One day in the summer of 1998 I was broke. Actually, pretty much every day that summer and all the days before and after it... anyways, I was short on cash but I wanted to go to the mall with a couple of friends. Since neither of them had any money either, it became imperative that we come up with some funds or the whole trip would be a bust. "Hmmm," we thought, "what can three 14 year old girls do for some quick cash?" After wracking our brains for awhile, we struck gold with that ever popular fundraising event almost everyone participates in for one reason or another: Car Wash! Now, being children of goodly parents, we didn't want to lie, but when the inevitable question, "What is this car wash for?" came up, we had to have a worthy cause. We reasoned that since we were all on the same basketball team the previous winter, and we would most likely be on the same team in the upcoming season, it would be an acceptable stretching of the truth if we told customers that the funds were in support of our team.
We called up WalMart and asked if we could use their parking lot. They agreed, and even offered to match the amount of money we received! I knew that would be crossing the line, so I politely declined (which I'm sure was curious to the lady on the phone, but she didn't press the issue). We made posters and collected buckets, soap, and sponges. We were there for a few hours, and it went pretty well. We made 36 dollars, so 12 bucks each. Boo-Yah! Gateway Mall, here we come!
If there were any customers who thought it a bit odd that there were only three kids participating in the event, and not a supervising adult in the vicinity, they didn't mention it.
7 comments:
That's so sneaky! I was never creative enough to come up with doing my own fake fundraiser to make money. Haha, way to go Mieka!
I remember when you did this! I thought it was pretty gutsy and clever. If I remember correctly the three girls were you, Rachel Hunt, and Ashley Fulgroat? I loved going to the Gateway Mall during that time. My favorite stores were Claire's (for the nail polishes; blue, white, purple, etc.) and Deb's (for the ill-fitting clothes). Boy, have times changed!
Steve said that you need to go back to walmart and appoligize to all the customers. We will be there Thanksgiving weekend so we hope to see you at the Mart.
Steve said that you need to go back to walmart and appoligize to all the customers. We will be there Thanksgiving weekend so we hope to see you at the Mart.
Mieka annie!!! Moms are always the last to know...I want to read the "removed" comment...(thanks for not accepting the offered match-money)
Love You - and praying for you this weekend too.
So, so funny, Mieka. I laughed so hard reading this. Even as soon as I saw the title "Car Wash" I thought of that day. Such a funny memory. Thank you for writing this, and I am honored, maybe to have been a part.
It also reminds of me of writing "rafting club" on my college applications, because hey, we used to tube down the Row river with Jodi and co. I was ridiculous.
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