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Unique Candles

by Rachael
(Brighton, CO USA)

When I was in high school in Illinois, I was a member of the dance team. We qualified to go to the Universal Dance Team Association Nationals in Orlando, Florida, but we had to pay our own way. As a team, we decided to do as many fund raisers as we could to help us get to Florida. One of our fund raisers was selling scented candles.

We weren't really given any kind of direction with selling tips or techniques. We were simply handed a leaflet showing different candles and prices, and a place on the back for interested parties to write their names and addresses, as well as the total of their order.

It did not work out very well for us. I raised a total of $12.00, and that was a candle my mom purchased. It may have worked better had there been a little bit of training, or maybe a better product, or even a booth or a stand at a festival or craft show where we could show off our wares for people to purchase.

The rest of the squad had similar results as I did, and the candles did not help us get any closer to our goal of Nationals in Orlando, Florida. Overall, the product was good, but I believe at the time it was hard to get teenagers enthusiastic about pitching a candle to a stranger when going door-to-door. And even harder for that teenager to go back to deliver the product after purchase!

We did have some success with other fund raisers, so not only were we able to get to Nationals, but we were also able to buy new uniforms for our performance. But that is an entirely different story!