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RU12? Dinner Meets Goals

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by Chuck Franklin

Don Eggert (l), co-chair of the RU12? Community Center, with Cathy Resmer (r), emcee for the evenings events.

RU12?’s annual fundraising dinner in May raised $7,000 after expenses, according to co-chair Don Eggert.

“This is more than double what we earned last year [$2,000],” said Eggert, “and exactly what we budgeted for.”

Eggert says the money will help RU12? keep their new downtown headquarters office open, as well as finish out the year with a surplus.

That surplus will allow RU12? to begin an actual fund to build a new community center, said Eggert. He said the organization expects to announce the details of the fund sometime early in 2002.

One of the events that helped this year’s dinner to be so successful was a silent auction, which brought in more than double the amount expected.

The overwhelmingly successful silent auction helped RU12? reach its goals.

RU12? volunteer Jill Hoppenjans organized the auction, her first ever. She began work on the auction last November and spent the next several months until the dinner preparing for it.

Eggert says the funds raised at the dinner will also allow RU12? to keep its programming going. In addition, he said the Gill Foundation had recently given RU12? an $8,800 grant to help pay general operating expenses such as utilities and rent.

The next fund raising event for RU12? will be a concert by the Samadhi Singers on Friday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the College Street Congregational Church in Burlington. Tickets are $10 per person and may be purchased at the Peace and Justice Store on Church Street or at RU12? headquarters.