United Way Reports Campaign at 85% of Goal
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| Denis Woodward, winner of 2007 Harley Davidson motorcycle, with wife Denise Woodward |
The Findlay Village Mall proudly hosted the United Way of Hancock County's 3rd Annual Night of Giving on November 12. The mall was filled with activities and entertainment by the many stores and tasty samples of delicious foods provided by many of the areas restaurants during this major fundraiser that featured the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Raffle.
Findlay High School Freshman Mark Janowiecki found his Eagle Scout Project in the event. His responsibilities were to pull together the entertainment for the evenings guests who strolled from one activity to another. Scouts Cole Lautermilch and Michael Gardner displayed their aptitude for knot making, while in the adjoining wing the WOW 4-H Unicycle Club put on amazing demonstrations of skill to everyone's delight. Eleven year old Brook Daugherty and 10 year old Samantha Daugherty not only mastered the single wheel but also the double wheeled cycles. Performing routines set to their favorite songs, they dazzled onlookers with juggling added to their routine in the spacious walkway.
State Representative-Elect, Cliff Hite could be found engaging the community who came to support the family event and entertained the children by reading stories to them. At the same time, the sounds of the steel drum band Pantasia, echoed all through the mall resonating the melodies of the Caribbean and the Holidays.
Everyone had an opportunity to place bids on a variety of items that were donated by area people and businesses. From autographed items and collectibles to gift certificates that made great Christmas gifts, there was something for everyone up for bids in the silent auction. Many of the stores provided huge savings and discounts for the shoppers to take advantage. In addition over 150 door prizes were awarded and the 50/50 drawing added to the evenings activities.
The main attraction for this year's United Way event was the raffle drawing for the Harley Davidson Motorcycle. This fundraising event for the United Way was conceived by Lynn Cavenaugh and Jane ? of Coffee Amici in downtown Findlay.
Their desire to help make an impact and give folks an opportunity to give and at the same time get a chance to ride off on a brand new Harley caught on quickly. The Coffee Amici crew were set up to provide a last minute opportunity to purchase tickets for the drawing were taken advantage of by many in attendance for the drawing. Finally, the moment came for the drawing to take place. All in attendance held their breath as the winning ticket was pulled from the hopper. The winning ticket pulled belonged to Denis Woodward of Van Buren. Both Denis and his wife Denise were in the crowd during the announcement and in a split second were led to their brand new Harley Davidson. A big congratulations to the Woodwards and a big thank you to the folks at Coffee Amici for all their hard work in bringing a fantastic fundraiser to benefit our community.
With the proceeds from the Night of Giving, the community has raised $2,075,057 for this year's annual campaign. This amount represents 85% of the $2,445,000 goal.
For information about United Way of Hancock County, visit the web site at www.uwhancock.org, or call 423-1432.
