Despite some clumsy oversights, such as me not posting the event on the website, and us not sending a mass email out to our contacts, we had a successful fundraiser night at Daniels Family Restaurant and Bar. This was in part because our new treasurer Bill Evans created and posted signs around the community, we had a successful social media campaign (by us and Daniels), and of course word-of-mouth. As our new board gets their feet more under them, we will be sure to publicize with all available methods. As it was, we were thrilled with the turnout on a very cold Thursday in January!

We made something like $1500 and were so pleased with the community support, not only from Daniels, but from the Elkridge Furnace Inn, Rathskeller, Cindy’s Softserve, and the Quicks, who used to own Cindy’s Spirits and now own The Loft over Wegmans, who all donated gift certificates and/or gift baskets. We had silent auctions and a 50/50 raffle. The consolation prizes in the raffle were some of the certificates, so not so shabby!

The winner of the money, Ron Pool, generously donated it back to the Society, which brought us $370. Donations were super generous too – one for $250.00 came from Peace of Mind Property Management. The team from Peace of Mind came out in force and had a lot of fun at Daniels, and also played our games and won some of the prizes. Several friends bought books and other wares and often paid more than asking.

Daniels, in addition to donating two $25 gift certificates to our raffle, also donated part of the profits from the food that was eaten, which tallied up to another $350.

I enjoyed traveling around Elkridge presenting some of the prizes this morning to those who could not stay until the drawings. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the winners. Elkridge is such a wonderful place!

Thank you so much to all who attended, and to our faithful supporters who continue to send in membership dues and donations via check or PayPal. We are really making some headway in what we need to keep the Brumbaugh House going!

In case you didn’t hear, we also received a grant from Howard County, of $20,000. Check out the video when Calvin Ball presented us the big check at this link:

https://fb.watch/paSDuW0yqp/?mibextid=CDWPTG

However, we cannot rest on our laurels. The Brumbaugh House needs a lot of work. The grant will help us fix the roof over the Doctor’s Office and porch, and repair the ceiling in the Doctor’s Office where there was a water leak and the plaster crumbled. We also needed to install a French Drain to help with the overflow of water on the property. The 20K will not last long after these repairs. We are applying for another county grant because we need to replace the roof on the Carriage House, do some upgrades inside the Brumbaugh House, so that it has a more professional looking museum feel and upgrade the HVAC. It is our dream to be able to receive enough regular income to be able to RUN the HVAC in addition to supporting the monthly bills we are always swamped with.

Thank you for your generosity. Every little bit truly helps because some of these grants cannot be used for day-to-day bills like insurance and utilities. We are so grateful for your ongoing support!

Sincerely,

Tina Barton, EHS Webmaster