Epilepsy Waterloo-Wellington

Wilfrid Laurier University 

Charity Ball 2009-2010

For: Epilepsy Waterloo/Wellington

Prepared by: Julie George - Charity Awareness

Executive 08/09

Edited by: Gillian Smith - Charity Awareness Executive 09/10 

CHARITY BALL

Charity Ball is a formal event, with dinner, dancing, and most of all...FUN! It’s an opportunity for friends to dress up and enjoy a relaxing evening while raising money for an important charity. Charity Ball is held at the beginning of second semester each year. This year the ball will be held on March 6^th, 2010.

Buses to and from the Ball are provided for the approximately 800 guests. Tickets can be purchased in the Concourse and/or Hall of Fame two weeks prior to the Ball.

A special Martini Reception precedes the Ball for those who have added the Martini Reception option to their ticket purchase. A definite highlight at the ball is our annual Silent Auction which features a variety of products and gift certificates graciously donated by our local and corporate sponsors.

Every year the committee selects a different charity to donate money and for the 2009-2010 school year Epilepsy Waterloo/Wellington has been chosen! Our goal is to provide the charity with the help they need to continue running their amazing services by raising money and awareness throughout our university. The ball itself, as well as numerous events prior, gives the Laurier student body a chance to make a difference. We are very much looking forward to this partnership!

EVENTS PRIOR TO CHARITY BALL

Luminera – November 24^th, 2009

Luminera is an annual event and a Charity Ball tradition put on in November. Last years' event exceeded any expectations set by the Charity Ball team and surpassed the successes of all years' past! Candles were on sale in the concourse for 2 weeks leading up to the event and were sold at a price of 1 candle for $2 and 3 candles for $5.

The goal of this year's committee is to sell more than the 1400 candles sold at last year’s event! We want to raise as much money to support Epilepsy Waterloo/Wellington as possible, in addition to educating the students and staff of WLU about the challenges faced by those with epilepsy.

Ballroom Blitz – January 26^th, 2010

Laurier students have an opportunity to learn or brush up on their ballroom dancing skills in a fun and welcoming environment. For only $5 at the door, students can enjoy learning various ballroom dances while helping to support a great cause! For the upcoming school year, it is our hope to run approximately 4-5 classes throughout the year in which Laurier students can participate and help support Epilepsy Waterloo/Wellington.

Hair for Hope – October 19^th and February 8th

Laurier students are encouraged to come out to the Concourse between approximately 10am and 3pm to see some of Laurier's finest wax, cut and shave their hair in support of the charity. $5 trims done by professional stylists will also be available.  Last year a bake sale and a raffle took place in which the lucky winner was awarded with 2 tickets to the ball! This event was extremely popular last year, and there was even a 30 minute wait for students to get a hair trim! Due to the success of Hair for Hope in recent years we will be hosting the event twice this year.

Charity Awareness Week – November 2^nd 6^th

This week was a new initiative which began last year. It is a full week dedicated to educating the Laurier student body about Epilepsy Waterloo/Wellington in a fun and creative way. Opportunities are really endless and we would love to hear suggestions or ideas if you have any!

IDEAS AND INITIATIVES

The Charity Ball executive members hire approximately 35-40 volunteers to help with events throughout the year. They are such a valuable asset to our team and we hope to give them volunteer opportunities with the charity in order for them to truly understand and create a personal connection with it. I know for a fact that this will help motivate and instill a passion within them. If there are available volunteer opportunities for us to assist with, we truly would love to help. Likewise, if we could schedule a time for a speaker to visit our general volunteers in October or November, it would help the volunteers to learn exactly what Epilepsy Waterloo/Wellington offers and what it works so hard to promote.

Previously we have had a representative of the charity at some of our major events and here they have made a speech to the supporters as well as interacted with students and our Charity Ball volunteers. It’s such a nice way for the students to understand really what the charity is about and it truly does inspire and encourage them. Also the representative from the charity can in turn witness and understand what the event is about and the popularity and joy of Charity Ball on campus.  

At each of the Charity Balls events and prior ticket sales, we like to have a bulletin board consisting of information regarding the charity as well as promotional brochures and flyers to hand out. If you have any already existing promotional material that we could use, that would be greatly appreciated.

In the past the executive and volunteer members of Charity Ball have donned clothing which incorporates the charity’s logo. We wear these shirts or other articles of clothing during our events, as well as sales proceeding, to indicate to others our committee and position. More importantly, clothing acts as a promotional tool as the logo is printed on the item. In the past we have received a copy of the logo in which we can send to the printing company, where they can easily screen the exact logo of the charity. If this is an option, we would love permission to use your logo.