Votives for a Cause

The year 2020. It had a nice ring to it, so we celebrated and welcomed it with a bang. However, the year had its own agenda and we were caught off guard by COVID-19. It caused ruin, yet it wasn’t all that bad in my opinion. Because of this pandemic, and lock down, everyone had more time at hand, more aware, and individuals came together to give back to the struggling communities. The Basking Ridge community had risen to the occasion too, and fund raising activities were ongoing and we supported them. My friend, Siya, came up with a votive fundraising idea.

She attempted to make votives using shells and hot glue, but we quickly learned that the hot glue wasn’t sustainable. My mom was making wood artwork at the time and she suggested using wood for votives. My dad cut the wood, drilled tea light size holes which we sanded and painted in custom colors for our patrons. We eventually designed votives using tins, and shells as well. Not only did I enjoy the art component of the project, but added new skills to my arsenal, like building a website, adding a QR code to place orders and some neat design skills. Our site: https://sites.google.com/view/votives-for-a-cause/home

Our moms advertised in social media groups, and this method worked very well. By the end of the summer, we sold around a hundred votives and had raised more than $500! We thought we had concluded the project in September, but then we were given an opportunity to showcase at an outdoor art festival “Expressions” which was organized by an artist friend of my moms.

We worked furiously the month before to make as many votives as possible before the exhibition. We had almost all our votives sold at the end of the show and made more than $150. A couple of people placed orders to be made in custom colors and we had delivered them soon after. Engaging in sales, managing cash and venmo transactions, and being on feet all day was quite fascinating and a learning experience. I hope that in the following years, I can continue to do projects like these; ones that are fun for us, and advantageous to the world. So if any ideas are on your mind, please share....