Crazy Ca$h Night seeks new sponsorship, more volunteers

MCSF volunteer Theresa Herron returns every year because it is such a fun event to work at. She enjoys how excited attendees get and how truly crazy everyone is in a good-natured way.

Kiwanis member Sharon Jones will gladly sell you some tickets for a special drawing at the Crazy Cash Night!

For 19 years, the Kiwanis Club of Manchester has held the hugely popular Crazy Ca$h Night on the first Saturday in March. This successful fund-raiser has poured tons of money back into the Manchester community over the years–the schools, the library, the preschools, the athletic department, the Historical Society, and many, many more organizations.

Last March was expected to be the final event due to planned renovations to the interior of the long-time location, at the Legacy Event Center of Borek-Jennings Funeral Home (formerly the American Legion Hall). Todd Borek and Karl Jennings have generously donated the use of their building for the past six or seven years. Finding a new location in the community which would seat 350 people, at a reasonable cost, and allow consumption of alcoholic beverages, ultimately proved impossible. So, in a bittersweet move this April, the Kiwanis voted to suspend hosting the Ca$h Night. Major organizers Pat Vailliencourt and Anita Herman re-set their calendars to be able to spend more time as snowbirds this winter; other Kiwanians also resigned to the fact that this event, that’s meant so much to Manchester over the last two decades, simply would not happen.

However, in July, Jeff Eineder, the local representative for Borek-Jennings, notified the Kiwanis that the funeral home’s renovation plans have been altered, and they would again be able to accommodate the Crazy Ca$h event. Eineder said he had been amazed and impressed by the number of people who participate and the community spirit that was engendered by this year’s Crazy Ca$h Night, and had encouraged the change in renovation plans, which would allow it to continue.

“As a result, Kiwanis is inviting another local non-profit organization to step up and assume hosting Crazy Ca$h,” said Herman. “It will definitely ‘take a village’ to make this happen. We normally have at least 85-90 volunteers to put together this fun night and make it happen.”

Last year, Herman continued, the Kiwanis, due to declining numbers like so many other service organizations, had partnered with the Manchester Lions Club and the Manchester Community Schools Foundation (MCSF) to coordinate the fund-raiser. “Every dollar raised goes back to the community in the form of prizes, grants, and scholarships,” she added.

Typically the Crazy Ca$h planning team begins meeting in early October to create a timeline, reserve the venue, assure that applications for sharing in the revenue are prepared and distributed by early November, acquire a raffle license, update the tickets and distribute them for sale, and identify the side board prizes in order to take advantage of any year-end or after-inventory sales). All of this takes dedicated volunteers. Also, seeking and following up on donations for the event is an important aspect that takes time and effort (not to mention determination!)

Vailliencourt–who’s been with the event since it began–and Herman, who started in 2004, are both willing to guide and mentor any group that is willing to assume hosting the fund-raiser. Equipment such as sideboards and other unique aspects that are needed to host the evening are available for use.

Losing this enormous fund-raiser would be an unfortunate blow to the community, and the Kiwanis would love to see it continue. But they need YOUR help. Are you part of a non-profit organization? Do you want to help this tradition continue? Contact Vailliencourt at pvailliencourt@comcast.net or Herman at amherman46@gmail.com to talk about the possibilities!

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.