St. Pat’s Themed Fundraisers
St. Pat’s Themed Fundraisers
Wear Your Green & Pot O’ Gold Fundraisers Support Great Causes in Salamanca
“WEAR YOUR GREEN” FOR THE SALAMANCA RAIL MUSEUM
It’s almost time to don your best green outfit and strike out to the Salamanca American Legion to support a great cause. The Legion is hosting “Wear Your Green” Fundraiser to benefit the Salamanca Rail Museum on Saturday, March 18 from 5:00-10:00pm.
Not too long ago, the Salamanca Rail Museum was devastatingly vandalized. Many of the windows on the rail cars were smashed out and upholstery inside the cars slashed, resulting in well over $12,000 in damages.
The Rail Museum has been working tirelessly since then to raise money to not only fix the damaged cars but also to get the funds for a camera based security system. Thanks to the generosity of a number of public donations and the rail museum’s GoFundMe campaign, they’ve managed to raise about half of what they need.
Secretary of the Rail Museum Board, Sue Labuhn, took time to discuss the upcoming fundraiser with eNOW and shared her feelings on the situation. “It’s unfortunate that this has happened,” she said. “These cars are a piece of history. This is the only rail museum in Cattaraugus County. It’s a true local gem and all of us on the board and all of our fantastic volunteers, we have a deep personal love for the museum and are absolutely devastated by the destruction.”
Sue went on, “Wear Your Green is meant to be a fun way for the community to help us restore the cars to their former glory. We want all the repairs to be authentic and we want to increase our security to ensure this type of thing will not happen again in the future.”
The cost of admission to the event is just $7 a person, and according to Sue, there will be a lot to enjoy, including live music from the Freedom Hills band, a local group that plays a great variety of music… perfect for dancing along with. Silver Bells Bakery will be offering the New York favorite, Texas Hots and other snacks for sale. All proceeds from the entrance fee and a portion of the food sales will go straight into the repair fund. Guests can also take part in a 50/50 drawing and basket raffles donated by community members.
Event organizers are encouraging everyone to “really dress up!” said Sue. “There is a prize for the best green outfit. Carol Elis of Swan Street Florist is in charge of putting that together.”
Sue is hopeful for a good turnout. “We really want to bring in as many people as possible, not just from Salamanca but from all over Cattaraugus County, to really support our beautiful and educational attraction. This really is a unique place and we want to repair it so that it can be shared with everyone again.”
The “Wear Your Green” fundraiser on March 18 is a great way to not only have a good time, but help preserve a piece of local history. If you can’t make it, you can always reach out to Sue at 716-945-3133 for other ways you can help. Or donate to their GoFundMe (search Salamanca Rail Museum on Facebook for the link)… every little bit helps!
CCA’S ANNUAL POT O’ GOLD SOUP FUNDRAISER RETURNS
Winter isn’t quite over yet, and nothing helps warm you up faster than a delicious bowl of soup. What if there was a way to “soup it up” and give back to the community at the same time? Isn’t that an interesting idea?
Connecting Communities in Action (CCA) has organized such an experience. Dubbed Pot O’ Gold Soup Fundraiser, the March 17 event will run from 11:00am-2:00pm in Salamanca and will support the organization’s mission to help community members in need. ellicottvilleNOW had the chance to speak with Bridget Sanford, CCA’s Director of Planning and Resource Development about the fundraiser, the organization, and how the public can get involved.
eNOW: Can you explain how the Pot O’ Gold fundraiser works?
BRIDGET: This year is CCA’s third annual Pot O’ Gold fundraiser. Each year, CCA partners with local restaurants that donate soup for the event. The delicious variety of soups are then sold to raise money for CCA’s Resilient and Healthy Families Nutrition Program. This year’s event will take place at CCA’s main office location in Salamanca, NY at 25 Jefferson Street. CCA also partners with local potters and schools for donations of ceramic bowls. Every $25 order receives a custom handmade bowl with purchase.
CCA offers a wide variety of raffle baskets at this event, too, with 2023 items ranging from, an autographed Buffalo Bills cleat, to a Tito’s gift basket, to gift certificates from a variety of local restaurants and businesses. Tickets are 1 for $1 or 10 for $5 with all proceeds going to CCA’s Nutrition Program. This event is a lot of fun for the community and a great day to dress in St. Patrick’s Day colors and themes.
Soup prices are:
$5 for a 12 ounce
$10 for a 24 ounce
(3) 12 ounce soups for $12
(3) 24 ounce soups for $25
Soup pre-order forms will be available very soon, so stay tuned to CCA’s Facebook Page.
eNOW: What local establishments are providing soups and what flavors are on the menu?
BRIDGET: Harvest Moon will be serving up their St. Patrick’s Day Corn Beef and Cabbage Soup, Union Tea is working on a Cheeseburger Soup, Chef John Haley plans to bring Creamy Sauerkraut Soup with Bacon and Onions, Dupers will have Chicken Gnocchi, and Ellicottville’s Villaggio is planning to bring Cajun Chicken Corn Chowder. We are working on a more extensive list of restaurants, so feel free to check out our Facebook page for updates.
eNOW: The funds from this event will go to the Lighthouse Community Kitchen; what purpose do they support?
BRIDGET: When families are experiencing nutrition related crises, CCA is able to provide emergency amelioration of that crisis, then to proceed along a continuum of care that allows for advocacy, assistance in obtaining food resources, education and training, even job readiness and employment experiences.
CCA Nutrition Services provide support to the community by offering our food pantry 5 days a week, as well as CCA's Soup Kitchen by way of to-go hot meals 4 days a week. Food items that are donated by local businesses, restaurants and grocery stores are utilized daily. CCA staff receive donations by way of pickup multiple days of the week, thus supplying our clients with items ranging from frozen meats to bread and milk. Annually, CCA provides 17,000 mobile food boxes to households as well as 15,000 hot meals.
All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to support CCA’s Nutrition Department equipment maintenance, purchasing of essential food items and outreach.
eNOW: Anything else you would like to add?
BRIDGET: CCA will be hosting this event on the first floor of CCA’s Main Office at 25 Jefferson Street in Salamanca, NY on March 17, 2023. Please tell your family and friends to stop by and check out this event for an afternoon of fun!
Thank you, Bridget, for taking the time to speak with us and for sharing such great details on the event. Don’t forget to keep track on CCA’s Facebook page “CCA - Connecting Communities in Action” for up-to-date info and other upcoming events.
