Bag Decorating Party

First off, thank you to those that came it is always nice to see a new face and to hang out and color with the ones I've seen before! To those that couldn't make it, you were missed and I hope to see you soon. 


We had a nice afternoon with one another coloring lunch sacks and watching the newest version of Disney's Alice in Wonderland. We are going to fill the lunch sacks with healthy snacks such as granola bars and 100% juice boxes. Once we raise the money to purchase the items to fill the decorated bags we are going to donate them to the local food bank to distribute to families in need with children in their household. 

We are in need of donations. It seems we are going to need to have an event that we can "charge" guests with granola bars and 100% juice boxes as admission to get those bags full. Also we will be having a fund raising dinner at Hoss's Steak and Seafood located at 1450 N Atherton St in State College PA on Thursday, March 31 from 5:30pm - 8:00pm. To help sponsor the group get a hold of me prior to that date to get your ticket to give to the cashier when you arrive that indicates that you are there for us. You don't have to eat with the group, if you wish to come and privately dine with your family on that date, that option is open as well it still benefits us so long as you give your ticket to the cashier on that designated date. The group gets 20% of the sales which we also plan to use to fill the lunch sacks. 


I handed out event schedules and a letter requesting feedback on a few things and made available a few sign up sheets for committees, food-bank volunteering, and joining the Un-Birthday Group MS Walk Team. As of right now the team has raised $140 of the $300 team goal. Anyone interested in supporting us, we need donations and walkers. Anyone interested in walking should know that walking does not mean committing to raising funds if they do not wish to, they can simply walk with us and as of right now us is meaning my boyfriend and I so its safe to say that the team needs walkers. 


Fundraising Dinner Facebook Event Page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166802883370157

To donate or Join Us in the MS Walk: 
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/PACWalkEvents?team_id=243753&pg=team&fr_id=16501 

The Un-Birthday Group Walks To Fight MS

Un-Birthday Group-ers and supporters! Help Our Team in the Fight Against MS!


The number of people living with multiple sclerosis increases every hour of every day. This astonishing rate is not going to slow down, let alone stop, until we've found a cure. Research has made some incredible advances recently, but the world can still only offer disease management drugs and therapies to the 400,000 people living with MS in America.

We've formed a team for walk MS because the National Multiple Sclerosis Society funds more MS research than any other private organization. In addition to supporting studies which hope to reveal the cause and course of the disease, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society also provides much needed education, programs, and services to everyone who is affected by MS - including the diagnosed, their friends and families, and the healthcare professionals who work with them.

Join our team as a walker or a volunteer! Make a donation online! Send in a check! There are so many ways to make a difference in the fight against MS, and it all begins right here.
Come out and enjoy a walk with the group while supporting a worthy cause.

Click Here To Register To Walk With Us Or Sponsor Our Team!



Pottery Painting with the Un-Birthday Group

Thursday, March 3 I met with some of the girls from the group to paint pottery and enjoy it over a "glass" (paper cup) of wine =)

Conversation was light no major group discussions just a peaceful evening enjoying each other's company and creating artwork on functional pottery together.

Thanks for joining ladies =) Your creations are wonderful.

The Un-Birthday Group received yet another donation!

Today I went out to the Surface Artist Cooperative which is located at 201 Elmwood Street in State College, PA to meet Staci Egan the independent artist and small business owner of Contempo Jewelry.

Staci is a proud member of the community and an involved memberof the following: Surface Artist Cooperative, Art Alliance, WiNGS (Womens Network Group), the Central Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, Gallery Shop committee chair.

I swear I could have stayed and talked to her for hours on end in fact I think I may have stayed there talking to her for more than an hour (sorry for invading your day Staci!) I couldn’t leave, I didn’t want to leave she was just so interesting and her studio space is wonderfully inviting.  

I’d describe her work but I think words wouldn’t do justice so I recommend checking it out, you can do so by following these links:

http://www.etsy.com/people/contempojewels?ref=ls_profile

www.contempojewelry.net

You can also follow Staci and her work at any of the following:

Twitter - http://twitter.com/contempojewels

Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/9431204@N03/sets/72157614963626095/

Blog - www.contempoweddings.tumblr.com

Thank you Staci Egan for your gift card donation and support to the Happy Un-Birthday Group!

Donations!

The Un-Birthday Group has received two donations from the letters sent out. A big thank you goes out to Barbara's Hallmark and to Kaarma Indian Cuisine for the donations to the group! I hope these are not the last of the donations but something was better than nothing and I am pleased to be able to offer the thanks for the donations we have received and am thankful to have received anything at all to help us with our causes.

A Wonderland Kind of Movie Night

The Group met at the Schlow Library in the community room on the first floor to watch Alice In Wonderland the Disney cartoon version on the projector screen. We enjoyed hot tea and the members all brought something to snack on. I made a three layered Un-Birthday cake. With the $3 per person cover we were able to make a donation to the library for letting us use the facility (Thank you to those that were able to make a donation). The turnout was wonderful there were new and old faces as usual. We discussed volunteering at the food bank in the month of April on the weekends together and also putting together healthy snack unbirthday bags to donate to the food bank as well (the bags were the idea of the food bank and were brought to the attention of the group by one of the group members after finding the food bank's web site). Check with your local food bank to see if there is anything you can do to help out. I know what it's like to need the availability of the services offered by the food bank and know it's important to give back when you are able to.

Skate Your Heart Out!

The Un-Birthday Group as stated in the Collegian feature, hosted a “Skate Your Heart Out Un-Birthday party” at Penn Skates, 2210 High Tech Road, at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 12. If the turnout exceeds 25 people, $11 of the $15 admission will be donated to a charity." Unfortunately the turnout did not exceed 25 people and we were unable to donate to any charity. Even though the event sank as far as fundraising went, it was still awesome to have a private party with the group members. We had a blast! The cupcakes were amazingly yummy. The pizza at the skating rink was awesome and the pink lemonade was plentiful. We skated our hearts out and enjoyed the rink and our private party =)

Coffee Meet and Greets

The group meets from time to time to enjoy refreshments at local cafes to chit chat about group things and about life in general. It's a good time for new members to meet with the group and become familiar with the members and I in a comfortable, laid back, enjoyable, affordable, group setting. We have been discussing the fundraising projects that are still underway and the group has declared to be interested in donating  something of ours to another important fund, time. The group has discussed the possibility of donating our time to various organizations such as the food bank, the women's resource center, and projects such as habitat for humanity. What a great idea and an easy way to give back to the community while we work on raising the finds we need to pursue our goal of hosting a few public fundraising events. 

HOLD THE PRESS!

With impeccable timing, I was contacted by the CDT about doing an interview and running a story about our up and coming organization The Un-Birthday Group and how I started it. Click Here To Read The Story


It was perfect timing as I had just sent out all the letters and when they would be arriving the story was in the paper about the group. I had been a little worried that we may not sound legit. Having the group in the paper was extremely helpful in the impact made by the letters.


As a bonus we were also featured in the Penn State News Paper The Collegian which you can CLICK HERE to read the story which was much like the shorter version of the feature in the CDT.

Fundraising; A Mad Un-Birthday Tea Party Topic

An Un-birthday is best with a tea party =) East-West Crossing Books Teas and Folks Arts seemed like the perfect place to have a tea party. Their website boasts you can "pamper yourself with a three-course tea service, beginning with Citrus Salad and freshly baked scone, along with your choice of teas. Next feast on a selection of savory treats, such as mini-quiche, vegetable tarts, & cucumber tea sandwiches. End with a tray of dessert dainties, from gourmet treats such as mini-eclairs, fruit tort, fresh fruit, cheesecake bites, or gourmet chocolates.Your tea will be refreshed endlessly, so that you can linger over the many flavors of a delightful afternoon with friends." If you think that sounds wonderful you are exactly right, it was wonderful indeed. With the group getting new members all the time there is always a new face at the events. Meeting new members and enjoying such a wonderful afternoon with great conversation, tea, and dainty delights was more than lovely.

I discussed with the group my intention of writing letters asking for donations to the local businesses in State College to help us with a number of events that I have stewing and brewing on my mind that I would like to make happen. The group welcomed the idea and I took action mailing out 70 letters and still counting. A few have sadly come back but things are looking up since the group received an e-mail from Rita's Ice letting us hold meetings there and offering a 10% discount when we do. It's not much but its a nice start anyway. I intend to take them up on that when the fair weather arrives =)

Un-Birthday Group Movie Meet Ups

The Group has met up a few times for $1 Showings at the discount theater. Nothing like a cheap date with your friends! Members are encouraged to notify me about any kind of possible meet up as I would love to see the members get the chance to mingle with each other and form friendships. Knowing other people in a town can come in handy; with the diverse group of members it's nice to have the ability to get advice on things if you have yet to learn the ropes around State College. I have gained several insights and caught a few breaks just from knowing people from the group.

Celebrating Our 2nd Un-Birthday With Bowling =)

The bowling night was awesome! We were missing a few people, I was expecting 7 people and we ended up with only 4  but even though it was a smaller group event than the first, it was nice to get the time hanging out and bowling with the new members of the group and getting to know them. We didn't get to have cupcakes because the bowling alley does not allow outside food into the establishment. Even though there were no cupcakes, I had a blast. We have since had another night of unbirthday bowling that was just as fun as the previous bowling night. You really can't go wrong with bowling.

The First Un-Birthday

In hopes of running into someone with like-interests I went to paint pottery at 2000 degrees a "paint you own pottery" studio. It was something to do, something to get out of the house. With the prospect of meeting a new friend, it was a great idea. The whole time I was painting my pottery piece, I was the only person in the studio aside from the girl who worked there. At one point a lady came in to see about hosting her daughter's birthday party there, but aside from that I enjoyed a quiet evening of painting to myself. As the girl working the studio explained to the interested Mother the birthday package deal, the wheels in my head starting turning. I thought it would be so much fun to host a party there.

I knew it would be a fun party to attend as I had attended a painting party that  my Boyfriend's Mother hosted  back in the area my Boyfriend and I lived prior to moving to State College (for my boyfriend to complete his BA at PSU). On the drive home I thought I couldn't be the only person in State College with little resources in finding people to hang out with and socialize with. I went home that evening and posted an ad on craigslist.com saying that I wanted to start a group where we get together and celebrate for no reason. Just make a big deal out of nothing just to have a good time doing something fun with other people.

Creating a social group was not my only prerogative however; I also wanted to be able to get people together to give back to the community. My intentions are to dedicate mostly all my free time and effort toward raising some money to give some "financial love" to as many of the local non-profits as I possibly can while providing the chance for women to connect with each other and make the transitional move to State College a little easier. I made event flyers and persistently posted new ads on craigslist as well as started a group page on facebook.com for the members to keep track of what’s new with the group and I to keep track of headcounts and organize group events accordingly. When the group had over six members to attend the first meeting/party I made the reservation at 2000 degrees for our first Un-Birthday Party.

There were 10 RSVP's and 9 of us total at the pottery party in December of 2010. Upon meeting everyone I was able to recognize most of the people thanks to facebook.com's group page for the "Happy Un-Birthday Group." All of the women seemed to be from all over including some that were from the State College area. After getting to know each other and during the time we painted I asked "what would the group would like to do next?" and together we came up with go to a movie, go bowling, and go roller skating. Organizing the group instantly granted me the social network that I needed. It was nice to hear others be so thankful for having the opportunity that I myself at one point had scanned the craigslist community postings for. Being assertive, social, as well as organizing and leading anything at all isn't something I'm normally known for. That's the fun of moving to a new town, you get to be different if you want to. =) It's the perfect time for positive changes.

What's The Un-Birthday Group?

The Un-birthday group is a new community group for women 21-35 that are mostly new to State College (some members are originally from state college).

State College, PA being home of the Pennsylvania State University Main Campus (University Park) has a way of attracting people from all over. When you are new to State College it can be difficult to meet new people that are interested in meeting new people especially when the town seems to revolve around the university and you aren’t affiliated with the school at all aside from being the girlfriend of a student (which is my case). My case however is not the only one involved here; some members do in fact attend the university which happens to be a wonderful campus (my boyfriend is enjoying his educational experience with no complaints so far).

 The Un-birthday Group takes the work out of finding people and skips the "do you maybe want to hang out sometime" and the pain of trying to decide what to do, when, and where. We meet and have parties when it's not anyone's birthday hence the "Un-Birthday" part of the group. There is some reference to Alice in Wonderland but I feel it's more of a mix of an Un-birthday with the Joy Luck Club. Most of the members including myself (the founder) are looking for a way to branch into the community. The group now has almost 50 members and is starting to look into doing some community fundraising to benefit non-profits here in State College.  Once you get more than 10 members it seems almost pointless not to do something constructive with our woman-power like try to raise funds for the community. So we have started to try to find ways to increase our funding and able to achieve all of our goals. At this point we have a few things lined up. To see where we go with our woman power, follow us here on our first blog and on twitter =)

http://twitter.com/#!/VsUnbirthday