Need ride money?

I was reading Cindy’s latest email request for help at the Van Andel and remembered writing the note below before we went to Death Valley, so I thought I’d finally publish it:

Isn’t the VanAndel Arena great?  I mean, I know that it’s not always a picnic, but I get to see team members I don’t usually get to see over the winter.  This past year I’d say that a good 80+% of the $4000+ that I earned was from that.  This past year I also enlisted more people to help me.  The Howard team in the past 12 months has consisted of Tim and I with guest appearances by Teresa, Taylor, Jasmine, Dawn with a few other rock stars sprinkled in.  If you think about it, if we make $50/person/shift, I had nights when I had 4 of us working and plunking $200 into my ride account.  Once I reached my goal (May or June I think?) then my hours shifted to Tim’s account –  all 6 of us were working on it.  We had no problem hitting the $8000 nut that Tim and I had to cover. 

No problem.

Actually, thanks to the Circus and Hockey events the few couple weeks I’m already $300ish into 2012 (before we even went to DV 2011).

When Cindy sends a good sized schedule I sit down with the calendar and see which days work well for me.  I like weekday hockey and the occasional concert.  The event doesn't matter, we all end up with the same rate per hour at the end of the quarter.  I find just can’t work more than 1 event a week (although I sometimes do).  During the Late Fall and Winter I have Master’s classes, so I have to work around my study time.  But I send back to Cindy as early as I can, a list of what I can work so she can sleep better at night.  I always try to bring a friend with me too.  I want a minimum of $100 going into my account every time I work!

Never done it?  Scared to try?  No problem!  We’ll show you what to do.  Maybe you just want to pour pop?  Great!  Maybe you know how to run a cash register?  Fantastic!  It’s all pretty easy stuff, especially if we have a full crew for an evening.

The point – the VA is a great way to raise funds.  It pains me to hear Cindy struggling with finding resources at the last minute and talking about cancelling events.  It also pains me to see people struggling to fill their ride account$ late in the game.  It’s to our advantage to have a strong pool of willing people.  I don't want to lose this great way to raise funds for the cause.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!  - Mike (mhoward@steelcase.com)