Last week was a fun reminder that one of my favorite things about having a small business isn’t just the books- it’s all the people I meet and events I get to do along the way! I participated in two events with different groups: Paddles Up with GDSA, and Bingo with the Kettering Noon Optimists. Keep reading to hear more about the events and how they went.

Paddles Up with the Greene Direct Sales Association (GDSA)

GDSA is a non-profit organization of individuals in direct sales that share a mission of helping charities by holding monthly Paddles Up events, as well as participating in other community events. Each month a different charity is featured to receive the proceeds, and this month the charity was Good Works Farm. There are four rounds of bidding on baskets provided by the charity and GDSA members, and the event typically spans about 2 hours of fun.

This month my job was to collect the ticket bids from tables, which is fun because you get small moments to chit chat with the attendees. On Thursday, I also brought a half-table display of Halloween books from PaperPie with me to share and for shopping during the intermission. Overall we raised $1000 for Good Works Farm.

Bingo with Kettering Noon Optimists

On Saturday, I participated in a Bingo event held by the Kettering Noon Optimists. This annual event helps to fund the Optimists Shoes for Kids program, which works to provide shoes for children at a local school. For this event I had multiple jobs- I provided prizes for the Bingo game (along with other members of GDSA), helped with drawing the bingo numbers, and also brought a display of books for shopping. This tends to be one of my favorite events of the year, and I aim to participate each year that I can.

What these events had in common

I loved how these events allowed me the opportunity to share books, but also gave an excuse to show up in my community, meet people, and be part of things that matter. All while having lots of fun!

My Favorite Moments From the Week:

📚 Favorite book I brought:
Cat Goes to the Bakery. I love showing off that this book has smells.

❤️ Favorite interaction:
I loved hearing about an upcoming baby shower being held for teen mothers at Daybreak, an organization that aids unhoused, runaway, and vulnerable youth. Knowing that these young mothers will get to experience a baby shower because of caring individuals with the Optimists just made my week.

🎉 Biggest surprise:
Just how many men won prizes this week. I won’t say it doesn’t happen, but men winning at Paddles Up doesn’t seem to happen as much, probably because the event is mostly attended by women. It was good to see the crowd be a mixture of young and old, women and men, just coming together for a great cause.

☕ What kept me going:
Coffee, obviously. 😉 Especially on Saturday morning.

What’s Coming Up Next?

Next weekend I’ll be in Centerville for the Fall Fest. It’s going to be a great time, with vendors, pumpkins, kids activities, food, and music too!

The Fall season is upon us and I have plenty more events coming with only a few breaks until December. What is your favorite local event to attend? I’d love to hear all about it!