Flights of Fancy
by Ronnie Citron-Fink

Fundraising is a daunting task and one that I have approached with trepidation. In theory, it is a noble act. In reality, people are constantly solicited by strangers for various causes. How does one decide which charitable cause to become involved with? Being a caring and dutiful parent with limited time and funds, I've chosen mine carefully. Over the years, I've been asked to sell everything from magazine subscriptions to poinsettias in the mall. All for a truly noble cause, the enrichment of our school children. The community kids certainly need an ongoing stream of money to fund projects that would otherwise be unattainable, but these fundraisers often tap the same friends and relatives, and the well of parents' energy seems to dry up.

A few years ago, the parents of my son's fifth grade class were challenged to raise enough funds to send the whole grade on a Cape Cod Whale Watch. As I sat through the planning meetings, I thought to myself, Rhinebeck is such a closely-knit community, why not broaden the effort and challenge the whole community to raise the funds? Rhinebeck is a mecca for people with tremendous creativity and talent., and our village center is a vital and exciting place to visit and shop. A parent I knew had visited Northampton recently and seen birdhouses being auctioned in shop windows. I thought that, what with all of Rhinebeck's artists, merchants, parents and children, a similar fundraiser might work in our town as well. That is how the "Flights of Fancy" birdhouse auction came to be.

A committee was formed that included a writer, a merchant, a fundraiser, a business person, a highly organized parent, an artist, an attorney and me, a teacher. All but one of our members is a parent. We then invited a flock of area artists to lend their talents to our cause. Our community is home to such noted artists as photographer Annie Leibowitz, New Yorker cartoonists Danny Shanahan, Michael Crawford and Liza Donnelly, world renowned artist Richard Artschwager, designer Michael Van Horn, cartoonist Elwood Smith, Dinotopia author James Gurney, Emmy award winning Sesame Street writer Nancy Sans as well as many other talented illustrators, writers, architects and craftspeople. All these talented individuals were eager to lend a hand and a brush to improve the lives of the community's children. Each artist was provided with a pine birdhouse, built and donated by Wolcott Builders. The artists were given no boundaries. Over the last three years, we have auctioned birdhouses created by over 200 artists. Each one-of-a-kind creation is a work of art.

The birdhouses are displayed in the windows of our downtown. The committee orchestrates a silent auction with the assistance of our local merchants, who enjoy a steady stream of onlookers that come from all over to admire the birdhouses. The first two years we put together a book with photos of all the birdhouses and artist biographies. A website was developed explaining our mission and providing views of the birdhouses and information about the artists. Last year, a brochure was created by local designer, Stan Lichens. These brochures were distributed all over town, along with a press release to our local newspapers and publications. We even designed a map for visitors to locate the birdhouses. The artists are honored at an opening at the Delamater Inn and Conference Center (donated for the event). The culmination of our "Flights of Fancy" fundraiser comes with the wine and hors d'oeuvres reception that concludes the silent auction at the Church of the Messiah Parish Hal. The past three years the event has been sold out, drawing residents, artists and visitors from Rhinebeck and beyond.

After our first year, we widened our fundraising efforts to benefit the Arts in Education program in the Rhinebeck Central Schools, and last year's proceeds were donated to the new children's wing of the Starr Library. Our Birdhouse Committee formed the non-profit Children's Community Trust of Rhinebeck (CCTR) under the stewardship of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. CCTR's mission is to seek to enhance and enrich the lives of the children in our local community by supporting under-funded programs. Now in its fourth year, CCTR has raised over $40,000 for our community's children. It's a win-win situation, as the birdhouse project enchants our children, who are in awe of what their neighbors can do for them; the artists get to display their talents to the community; while the merchants enjoy the boost to our local economy.

Often I am stopped on the street by strangers who ask, "When are the birdhouses coming?" Or a child will ask, "Aren't you the birdhouse lady?" Fundraisers can be a daunting task, but they can be fun too. Isn't that what kids would want?

For more information visit www.rhinebeckchildrenstrust.org