A steady stream of customers kept Ben and Sydney Nichols, owners of local coffee shop The Bean, busy during a fundraising drive led by the Pre-Veterinary Medical Association. As part of the fundraiser, on Friday, December 4, a percentage of customer’s profits was contributed to the PVMA.
Sydney Nichols, owner of The Bean, said “From five PM to seven PM, they get ten percent of all sales.”
While an exact number of customers was not available, owner Ben Nichols said, “It was madness, in a good way. Everybody seemed to be patient and understand that we were busy.”
In order to make the line move quicker while generating more money for the fundraiser, Nichols said that the ten percent would be applied to any sale.
“Anybody that checks out during that time, the ten percent goes. It speeds the process up and it helps them [PVMA] out a little more,” said Nichols.
Nichols added that although they were exhausted, the event was good for business.
“We had tons of folks come in who never heard of us or stepped in here,” Nichols said.
Tara Fuller, president of the PVMA, said the money would be distributed to two local humane societies.
“The money is going fifty-fifty down the middle," Fuller said. "If we make $50, Lee County gets $25 and Macon County gets $25.”
Fuller contributes the success of the fundraiser to the officers of the PVMA.
“If somebody has an idea that we like, I have been able the trust the officers to take the initiative on that,” she said.
Becky Jones, secretary of the PVMA, said the idea for the fundraiser changed over time.
“First we were going to have a benefit night for the club, then decided to do a supply drive, then to donate the proceeds of the event to the shelters.”
During the week, the PVMA also held a supply drive for the shelters via a donation box located at Upchurch Hall.
“It has gone pretty well. We didn’t have too many things in the box, but we had a lot of people bring stuff tonight,” Jones said.
An event page post by the PVMA on Facebook provided a list of items that people could drop off at either the coffee shop or a donation box at Upchurch Hall. Food, medicines, toys and cleaning products are just some of the things needed.
Both Jones and Fuller urged for people to donate outside of the fundraiser.
“Those items are requested year-round by the shelters, so anybody can drop their stuff off,” Fuller said.
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