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We recently chatted with fellow Reef2Reef members and moderators, Mike and Terry Lauderdale (Mike&Terry) about their unique spin on the typical reef club “Meetâ€.
For those unfamiliar with this event, Mike and Terry host an annual Reef Party and charity food drive in their home that benefits their local food bank. Born from humble beginnings, their event has grown significantly over the years into a large event bringing in a significant amount of canned and prepackaged foods. Their event includes a Reef Raffle where tickets are exchanged for food items which are donated to the Central Virginia Food Bank (CVFB). This year’s donation totaled 1,325 pounds of canned and prepackaged foods, as well as a $200 cash donation, which will provide an additional 1,000 meals to local families in need.
How did this unique "Reef Event" get started?
The Richmond Reef Club has always been a highly social group - we frequently hold gatherings and meets just as many clubs do. Typically there is a meet every month or two, with different members hosting. We started doing a small-scale food drive with a meet we hosted back in 2009, it coincided with a food drive going on at Mike's company, and we thought it was a good idea to use our annual meet as a way to do something good for the local community.
In September of 2010, after our catastrophic tank failure, we were in no mood or position to host a meet. The outpouring of support from our club during that difficult time to help us clean up and recover was truly amazing and quite touching. In 2011, when we were back up and running, we made the decision to grow the meet as a means for us to give back, not only to our local community, but to the reef club as well.
How responsive is the local reefing community to this event?
In a word, overwhelming. Most everyone in the club is always willing to pitch in and help others when they need it, so it is already a generous group from the start. Once we established the food drive and started growing it, the club has been incredibly supportive. We have raised our goal every year and the group has exceeded the goal every year. And these haven't been modest increases - we've pulled off the "triple-double" by more than doubling the amount raised every year for the last three years. And other members have begun doing charity benefits at their meets as well, so that's creating some "friendly competition" that benefits our local charities.
How do you go about collecting the prizes for the drawings?
We started very modestly. Initially, there wasn't really even a raffle; we simply asked folks to bring some canned goods to our annual party. As we grew, we knew it would help us meet our ambitious goals by creating some incentives. At first, we donated complimentary promotional items we received at MACNA, such as T-shirts, Caps, towels and dry goods samples and also purchased items ourselves. As time went on, we needed to be more thoughtful and plan out a strategy. We began soliciting support from local and national vendors that we patronize heavily. Over the last few years, our "brand" has grown in the industry through our participation in forums such as Reef2Reef, social media, and at conferences. We are now leveraging that network to increase the exposure of our meet, and generate more interest and support.
What do you feel are the best food items to bring to an event like this?
We take our queue from the local food bank on what items they consider to be in “high demandâ€. These normally include high protein items such as peanut butter, canned meats such as tuna or chicken, canned beans such as Navy, Pinto, and Black beans, as well as canned spaghetti sauce, low sodium canned vegetables, canned fruit packed in juice, hot and cold cereals, and whole grain snacks.
What advice would you have for others who want to organize a similar charity benefit for their club?
Start with what you are passionate about. There are many ways to give back to your community - donations of food or household items, toys, et cetera. Financial donations are almost universally welcomed by most charities. Your group may also want to participate in volunteer events where they can donate their time to worthy causes. Volunteer events can be especially good for groups who want to spend time together while creating charity value at the same time. Our club has organized things such as installing a display aquarium at a local veterans care center. The next thing to do is start small, and grow. It is challenging to organize a big event for dozens of people. There are logistics that need to be planned, and those things will require some substantial investment in time. Starting small lets you and your club learn as you go and find people who are good at certain aspects of the planning such as reaching out to sponsors, working with the charity, organizing the events, etc.
That sounds like a lot of work - is it hard to keep people interested?
Not really - most people have a need and desire to help others. If you don't lose sight of the people you are trying to help, and focus on keeping it simple and fun for those involved, our experience is that it works out great and people rally to the cause. It is important to be mindful of donor fatigue and not to underestimate the planning that is needed to make the event run smoothly. We just have one big event per year and try to plan well in advance. We learn as we go, and get better at it each time.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, any parting words?
It's very rewarding to combine something we love like reefkeeping with a worthy cause like helping those in need in our community. We are blessed to have the resources and a wonderful group of friends to be able to organize this, but anyone with the passion and desire can do it. You can start with getting involved with your local church, charity, or volunteer organizations. Whatever you choose, just get started. We can guarantee this - you'll feel good when you do!
For those unfamiliar with this event, Mike and Terry host an annual Reef Party and charity food drive in their home that benefits their local food bank. Born from humble beginnings, their event has grown significantly over the years into a large event bringing in a significant amount of canned and prepackaged foods. Their event includes a Reef Raffle where tickets are exchanged for food items which are donated to the Central Virginia Food Bank (CVFB). This year’s donation totaled 1,325 pounds of canned and prepackaged foods, as well as a $200 cash donation, which will provide an additional 1,000 meals to local families in need.
How did this unique "Reef Event" get started?
The Richmond Reef Club has always been a highly social group - we frequently hold gatherings and meets just as many clubs do. Typically there is a meet every month or two, with different members hosting. We started doing a small-scale food drive with a meet we hosted back in 2009, it coincided with a food drive going on at Mike's company, and we thought it was a good idea to use our annual meet as a way to do something good for the local community.
In September of 2010, after our catastrophic tank failure, we were in no mood or position to host a meet. The outpouring of support from our club during that difficult time to help us clean up and recover was truly amazing and quite touching. In 2011, when we were back up and running, we made the decision to grow the meet as a means for us to give back, not only to our local community, but to the reef club as well.
How responsive is the local reefing community to this event?
In a word, overwhelming. Most everyone in the club is always willing to pitch in and help others when they need it, so it is already a generous group from the start. Once we established the food drive and started growing it, the club has been incredibly supportive. We have raised our goal every year and the group has exceeded the goal every year. And these haven't been modest increases - we've pulled off the "triple-double" by more than doubling the amount raised every year for the last three years. And other members have begun doing charity benefits at their meets as well, so that's creating some "friendly competition" that benefits our local charities.
How do you go about collecting the prizes for the drawings?
We started very modestly. Initially, there wasn't really even a raffle; we simply asked folks to bring some canned goods to our annual party. As we grew, we knew it would help us meet our ambitious goals by creating some incentives. At first, we donated complimentary promotional items we received at MACNA, such as T-shirts, Caps, towels and dry goods samples and also purchased items ourselves. As time went on, we needed to be more thoughtful and plan out a strategy. We began soliciting support from local and national vendors that we patronize heavily. Over the last few years, our "brand" has grown in the industry through our participation in forums such as Reef2Reef, social media, and at conferences. We are now leveraging that network to increase the exposure of our meet, and generate more interest and support.
What do you feel are the best food items to bring to an event like this?
We take our queue from the local food bank on what items they consider to be in “high demandâ€. These normally include high protein items such as peanut butter, canned meats such as tuna or chicken, canned beans such as Navy, Pinto, and Black beans, as well as canned spaghetti sauce, low sodium canned vegetables, canned fruit packed in juice, hot and cold cereals, and whole grain snacks.
What advice would you have for others who want to organize a similar charity benefit for their club?
Start with what you are passionate about. There are many ways to give back to your community - donations of food or household items, toys, et cetera. Financial donations are almost universally welcomed by most charities. Your group may also want to participate in volunteer events where they can donate their time to worthy causes. Volunteer events can be especially good for groups who want to spend time together while creating charity value at the same time. Our club has organized things such as installing a display aquarium at a local veterans care center. The next thing to do is start small, and grow. It is challenging to organize a big event for dozens of people. There are logistics that need to be planned, and those things will require some substantial investment in time. Starting small lets you and your club learn as you go and find people who are good at certain aspects of the planning such as reaching out to sponsors, working with the charity, organizing the events, etc.
That sounds like a lot of work - is it hard to keep people interested?
Not really - most people have a need and desire to help others. If you don't lose sight of the people you are trying to help, and focus on keeping it simple and fun for those involved, our experience is that it works out great and people rally to the cause. It is important to be mindful of donor fatigue and not to underestimate the planning that is needed to make the event run smoothly. We just have one big event per year and try to plan well in advance. We learn as we go, and get better at it each time.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, any parting words?
It's very rewarding to combine something we love like reefkeeping with a worthy cause like helping those in need in our community. We are blessed to have the resources and a wonderful group of friends to be able to organize this, but anyone with the passion and desire can do it. You can start with getting involved with your local church, charity, or volunteer organizations. Whatever you choose, just get started. We can guarantee this - you'll feel good when you do!
