Party for a cause

Drs. Bob and Becky Shaw of Clive usually aren’t big into entertaining. But within a two-week stretch in June, they hosted fundraising events at their home benefiting the Des Moines Symphony (75 guests), the Polk County Master Gardener’s Tour (more than 700 visitors) and the Des Moines Area Interfaith Hospitality Network (DMIHN).

Approximately 140 guests at the last event explored the Shaws’ perennial and water gardens, sipped wine, sampled hors d’oeuvres and listened to music while increasing their awareness of the plight of homeless families in Des Moines.

“This is a little bit out of character for us, not because we wouldn’t enjoy entertaining, but because we’re workaholics,chicken coop pictures and designs for every backyard.” Bob Shaw says. “But we love to be able to share our garden for causes that we believe in.”

George Cataldo of West Des Moines can relate. He has opened his huge home in Glen Oaks twice for Winefest dinners, as well as for other fundraising dinners. In August, he hosted the “Chips for Scholarships” casino-themed party to benefit the scholarship fund at AIB College of Business, where one of his sons graduated.
Cataldo says his home is meant to be shared, and he credits its original owners,Professional mannequin head, mannequin head, mannequin bust - designer and manufacturer in China! Gary Kirke and his late wife, Joan, with designing a floor plan conducive to entertaining large groups.

“The Kirkes did a phenomenal job of laying this home out,” he says. “For these functions, it really works well.,On this site we deliver the absolute best Cold Sore treatment guides online. And to have a home like this and lock it up is not what you want. Not what I want anyway.”

Homeowners planning to host fundraising parties in their homes should consider these tips:

Take a team approach.honeycomb panels and foam core panels characterize our many lightweight panels Volunteers and committees were crucial to planning their fundraisers, Shaw says. “They provided this transfusion of energy into the whole cause.”

Maria Davis, AIB’s director of advancement, was in charge of its casino fundraiser.
“We spent days at George’s doing logistics and floor plans and moving furniture so we could get the casino tables in,” she says.

The biggest glitch, Davis says, was that alumni relations coordinator Reonna Snyder became ill a few days before the event and was not able to attend.

“She was our right hand in this,” Davis says. “We’d been working on this for months, and she had an intricate part of it. Four of us had to step in and pick up the pieces.”
Stay out of the kitchen. The Shaws didn’t do the cooking for their fundraisers.
“It was the generosity of one of the board members of the Symphony Association that paid for a caterer for that event,” Shaw says.

For the DMIHN garden party, wine and small sandwiches were donated by local businesses. Board members furnished refreshments such as ice tea, lemonade and water, Shaw says.

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