Seeding the future: host a house party
by Kelly Sanderbeck, Communications & Development Director
This article was originally published in March 2010
Janine VanSanden has been hosting house parties to raise money for PCC Farmland Trust since 2003. They’ve become so popular that friends call in advance asking when the next one is scheduled!
We met one afternoon for coffee a few months ago and I was greeted by an affable woman who generated passion about access to clean, healthy food and dismay at our current system of industrialized agriculture.
“I live alone and don’t have a huge income,” said Janine. “I decided I wanted to support the trust in a larger way than I could just on my own.” With a plan to offer great homemade food with homegrown music, her idea took off and has become a staple that she holds every other year for friends, neighbors and others who happen to hear about it through the grapevine. She charges $25 per person and usually has about 50 people. Attendees provide their own beverages.
Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.
— Dale Carnegie
The trust has decided to take Janine’s idea a step further and encourage trust supporters to give their own house parties. We’re calling them “Seeding the Future” — aiming to cultivate a wider web of people who become new ambassadors for our work.
It’s simple: decide what kind of party you want, how many people, how much to charge, if you want to show our new video (10 minutes), and if you’d like a guest speaker from the trust. It can be a Soup Supper, a BBQ Blast or a Divine Dinner. Add music, costumes or whatever suits your fancy! We’ll do our best to work with you to help you be successful.
If you’re reading this, you are the choir. Please consider taking the next step to reach out to those who may not yet know about the trust but would want to. Call us at 206-547-9855 to receive your “Seeding the Future” information packet and, after you host a party, tell us about your successes so we can thank you in “Our Latest Crop of News” e-newsletter. Cheers!