Daruma Festival

Press Release One - 2007

For Immediate Release

30th ANNUAL DARUMA CRAFT BOUTIQUE

It's time for the West Valley JACL fundraiser of the year!  The Daruma Craft Boutique!  It seems like it has been many years since our last Daruma Folk Festival at the Saratoga Lanes Parking Lot.  The sale of the parking lot caused us to re-evaluate the festival-yet, it did not diminish the need to continue to raise the necessary funds for the Senior Club house.

Funds for the Daruma Craft Boutique go towards the maintenance of the Clubhouse (water, garbage, phone, electricity, repairs, etc.) as well as services for our Seniors (van service and kitchen meal program).  Additionally-the funds go towards the WVJACL operating funds (insurance, taxes, office supplies) as well as no fee events for the membership (ie:  New Year potluck).  We are among the few JACLs that does not require it's membership to contribute additional fees to the chapter-100% of your dues go directly towards National JACL.  Yet, we incur costs to maintain the organization (newsletter, postage and reproducing copies and brochures).  WITH YOUR HELP, through this fund raiser-the Daruma Craft Boutique, we can continue these things for our members.  While the DCB brought in a record amount of income last year, we face rising costs to operate the Senior Clubhouse, van service and JACL programs.    

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

A steering committee of Jill Kunishige, Kathlynn Uenaka and Pam Yoshida have been meeting to provide a base outline for the boutique.  With their outline-it will be up to you-the membership to create the boutique needed to generate the funds for the Senior Clubhouse.  Not only does the Senior Clubhouse serve the Seniors, but it is also the meeting place for groups such as the bridge clubs, kimekomi doll classes and meetings for the West Valley JACL, Next Generation and the Senior Club. It is because of your help at the boutique that we don't raise our dues, have multiple fundraisers, or have capital campaigns throughout the year.

You can help by:

1. Sell raffle tickets (you will receive these in the mail).

2. Sell more raffle tickets than you receive,

3. Tell everyone you know about the boutique

4. Attend the boutique

5. Support the bento and sushi fund raiser

6. Volunteer to chair a committee for the boutique

7. Volunteer for a few hours at the boutique.

Volunteering for the boutique is not only fun, but you meet members of the organization. We are only asking for a few hours of your time to help at the boutique to achieve the goals of the organization.  If not for a successful Daruma Craft Boutique, we would have to seek alternate ways to raise funds for our Senior Clubhouse or risk downsizing programs for our Seniors.