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Art for Charity

Blogs: #9 of 15

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Art for Charity

I support charity! At least sometimes, when I believe in the cause. When my kids were in junior high I was in front to raise money for school trips to Germany and Poland to see the concentration camps Auschwitz, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück. I think it’s important for young people to learn something about the hard facts of our history, especially for those living in a free country like Norway.

The importance of diving into these terrifying whispers from the past, was confirmed when I saw how these teenagers learned to stick together and care for each other during the trip. Feedback from parents telling me how their kids changed from being careless and spoilt to individuals taking responsibility and caring for others added to my conviction.

In addition to numerous hours of voluntary work like stocktaking in grocery stores, selling lottery tickets, moving furniture, picking up garbage along the roads, freezing our butts off while selling waffles outside the shopping mall in the winter etc, etc I had greeting cards made from some of my photos. I sold them to the students at a price close to self-cost, and the kids sold them with a profit.

The good thing for me was that people soon learned that having a bunch of cards at hand was not only good for charity but also very convenient for themselves when they “suddenly” remembered an upcoming birthday or other event. I bet some of you still go to the store on your way to the party just to pick up a card and then write the message in the car. I have done exactly that so many times!

Many parents and customers came back for more cards when the fund raising period was over. Good for them and good for me!

I have also given away small framed prints for school lotteries. Another idea is to encourage clubs and schools to buy affordable art for charity auctions or even give away a print or two. If the print is a piece from a series, even better! This might trigger the winner to buy another piece from you.

It’s all about promotion. Sometimes you have to pay to get paid!