PBL: Holidays

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Food Drive update

Hey everybody, just a quick update on the food drive-

Thank you to every person that manned a table these last few weekends, thanks to you along with a donation from a local orchard we were able to fill three boxes for each of our 20 families! That is a mighty amount of food and more than just a Thanksgiving meal! Phi Beta Lambda helped provide sustenance for a large portion of the Walla Walla valley's disadvantaged families!

Additionally, the monetary donations we received were substantial enough that each of these 20 families also received a $25 gift card to Harvest Foods of Walla Walla to help purchase the "perishable" items that are needed to make a Thanksgiving dinner work like a turkey or a ham.

On top of that, a local business (who wished to remain nameless) was willing to donate 5 fresh turkeys to help us with our cause. Two things came from this. First, our twenty families were so well provided with their 3 boxes of food and their gift card that these turkeys were able to be given to alternate families that were in need. Second, this wonderful nameless company cared so much about what we were doing that they provided an additional five turkeys! This made a total of ten turkeys which meant we helped ten additional families with our efforts!

This club has made a huge difference this quarter and I am proud to know the many folks in this club that have labored to make fantastic things happen for our neighbors in Walla Walla, stand proud classmates, you are making a difference in the world, making it a better tomorrow!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Haunted House helps the community

Our club put together the biggest hanted house that the Walla Walla valley has seen in decades, rivaling the famed JC events! We want to thank every single person that assisted with this fundraiser and community service event from the hands within the club to the assistance from private members outside the club! We want to thank the many local businesses for coming together and providing many of the items we needed to put this haunted house on and making the community that much closer!

We saw nearly 2,000 people come through our dreary doors and most of them had the courage to finish the spooky maze of maniacal madness! Each of our 20 scenes were widely discussed, often while the victim was watching behind them to ensure that nothing was coming after them!

With this 2,000 people, PBL managed to raise quite a bit of money. After paying for the debts incurred on this event and providing a small amount to the club for future events, PBL found themselves dividing up $8,000 to the following causes (which was approved by the club in this morning's meeting):

$2,000 - College scholarships for business students within our community college

$1,500 - YWCA domestic violence shelters

$1,500 - Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse

$1,500 - Literacy programs in our elementary schools

$500 - Valley Residential Services

$500 - March of Dimes

$500 - divided to 10 families in difficult situations for a better Christmas.

The companies that helped were many and each provided assistance to getting our haunted house off the ground in some manner or another. These companies are listed here:

Greiner Radiators

McDonald Zaring Insurance

Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse

Cascade Fire Protection Co.

Walla Walla Union Bulletin