Melissa Cole from GreenStone’s St. Johns branch recently attended what turned out to be the St. Johns Rotary Club’s biggest fundraiser of the year: The Cow Race! She explained “This was the first year they had done a fundraiser like this; in years past they held dinners or silent auctions and the club wanted to do something more engaging.”
For the fundraiser itself, each business who donated or bought tickets got a large cardboard cow to decorate however they wanted to. Cole said there were almost 30 cows competing in 3 races, with each cow in the race assigned a lane. The people in attendance could buy ‘cow bucks’ and bet on whichever cow they thought would win. If the dice were lucky enough to land on your lane number, your cow moved forward. With help of the dice and cow bucks, GreenStone’s cow was fortunate to win the overall race as well as the most votes for best decorated cow!
Here's a close up shot of the best decorated cow!
The money raised went towards the Fantasy Forest, a park in St. Johns. It is a playground park located within the community that needs to be redone. The funds will help provide supplies to refresh the park so it can continue to be a gathering place for friends and families alike.
The Rotary Club is an important aspect of the community. The group meets weekly when different businesses or organizations come in to talk about what they too are doing for the community and how members of the Rotary Club can help or be a part of what they do. The club also helps with other things, like putting together the 4th of July fireworks for the community, scheduling a visit from Santa, and remodeling aspects of the community just like the park. Last year the Rotary club was able to redo a pavilion in downtown St. Johns.
Featured are some of the attendees and the cow race!
Cole got involved by someone encouraging her to join, and she has been a member ever since! It’s been over a year since she joined and says she enjoys being a part of a club that values service to others. Like many GreenStone staff, Cole believes living and working in your community is important, you get to hear about all the good things that are happening around you when you get involved.
Learn more about our community outreach and engagement efforts by visiting Open Fields Blog | GreenStone FCS.
