January 19, 2005
WRC kick starts raffle
Women's Resource Center fund-raiser features new Harley
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
It's baaaack.
The annual chance to own a classic Harley-Davison Motorcycle - this year a 2005 Softail Deluxe with a custom black-cherry pearl paint - for just $100 is back.
Thanks to the 11th Annual Women's Resource Center's Extravaganza and the help of Classic Motor Sports, one happy Harley owner will be announced on Saturday, February 26 at the evening event, which will be held at the Grand Traverse Resort. The center prints only 900 tickets, of which it usually sells between 700-800, so the odds of being a winner are not astronomical.
"We have both men and women who ride and men and women who buy the tickets," said Carmen Stevens, development director for the Women's Resource Center
The money raised by the raffle and by the extravaganza itself will help victims of domestic violence and their families throughout the region. Last year's Extravaganza event plus Harley raffle netted the Women's Resource Center $126,000.
This year organizers are hoping for more as demand for their services continues to rise.
"We served more than 1,700 families last year at our main center and three satellite operations," Stevens said. "Public support is very important to us, 54 percent of our annual budget comes from public support."
"We have donors from the very large to the five-dollar donor," she added. "We have every kind of person from every kind of background because our issue of domestic violence hits everybody."
As for the lure of the Harley, Don Pishney, co-owner of Classic Motor Sports, believes that the Women's Resource Center has effectively branded their extravaganza, giving it a needed cachet that draws between 550-600 people a year. He estimates that his dealership has been giving the center a 'sweetheart' deal on a bike to either auction or raffle for the past ten years.
"When the Resource Center saw the potential of the lifestyle, of a way of identifying themselves in the community through having the bike to auction or raffle, they have capitalized on that very well and put their event on the map," Pishney observed. "I'm pleased at the power of the brand and that I can lend that to them."
Pishney's wife, Nancy, is a board member of the Women's Resource Center and has been committed to women's causes for years. He recalled that when the center first called ten years ago requesting a donation to help their budding extravaganza, Nancy Pishney had a better idea.
"She insisted that we make a bike available to them," Don Pishney said.
Stevens admires the Pishneys' determination to helping women and families who have experienced domestic violence.
"It just speaks to their commitment to the families we serve and really to just what type of people they are," she said. "They have watched the center grow with their help from the very beginning."
In addition to their offices and thrift center, the Women's Resource Center also operates a shelter for domestic violence victims. This facility can house up to 26 individuals at a time, which usually breaks down into a range of family groupings.
"We run at 96 percent capacity year round," Stevens noted.
Volunteers are an integral part of the organization, providing support, education and outreach services to individuals and families around the region.
"More than 200 volunteers gave more than 20,000 hours of service last year alone," Stevens said.
Harley raffle tickets are three for $200 or $100 each and can be purchased at Classic Motor Sports, 3939 S. Blue Star Drive, or at the Women's Resource Center's locations. Or you can call the 2005 Harley-Davidson Raffle Hotline at 941-1210 or toll free at 1-800-554-4WRC or visit the organization's website at www.womensresourcecenter.org. Purchasers do not have to be present at the February 26 Extravaganza to win.