Chili, Soup and Karaoke Lodge Fundraiser

by Ron B., Past Master
(St. Joseph, MO)

In past years, our lodge has had a chili and soup dinner in January or February to raise money for our Charity Fund.

Typically, we would raise around $ 500. We would print tickets so that members could promote and sell tickets in advance of the event.

I noticed during the past few years that people would come, eat and leave. Therefore, there were times during the event that the room was practically empty. How could we get our guests to stay a while?

We decided that this year we would "spice up" our Chili and Soup Dinners with Karaoke.

One of our brothers has a Karaoke service, so we asked him to volunteer his service for this event. He agreed and the event was a huge success.

We advertised in the newspaper and asked local businesses for their support. Some donated money and others allowed us to put up a flyer in their place of business.

The kids, especially, had a great time taking the microphone and singing along.

We raised over $ 1,250., at our Chili, Soup and Karaoke Night, but best of all, our guests stayed and stayed,...and stayed. I think the last guest left around 11:00 p.m. We all had a great time.