In our fundraising contest, a single donation was limited to $500 so the teams truly had to hustle. From auctions and raffles to financial lessons and betting pools, we saw incredible creativity and energy put into this effort.
In first place, Progression of Male Patterned Baldness with Scott Ripke, Josh Kilker, Rick Eckstein, Brian Matzelle and Dan Liutikas hauled in more than $4,100.
In second place with more than $3,300 in donations came The Not-So-Silent Auctioneers with Noel Eberline, Kalecia Childs, Jennifer Pyle, Kathy Sundholm, Sara Solomon and Colleen Hughes
The other four teams brought in almost $7,000:
- Denny and the Foundationals with Dennis Zimmerman, Carla Bumba, Amy Spear, and Kathy Mrazek
- Girl Power with Patti Moran, Rachel Tuller, Denise Woods, Jill Burroughs, Kyle Gingrich and Kelly Ricker
The 4Quarters with Patti and Dave Hansen, Cherie Pecoraro and Dave Olson - Wrap I.T. Up with Karen Lukasik, Beth Canova, Connie Rowe, Heidi Schmitt and Jeanine Bianchi
We asked our top teams how they did it. Rick Eckstein noted that the team struggled long and hard to come up with a name that represented all of them. “Eventually, Scott Ripke noticed that our team members included the full continuum of hair texture from ‘full head of hair’ to ‘more skin than hair’ – best expressed by the Progression of Male Pattern Baldness. With that task behind us, our “fun raising” activities centered around an area that was most familiar to all of us – gambling,” commented Eckstein.
Their first activity centered on the highly charged NFL rivalry between the Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers. For the September 27th game, the team hosted a “squares pool”. They then held a Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament with submission of the necessary paperwork to the State of Illinois for a license host the tournament. This event attracted 14 participants. After an evening of bluffing and suspense, the CompTIA Educational Foundation, Ed Korenman and Brian Matzelle were the big winners.
Sandwiched between these events, Ripke hosted a couple of personal development seminars.
The first seminar focused on the rules and protocols associated with playing Texas Hold ‘em Poker. The second “Managing Your Finances” seminar featured tips on how to manage your money (winnings?)!
As the end of the contest period neared, it became apparent that the team would need one more event to give them a fighting chance at the Grand Prize. Dan Liutikas donated a next generation Apple Macbook Air laptop for another game of chance – a raffle! The response was amazing, and on Thursday, October 28th, Jim Hamilton’s winning ticket was plucked from a bin filled with raffle tickets.
The “Not-So-Silent-Auctioneers” solicited donations from various businesses, friends and other staff. They collected more than 60 items and organized a silent auction with the donated items as their main fundraising event. There was something for everyone to bid on! Some of the auction items included a $600 bike, Segway tour tickets, overnight hotel stays, restaurant gift certificates, car wash passes, movie passes, an iPod Nano, digital cameras, toys, jewelry, salon gift certificates and gift baskets.
They created an online silent auction on CompTIA’s SharePoint intranet site, complete with pictures and descriptions of all of the items and an online bid submission form. In addition to the online pictures and descriptions, many of the items were put on display in CompTIA’s headquarters office for people to be able to see them up close. The silent auction created quite a buzz, and everyone enjoyed bidding on items for themselves or as gifts for others.
The silent auction raised more than $3,300 with all proceeds going to benefit the CompTIA Educational Foundation.
Putting Hundreds on the IT Career Track
The foundation has trained more than 800 people in need already this year, and has been partnering with a number of new organizations this year to ramp up those training numbers for 2011.
How does the foundation truly help people? Hear from the participants themselves. “In 2008, like millions of people, I found myself unemployed,” said Cathy, a recent foundation trainee. “I had been an electronic prepress specialist in the printing industry for years, but the likelihood of continuing in the field was getting smaller by the day.
“I went back to school to study and attain my CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications. The foundation’s Creating Futures program provided me with the opportunity to study and test for three more certifications. Although I am still looking for work at this impossibly competitive time in the job market, there is now a far wider range of employment opportunities for which I previously would not have been considered.
“I’m very grateful to CompTIA, the people at the Creating Futures program, Ricoh University and LIDO Organization for their exceptional work,” added Cathy, who went on to become certified in Convergence+, Server+ and Security+.
Help us reach others in need and get them into the IT industry. You don’t have to wait until the next fundraising contest. We accept cash and in-kind donations all year round. Hey, do it by December 31, and you even get a tax write-off. It’s a win-win for everyone. Donate online at www.comptia-ef.org.
