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Score Cool Christmas Pressies AND Support Artists!
At last night’s rehearsal, “Bouncy Betty” Kate drew this up with my kids, who were making Christmas drawings while we sang.
How’s that Christmas shopping going?
Yeah. Me too.
I’m pretty excited to tell you that the Betties and I have put our good old noggins together and decided that seeing as our pozible campaign finishes literally DAYS before Christmas, we should put together something a little special for our supporters!
So…once our campaign is successful (we are currently at 53% of our total goal) you will receive a gorgeous Betty-fied Christmas e-card sent straight to your inbox, complete with a printable voucher (which will look lovely) to gift to your loved one with deets of the reward. Such a cool – and different – idea for a pressie, with the warm fuzzy bonus of knowing you are supporting artists make a dream a reality. Goodies up for grabs include:
- show tickets (for either Adelaide Fringe or Brisbane Comedy Festival in 2013);
- DVDs (of An Unexpected Variety Show and Wonderland);
- a NEWLY ADDED vintage hair-styling session with our resident hair expert, Bombshell Betty (this would be super fun to do with a friend or two for a big night out!);
- and of course, our cupcake serenades and/or a cabaret/comedy lounge room gig;
Crowdfunding and Crowdsurfing
Found this last night in my daughter’s school-book as she did her homework.
I never really thought about support in those terms before. It was timely. It’s been on my mind. Support. Namely cos I’ve never really felt so supported – nor indeed, have I had to ask so much for it – as I have this year. Truly. I am sick of the sound of my own cyber-voice. Honestly. I want to scream at myself “ENOUGH ALREADY! People can only take so much of your incessant call to arms!”
Stopping me from stabbing myself in the tongue with a pitchfork, however, is:
a) the reality that I don’t even know whether pitchforks actually exist anymore; and
b) the awesomeness of peeps actually getting behind this crazy campaign. Despite the fact I just spent the past two months screaming at them to support the charity fundraiser.
No kidding. Over the weekend, thanks to a bunch of you guys pledging in one hit, we managed to make the “Popular” list on pozible, and as I type this we are sitting at the 44% mark of our goal. I’m madly thinking up some extra surprise goodies to give to you guys, just to say thank you.
By the way, if you haven’t yet checked out Pozible, you really should. Not just cos of me. There are SO many amazing projects on there, it really is something else. I’ve already pledged some $ myself to some highly worthy projects, including:
1) a tour of a film about refugees;
2) a friend’s doco about gay marriage; and
3) a fab writer’s mission to write a novel based on her great-great-grandmother’s life story.
I also just found out about this ROCKING project to record a new CD called Choristry, directed by a new cabaret friend I made this year, the scrumptious Trevor Jones.
Do I sound cool now? COS DAMN I FEEL IT!
Truly. Try it. Instant self-esteem boost: support somebody.
Doesn’t matter who. Hopefully not a wench or a war-lord. But my point in writing this post is not to say “me, me, me!” (I’ve done enough of that to last me a lifetime in the past week alone thank you very much), but to just point out that in general, it is a rocking thing indeed to get behind folks who are attempting grand acts of creativity. We need cheerleaders. Champions. Financial and otherwise. And it feels good to BE a cheerleader and a champion.
It’s like being in a moshpit (full disclosure: haven’t been in one since my heady teen Pearl Jam days) and you’re part of the living mass of hands holding up a crowd-surfer. Even though somebody else is up there riding the wave, feeling the adrenalin rush, you are still part of that trip. Your hands combine with those of masses of strangers for those few short seconds, to create a ride that otherwise would just be some random smashing their spine on the floor while you look on with shrugged shoulders. But they’re not. And you’re not. For those few moments, you are all part of something.
Or you are just holding your arms up desperately hoping to avoid a boot in your eye.
Either way, you’re still keeping somebody from falling. And holding them up.
Source: blogs.wickedlocal.com via Sherri on Pinterest
So Jen, how did the Mombiewalk go?
Everything hurts.
Kicking off from the ABC Radio studios, where I chatted about this nutty plan and comedy stuff with the lovely Spencer Howson, Friday saw us spend almost 8 hours around the streets of Brisbane with a prammed-up puppet accepting gold coin donations down her gullet.
We were very sensible – I had my back strapped, we factored in lots of breaks for stretching and resting and with the help of fellow comedian Damian Cosgriff, we were supplied at checkpoints with water, snacks and encouragement!
So, how did it go? Well, we got lots of strange looks, met tons of lovely old gentlemen – the most enthusiastic puppet-feeders of them all, it turns out – but…not a ton of cash.
Two adorable gents we met in the Valley.
Note to self: in future, don’t try to raise $ by gold coin donations. Unless you have a sizeable team of minions.
But the point is, WE DID IT. And I’m pleased to report that last night we finally passed the $8000 mark thanks to a couple of last minute donations, and with that, I am happy. I have done everything I can. I’m done. Now to move on to my regular schedule of avoiding the vacuum cleaner and shamelessly self promoting.
Ehem.
THIS WEDNESDAY! (Note: I think cabaret seats have sold out already but there are theatre tickets still available). Really hope to see you there and clink champagnes afterwards! 
Be Awesome. Feed a Puppet!
The beginning of the puppet pram!
Tomorrow! I shall be HURTLING myself over this $10k finish line for the fab Cara Disability Services, WITH both my puppet daughter (who many of you may recall joins me onstage in my cabaret show), PLUS my real-life daughter, who, just like her Mummy, cannot miss out on anything in this lifetime.
So it was that tonight, we joined with my fabulous friend Kath Griffin, a rockstar in her own right – who is also housing us tonight before we jet off – to put together the pram/puppet combo that will be our spaceship of jawsome over this one day of fundraising insanity. The result made us all squeal.
The almost final product! A few last minute additions happening first thing in the morning.
Yay!
Get your photo taken! This puppet will take requests!
The route we have planned, if you’d like to keep a look-out for us, feed our wondrous little pram puppet a gold coin or two, and/or bring us ice-cream, is as follows:
7am – South Bank (we are kicking off from ABC Radio studios, where I will be chatting to the wonderful Spencer Howson just before official take-off!) Joined by my fellow cabaret lady and co-Betty in Betty and the Betties, Kate Mackie.
8:00am break at Kangaroo Point cliffs.
8:20 Fortitude Valley (walking via Storey Bridge)
9:20 Break in the Valley.
9.45am Valley to New Farm.
11am Lunch break – super kindly donated by Pintxo New Farm!
12:15 Walking the CBD. Queen Street Mall and beyond!
2:00 Break (Botanical Gardens).
2:45 State Library/Art Gallery – tag-teaming with comedian Steven J Whitely.
3.15pm Break
3.30pm West End.
4.30pm Walk back to South Bank.
5.30pm On 612ABC’s Friday afternoon panel with Tim Cox.
Hope to see you there! Note: if you can’t make it, you can offer a virtual donation here. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Yep.
Smiling Through The Overwhelm: IT IS STILL POSSIBLE!
Source: aspinstersguidetodating.blogspot.com via Crosby on Pinterest
So…
Just over four days to go, and the official tally as of tonight is: $3096.50.
Meaning of course: just under 7k to raise in the next four days.
Am I insane to still be thinking it is actually possible?
Of course, it still requires an element of magic – however, with several significant events planned this weekend alone (cabaret, comedy, and a garage sale among them: you can click here if you’re keen on the full details) so long as they perform well & with a bit of luck on the donation side in the coming days (by my calculations I need to muster up another $1k in donations, with the events taking care of the rest): I REALLY DO BELIEVE IT’S STILL POSSIBLE.
Likely? No. Ambitious? Totally. Possible? Yes!
Of course, come Monday morning, even that I have written this in quite a public way puts me out there as either:
a) a believer who got this shizz done!; or
b) a more than mildly embarrassed Pollyanna.
P.S. Donations will be welcomed with warm loving cuddles & metaphorical chocolate muffins straight out of the oven.
P.P.S. Thank you for bearing with me in this overwhelmingly overwhelming time of pleading, hair-tearing and fundraise-speak. Whether you donate or not, for that, I am so terribly grateful!
xo
The Good, The Bad and the Fundraising
The gorgeous Ruth Sullivan and I improvising a song onstage at Friday’s fundraising gig.
It’s a tough gig this fundraising thing. I am stressed. But trying to breathe. And taking massive comfort in the support of those around me who are jumping on board the mission to help make this happen. Like in life in general I guess, we have to remember in times of overwhelm that WE ARE NOT ALONE.
Take for instance this weekend just gone. Saturday morning, the morning after the comedy fundraiser here in Brissie – a cause to which many fabulous comedians I love donated their time to rock the house – I woke up feeling sweaty and panicked. Sweat-icked. Why? Because despite a ton of buzz on facebook, lots of RSVPs, an awesome lineup, some newspaper coverage and other indicators that it would be a near-full house, the audience turn-out to the gig was seriously disappointing. The audience itself, however, was quite the opposite, which was lovely. So supportive, I think almost every single one of them bought raffle tickets during the night and by the end of it we’d all bonded, in no small part due to the presence of an incredible trio of elderly people, including the star of the night, little old lady Peg, who stunned us all by going from “the elephant most likely to be offended in the room”to “the life of the smutty party”when she got up onstage, told a stunningly raunchy joke and then proceeded to share her other crackers with individual tables, liberally dropping the c bomb as I dropped my jaw-bomb.
It was indeed, a classic night. I loved it.
Our delicious audience! Nom nom nom.
More improv-ing. Hopefully improving.
But yes, come Saturday morning, when I counted up our total raised, panic stations. I had planned for this evening to make around $2000, yet we were so far below that I wanted to cry. I nearly did. I wondered why the heck I had even embarked on this mad mission. Oh yes, that’s right. Because I’m a camera ham who cannot say no to an exciting idea. Cue my daughter: “Couldn’t we just clean people’s houses and then donate the money that way?” Two thoughts passed through my head. That of attempting to do over eight thousand dollars worth of cleaning in a week – indeed, a total likely to exceed my cumulative cleaning total of a lifetime – and then, that of the beauty of my girl. Her sweetness in even offering to to do that at all – a thought which made the sloth in me all but convulse – and that more importantly, SHE STILL BELIEVES THIS IS DOABLE.
I put an impassioned lay-it-on-the-line gut-spill on facebook and to my honest shock and delight, people started donating, small bits, large bits (mostly large bits!) and by the end of the weekend, we passed $2500. A quarter of the way there. NEARLY where we would have been at had the comedy night gone according to plan. PLUS several tremendously good people have offered to help out in other ways this week to make this thing happen. I’m still more than a little panicked, truth be told. But I’m hanging in there. My belief is finding its feet again. I AM NOT ALONE.
“”Phew!!!!!!!!”doesn’t even really cut it, as my true emotion is some combination of relief, hope, gratitude and happy dance. And this is only at the quarter mark point. There’s still 7 days – and a whole lotta turf – to cover. (Which, incidentally, if you do have a buck or two to spare, you can do that in two or three clicks here. Either way, whether you support in thought or in dollar, you have my huge gratitude!)
I seriously think at the end of this, if and when I see that fundraising total clip over the $10,000 mark, my reaction is gonna be one of either this:
Source: carolyncaseyy.tumblr.com via Alex on Pinterest
but most likely this:
Attention Adelaide! You’re Invited to the Cara TV Charity Challenge Official Launch!
WOOHOO!
In Adelaide? Please come! You can buy tix which will directly go to my fundraising total by donating here either:
$40 – entry to the entire show and after-party. WOOT! OR
$20 – entry to the after-party only.
Make sure you write “Launch” or “After Party” in the notes of your donation and I will be in touch with your tix.
It’s such a rocking line-up of entertainment, as you can see, would be rocking to see you there to send off me and my fellow TV fundraiser/adventurers on our wacky way.
LET’S PARTY!
The Upside of All This Fundraising Angst
Gathering prizes, trying to plug upcoming fundraiser gigs, running pizza nights…
I feel like pizza tonight!
The kidlets took HUGE pleasure in handing out pizzas, taking the $$, inhaling cheese…
As crazy busy as things are, as many knots as I’m tying myself in trying to sort out the bazillion details, as many moments as I have to force myself to take a breath and just trust that things are actually gonna work out and that I AM gonna make the $10,000 deadline within the next two weeks, one thing is for sure.
Putting my efforts towards something that is an incredibly worthy cause – something that is not in any way ME ME ME (well, you know, aside from the whole strutting-my-hammy-stuff-in-front-of-TV-cameras part) – but doing my thang for something which is so undeniably good and needed in the world?
FEELS FREAKING GREAT.
Fundraising page is here.
Image source.
18 days til the Camera Roll…!
Me holding some of the prizes coming in for everybody who donates!
AGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!
As I type this, I have exactly 18 days til the cameras roll and we start shooting this television extravaganza! ROCK!
Which means…yes. I have exactly 18 days to come up with $9000. Breathe. Just breathe.
The good news is, I actually think it’s gonna happen. Am I stupid? Yes. Am I naively optimistic? Naturally. Am I right? HECK YES.
We’re on track. I hope.
This Friday I’m doing a pizza fundraiser at my son’s indoor soccer club. I’m also planning to do as many guest comedy spots as I can between now and the end of the month and asking for gold coin donations to the cause. The other night I MCed a comedy graduation gig, mentioned this crazy adventure onstage and afterwards was bombarded with beautiful peeps donating in my little hand-held whipped-up-at-a-moment’s-notice donation bucket…bringing my grand fundraising total ALMOST (let’s not dwell on that, shall we?) to the $1000 mark! WOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I’m also doing a fundraising comedy night right here in Brisbane! It’s on Friday the 21st September, 8pm at Coorparoo RSL. Cannot freaking wait. I’m so excited by the line-up: headlining is the just damn fabulous Rob Brown, with support acts from Jen Bourke (an up-and-comer on the scene who is going places. I LOVE her), Gary Fludder (freaking hilarious, just love this man), Steven J Whitely (crazy funny and in your face) and more surprises. What can I say but this is gonna be VERY EXCELLENT INDEED. The Facebook event page is here if you care to share the love around, invite friends, RSVP or just ogle the guest list.
I’m very happy to say that I’ve had my socks rocked by many generous businesses donating prizes to the cause…basically everybody who donates will go into the draw for a share of these! Thus far they include Coffee Club vouchers, Cineplex movie tickets, Sit Down Comedy Club tix, Albion Comedy Club tix, a hair salon experience from The Pink Salon, a music repair from Audrey’s Music and more are a-coming.
It’s happening.
I am still terrified.
And excited about strutting onscreen in my startling array of wondrous tutus. I have heard whispers there might be diving involved…I hope my tutus float!
