Short Film

Here is a short film that was presented for the featured chair, signed and illustrated by David Slonim. It includes a sampling of David's illustrations from a variety of his books. Edited by Phil Cook. Narrated by Savana Cook.

Chairs for Charity: Full Seat of Success

A big-papa-bear-chair thanks to the creative talent who generously designed and donated 74 chairs to this event, Culver Tri Kappa generated over $7000 in chair sales! The fundraising goals were exceedingly met along with an unexpected excitement for the chair parade that the community enjoyed throughout the month of June. The most memorable moments captured from the event are seeing the big eyes and smiles light up from the artists who designed chairs that were caught up in the excitement of bidding wars over their own masterpieces! There were rowdy rallies of bidding going on throughout the evening and you could sense the pride from the creative artists within the crowd.

"Knitty," the hand knitted chair donated by Marcy Prochaska brought in not only financial contributions for the fundraising event, but delivered a strong support in a new friendship. Bidders who were once against one another in a bidding war over this unique seat finally relinquished their pocketbooks and started a friendly conversation on the balcony.



Although this program has been in the planning process since October and much logistics went behind the scenes to create and deliver a month long chair extravaganza, Culver Tri Kappa is hoping to deliver an encore program in the next year or two. Andrea Cook and Judy Sawhook co-chaired this program along with the support from a strong team of committee captains. We would like to acknowledge all of the individuals who helped make the month long event a success through volunteering or donating:

Committee Captains:
Rhonda Anderson, Karen Boland, Kathy Rich, Chris Sheppard

Committee Members and Volunteers:
Karen Heim, Wendy Loehr, Jennifer Luttrell, Carol Jackson, Carol Saft, Janette Surrisi, Jo Surrisi

Auctioneers:
Jerry and Angela Kiesla

Musicians:
Beth Pare, Justin Ross

Photography:
Jeff Kinney

Printing:
Grant and Ginny Munroe

Auction Technical Support:
Phil Cook, Savana Cook as Narrator

Original Chair Donors:
Ancilla’s Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, Culver Academies, The Culver Cove

Chair Delivery Service:
Don Burke, Phil Cook, Marshall Pranger, Jim Sawhook, Frank Sheppard

Plymouth Chair Drop Location:
Donna Wenzel and Linda DeVault, Sisters’ Tea & Eatery and Mark and Angela Leed, Bergman Arts Center

Non-Chair Donations:
Mr. and Mrs. William Rhodes and Monticello’s Whyte Horse Winery

Inaugural Gala: Sunday, June 28 2009

Tickets will be available at the door and cover the cost of a wide selection of wines and food. Beth Pare will welcome guests with beautiful piano, while Chicago's Justin Ross will entertain throughout the wine reception preview. Wine reception preview begins at 6 p.m. with a live auction starting at 8 p.m. Jerry Kisela will be the key auctioneer for the evening. Over 70 chairs will be showcased together and individually sold to each high bidder throughout the evening.

Tickets are still available and may be purchased at the door for $20 each. Only cash and checks will be accepted throughout the evening, no credit cards please.

For more information about this not-to-be-missed event, browse through the previous posts!

We hope to see you Sunday evening. We'll save a seat for you!

Chairs for Charity: BIRDS

From the 74 chairs created and donated for the upcoming Chairs for Charity Gala, there were a wide range of styles, sizes and themes. A couple of chairs were about bees, we got a few with polka dots and several with hand painted butterflies and flowers. One of the more popular themes that we found was with birds. There were some chairs with birds and some designed for the birds. Here is a sneak peek at some of those bird chairs!








We hope to see you this Sunday evening. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $20. Wine reception preview starts at 6:00 p.m. with a live auction beginning at 8:00 p.m.

What charity is this for?

Chairs for Charity. Many people have been asking, "What charity is this for?" That is a great question and we'd like to share a little bit about what Tri Kappa is so you can get a better idea of what this whole Chairs for Charity is all about!

Charity
Tri Kappa is a philanthropic organization that exists only within the boundaries of the state of Indiana. Tri Kappa has 146 active chapters and 121 associate chapters with almost 10,000 members.

Each Tri Kappa chapter has special projects in its own community for charity, culture, and education. Local chapters also support statewide projects. The James Whitcomb’s Riley Hospital for Children has received contributions of over $1 million and thousands of Riley dolls since it began in 1922. Tri Kappa also supports the Ronald McDonald House. Donations are made annually to the Mental Health Association in Indiana, the Arc of Indiana, Indiana Special Olympics, and many other charitable causes.

Each year local chapters and state Tri Kappa give over $1.5 million to its endeavors of charity, culture and education. Since 1901, Tri Kappa members have donated untold hours and millions of dollars to projects in the state of Indiana.

Marshall County's Local Community Enrichment
The Culver Tri Kappa chapter is pleased to initiate the Inaugural Chairs for Charity program that includes a month long townwide Chair Parade along with tonight’s Gala Reception and Live Auction.

This Chairs for Charity program provides a cultural benefit to the community by bringing together creativity through local artists and their uniquely crafted chairs. It has been an enlightening activity that many community members, businesses and visitors have enjoyed. This event has been designed to not only encourage cultural awareness but to raise capital for future Tri Kappa initiatives. The donated chairs sold during the auction enable Tri Kappa to provide continued initiatives that promote culture, education and charity for the community.

In addition to Chairs for Charity, there are many other community building programs that Culver Tri Kappa members have developed and carry out from year to year. Notable events include the Tour De Max, the Student Art Show, the Prom Dress Shop, Mom’s Day Out, the Read Program Ice Cream Social, as well as holiday service projects like Christmas basket delivery and caroling to people in our community affiliated with Meals on Wheels and Miller’s Merry Manor.

Culver Tri Kappa’s fund raising efforts such as poinsettia- and Eastertime butter braid sales help provide the financial support that goes directly into the community. Contributing almost $10,000 annually through scholarships, grants and charitable donations, the Culver Tri Kappa chapter has financially supported local individuals, families and organizations including high school- and college students, Culver’s EMS and Fire Department, the Marshall County Hospice, Beaman Home and many other community enriching endeavors.

All proceeds from the upcoming Chairs for Charity auction will help support Tri Kappa’s continued initiatives to promote culture, education and charity.

The Top 80 Reasons You Should Attend Sunday's Event!

With only a few more days until the Inaugural Chairs for Charity Gala, we want to encourage you to attend by chairing sharing with you the top 80 reasons you should be there!

Although there well over 80 reasons you should come to this Sunday's Chairs for Charity event, the top 80 reasons are as follows:

#80 - #6 The first 74 reasons you should plan to attend this event is undoubtedly for each of the 74 chairs that will be showcased and available to purchase. These chairs are unique and intriguing. Some will make you laugh out loud, some may make you smile, some will make you say, "Awwww... Ooooo... Wow!" and some will make you raise your bid number so you can take it home with you! Just walking through the ballroom with your spouse, observing all of the chairs displayed will be an interesting evening of eye candy and charm.

#5 The fifth reason you should plan to attend this event this Sunday is for the action! This will be an enchanting evening of entertainment, a true delight for your senses from the live music and conversation, to the never-to-be-seen-again chair masterpieces, all aligned in the ballroom. Class-act live auction and selection of wines and hor d'oeuvres will make the evening complete.

#4 The fourth reason you should plan to attend this event is to show your support for the volunteers and artists who have donated endless number of hours to share something new and inventive with the community. To ensure that the chair parade and auction come back again, this year's event must be a success. All the donated items and time will only be a success if you are present and bid. Also, the primary function for this function is to raise money for charity. There are schools, public service organizations, families, homeless shelters, hospices, hospitals and many other organizations in our very own county and in the state of Indiana who are relying on Tri Kappa's charity each year. In today's economy, we wanted to develop a new and creative fundraiser. OK, so this fourth reason was a guilt card, moving on...

#3 The third reason you should plan to attend this event this Sunday is because all of the cool people are doing it and will be there. You're cool, right?

#2 The second reason you should plan to attend this event this Sunday is because there is nothing else going on! It is summertime, it is a Sunday evening. The balcony at the Cove will be open and set up. The a/c inside the Cove will be on high, keeping the cool people even cooler. It is a great excuse for a date night. It is something different to do.

And, the #1 reason you should attend this Sunday's Chairs for Charity Gala.... is.... well, you will have to just show up to see!









Tri Kappa's Chairs for Charity event is this Sunday, June 28th. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a wine reception and preview. At 8:00 p.m. the live auction will begin. You may purchase your ticket at the door for $20. Only cash or checks are accepted throughout the evening.

Children Chairs for Charity!

With over 70 chairs that will be on display and sale this Sunday at the Gala, you know there will be cute chairs for the kids and grandkids! Here is just a handful of child-sized delights that you may preview and possibly purchase during this Sunday's live auction at the Culver Cove. Tickets available at the door. All adults are welcome to enjoy this inaugural creative fundraising event. Live bidding starts at 8:00 p.m. Doors open for preview at 6:00 p.m.