitely a festive atmosphere and busy too.
Though I'm not noted as a fan of elbow to elbow crowds, this one is always fun be at. It only lasts for about an hour before people head back to their homes, and the ruckus dies down.
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| Though there are many great Santas in the area, it's hard to beat the the Elks Santa and Mrs. Santa, portrayed by Arnie and Colleen Yarchever. |
• • •
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“In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukkah' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukkah!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!”
Wildomar Rap has never been in fear of saying Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (even when it's spelled with a C), Happy New Year, Happy Festivus or Happy Holidays. They all all make their point. Heck, I'd even wish someone a Happy Kwanzaa if I ever met someone that actually observed it. To each his own, now Rock On!
— Dave Berry
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