Is it because of Indy?

Doing this Indiana Jones resource generation project of KoFE for The Kolisko School was a major baffling experience to me. We had a plan to do fundraising and we simply visualized the experience that we get sponsors, sell the tickets and watch the movie on May 25. It was easy to do.

We did our jobs, the best letters were written, sponsors were approached and we thought it would be all in the bag. Wow! We were 2 weeks on the road, and well we could not even find a bag. Ha! It was a low moment. How could it be that no sponsor was interested to sponsor Indiana Jones? And there it hit me - oh my, what if the tickets won't sell???

The printing also took sometime ...we barely had 2 weeks to sell and we were not sure when the tickets will be released. But Roger Cuan, the project manager of New World Printing assigned to Indiana Jones 4, kept his word to deliver on time. No matter how bleak that week was, the ray hope was bright because Roger kept his word. Thanks Roger.

And so anyway, all 480 tickets were packed in 4 separate big boxes. When my little girl saw it she asked if I bought a television. It was bulky delivery because the Indiana Jones ticket is not a regular ticket. It is a crate-designed box. When you open it Indy pops out and hands out your ticket number. Cool isn't it? Hands up to Solar UIP for the innovative design. But when I saw those packages that one rainy evening, my world stopped for a moment. Now aside from selling it, delivery seemed to be adding up on the list of exciting moments to hack and overcome.

But by the 3rd day, our supply was down to 50%. Today, a long line of buyers await news if there are still tickets available. This is a movie block screening that will be shown side by side with regular showing of Indiana Jones in 3 or 4 cinemas in the same mall. More so, there were other malls with the same arrangement. It’s a lot expensive than the regular movie showing but people were asking for more. Is it because of Indy?

We had no radio or TV announcements, no posters and fliers...we had no marketing tool except this blog, our friends' blogs, email and text announcements. I did a profile scan of the buyers of the KoFE and The Kolisko School members. They were family members, co-workers, friends, strangers who are friends of friends, and strangers who became friends. And those who couldn't come just offered help in another form - took the task to help sell, referred another who eventually bought the tickets, donated their weekend or a month's worth of movie/leisure budget to the scholarship program. Others made pledges for the next 12 months!

And our special sponsors.

1. David Kuchenbecker sent funding because he supports our project. The email that convinced him to support us by the way was mis-sent mail! Regardless of the circumstance, he gave.
   
2. Jose Sevilla of Liwanag Candles was asked via text about possibilities and after reading the emailed proposal, he later gave a text info that a deposit was made.
3. Yellow Cab Pizza. Their support came as a surprise. It was a weekend after we were sure that there was no more hope for a sponsor to come our way. But we remained hopeful and so it was with this sense of optimism that I sent an email to their website's feedback form inquiring about partnership possibilities. A day after, Ms. Aileen Viloria, Yellow Cab’s Marketing Manager responded. By the end of the following week we got confirmation of their support.

Amazing isn't it? All three had varying experiences of how they made the decision to help. But I am certain that they found meaning in the help we were looking for and in their own best capacities found a way to respond to that call. And our ticket buyers! I continue to baffle at this amazing experience. And we are not talking about tycoons or CEOs of big time corporations, or seasoned philanthropists. These are ordinary folks like you and me who found meaning in the work that we do that sharing and giving support was easily done and freely given.

And so as we gear up for the weekend event, let me have the honor of saying THANK YOU on behalf of KOFE to everyone who came our way and made a difference. An act that flows from Love brings forth a wellspring of hope to others. And wow, what a really large and overflowing wellspring of hope we have here in this community. ;-) http://www.stservicemovie.com/