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| Me with all 64 card designs displayed in frames |
Christmas is my favorite time of year, so naturally I was excited to join the Arc of Greater Beaumont in their 3rd annual Holiday Cards for a Cause event. The holiday cards are designed by Arc members with intellectual/and or developmental disabilities. Profits from the card sales fund programs that benefit the special needs community. Local residents and businesses sponsor the cards, and teens from Beaumont and Lumberton schools sacrifice Saturday morning sleep to sell the cards door to door. This fund raising initiative is truly unique and I love how the whole community comes together thru something as simple as a card.
This year card artists ranging in age from 2 to 52 created 64 designs. Saturday, November 6th was the kick-off of event and about 150 teens and card artists (in 4 person teams) set out into area neighborhoods selling the cards. The cards are sold in packs of 10 for $10, and the team’s that that sold the most cards in a 2 hour period won a prize. This year teams were able to win everything from Flip camera’s, limo rides and Dillard’s gift certificates.
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| Teen Volunteers |
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| Teen Volunteers |
I was asked to open up the event with a speech ,about my partnership with the Arc and even join one of the Teen Teams. Not only was I honored to help promote the Arc , but I was excited to be able to jump start my campaign of reaching out to teens and help them understand the meaning of inclusion, the value of diversity and true friendship.
After my speech and an adrenaline pumping rally from the West Brook High School drum line, my team and the KFDM channel 6 news crew, set off to sell as many packs cards as we could. We quickly realized that this was going to be hard convincing people to answer the door and to just “ignore that channel 6 news camera”. Not having much luck in the neighborhoods, the news team suggested that we follow them to the Market Basket, a local grocery store. They needed to film a news bit on James Brown demonstrating how to smoke a Cajun Turkey. Not the James Brown you are thinking of, this James Brown is a famous local celebrity chef and KFDM channel 6 meteorologist. Looking for any way to sell some cards, we joined them.
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| My team and I being filmed by KFDM channel 6 |
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| I get an impromptu cooking lesson from James Brown! |
When we walked inside the Market Basket, I noticed a food table set up with samples of boudin. In my 15 years of being a Texan I can honestly say that I never heard of boudain. Everyone around me seemed genuinely offended that I had never tried this pork and sausage delicacy before. Devon, one of my teammates said that it is so common and popular that they sell it at school in the snack line for lunch! After hearing that, I just had to try it, and I have to say it was really good! After my right of passage into becoming a true “Texan”, I was invited to join James Brown on his kitchen stage and was able to speak about the Arcs holidays cards and why I was involved. James invited my team to sell cards to the audience and we sold $100 worth of cards in a matter of minutes! Before we knew it our 2 hours were up and we headed back and see how much everyone had sold.
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| My fabulous team, Devon, Shontavia and Chelsea |
The winning team sold over 60 packs of cards and the entire event raised over $5000! A shout out to my team; Shontavia Moten, Chelsea Bowser and Devon Bobineaux, all seniors from West Brook High School. Even tho we didn’t win any prizes, It was a great experience and we had a lot of fun!
Before the morning festivities ended the team’s ate pizza for lunch, and I had the pleasure of posing for a few pictures and sign autographs. I also had the opportunity to sell VIP CHIC t-shirts. In less than 30 minutes we sold completely out of shirts, and, VIP CHIC was able to donate $250 back to the Arc of Greater Beaumont!!
Later that night the Arc of Greater Beaumont hosted a dinner honoring the card artists &r families and their sponsors. And in true Arc fashion there was food! I took the podium for a second time speaking about my family’s story, why I started VIP CHIC and how everyday the Arc is creating endless possibilities for the disabled community. The event was a huge success and it was amazing to witness just how much the Arc of Greater Beaumont has accomplished in 6 years of serving their community.
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| Kenneth made me a balloon crown! |
At the end of the evening my crown was getting heavy and it was beginning to hurt my head. I didn’t think that anyone would notice if I took it off for a few minutes. Then almost immediately a funny and very touching thing happened… I had a new crown! This new crown was made out of a balloon and much, much lighter! Thanks to Kenneth I was able to continue my duties still looking like royalty. I want to mention that Kenneth (Arc client and holiday card artists) made the cutest tiny balloon reindeer for each of the tables as decoration. He can whip up any balloon shape you can think of and has also mastered the art of basket weaving!
As you make out your holiday card list this year, please consider purchasing your cards from the Arc of Greater Beaumont and at the same time you will be making a positive impact on others. It’s so easy to order and you can even personalize the cards by adding your own photo! All you have to do is go to www.arcofbmt.org , click on “Market with Meaning”, and check out all of the wonderful holiday “Cards for a Cause” designs. I bet you will find more than one that you truly love.
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| Me with James, Arc member and card artist |
Every time I’m fortunate enough to get invited to Arc events I always walk away feeling blessed by the experience, new friendships and wonderful memories. From this trip I will never forget meeting Annabel Grace and her mom, the bear hugs from Brandon, James’s company at the autograph table, hearing Brandi give a moving speech about her life, listening to Todd play the drums, sharing laughs with Jamie, and great conversations with Gentry, Allison, Shelby, and Sara just to name a few. Everyone that I met left a lasting imprint on my heart and I will always remember you.
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| Brandi, Arc member and card artist, me |
I want to close out the blog by saying thank you to the Holiday Inn Beaumont Plaza for providing me a room for 2 nights, and to everyone at the Arc of Greater Beaumont. You made me feel so welcome and I can wait to come back again soon. Enjoy the rest of the pictures and don't forget to check out the Photo Gallery on my website for more great pictures from this event.
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| Shelby, card artist and me |
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| Me and Annabel |
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| Me with Bob and Kelli Phillips |
