The fundraising event was held in San Diego, California and proved to be a huge success. Beth Stollman, a local entrepreneur who runs a successful online clothing retail business, organized the event after seeing on television the plight of the people affected by the famine in East Africa. The dinner and social mixer hosted more than 200 local business people and residents and raised more than $30,000 from ticket sales alone, plus an undisclosed sum from further contributions made throughout the evening. Beth Stollman estimates that more than $45,000 was raised in total.
"I saw news footage about the crises on the TV and felt I just had to do something" comments organizer, Beth Stollman. Having lived and worked in San Diego for the past 20 years, Stollman decided to utilize the resources she had most easily available to her – business connections in the San Diego area - and arrange an event that would bring them all together. "I wanted to offer something that would be appealing to the people donating, rather than just asking them flat out for donations. A dinner and social mixer provided a great opportunity for local business people to network with each other, while raising money for the appeal at the same time".
Beth Stollman has been involved in various charitable ventures in recent years. This event was the first one she was responsible for initiating. She arranged the venue, caterers and music. "Local businesses were more than women's coats online happy to get involved and help out. We received incredibly generous offers which helped us with the venue and the catering. I was actually shocked by how easy it was to arrange the event," comments Stollman.
The enthusiasm of local businesses didn't end there; according to Beth Stollman, upon hearing about the event, the tickets were easily sold to local business men and women, as well as local residents and local professionals working in the area. More than 200 tickets were bought in less than two weeks. "I believe the success of the event can be attributed to the fact that we genuinely offered the participants something in return, something that was beneficial and enjoyable for them too," remarks Stollman.
About Beth Stollman
Beth Stollman was born in Austin, Texas, and moved to San Diego more than 20 years ago after graduating from high school. A keen nature lover and self confessed 'fitness fanatic', she has been actively involved in community awareness and community sporting projects for the past 10 years. After pursuing a career in retail purchasing for more than 12 years, Beth Stollman set up her own online retail business a little less than 5 years ago. The successful business has given her the flexibility she was seeking to allow her the freedom to spend more time on her sporting, community and charitable projects.
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