On November 17th, Operation Shower kicked off the holiday season with our annual End of Year event. Operation Shower’s “Our Favorite Things Holiday Sip & Shop” incorporated all the look and feel from the past Our Favorite Things themed events, however, this year we included over 30 local and nationwide vendors for the public to shop. With welcoming hearts and open pocketbooks, this year’s fundraising event was a HUGE success!
The event was held at the beautiful Foundry Art Centre in the heart of St. Charles, MO. Greeted with a Rubber Duckie scavenger hunt and raffles for St. Louis Blues tickets and a Dell laptop, our guests received a complimentary charcuterie cone from The Lou Charcuterie and a boozy beverage to make their spirits brighter. The cash bar remained open for the duration of the event, offering a mix of mimosa, bloody marys, any number of combinations made with coffee and hot chocolate in our souvenir, reusable coffee cup, made possible by our sponsor, Elite Heating and Cooling.
Once our guests made it past the beverage station, they were greeted by vendors ranging from artists and an author to a massage therapist offering chair massages and caramel and Tastachio vendors serving up smoked pistachio to passersby. The room was bustling with bags as our guests shopped our carefully curated rows of vendors, including our very own Operation Shower Candy Bar.
Our event would not have been possible without the initial support of our graciously supportive sponsors. Adonis offered to support our event with their Provisions sponsorship before the team even had an opportunity to secure the venue space and Royal Banks followed suit with their Presenting sponsorship. With these two community leaders on board, Anders CPAs + Advisors, Technology Partners, Integrity, Shook, Hardy, & Bacon, and the Jacuzzi Bath Remodel of St. Louis graciously joined in as our event sponsors.
Our Favorite Things Sip & Shop brought about opportunities for us to raise funds and awareness for our nonprofit, thanks, in part, to City Lifestyles magazine, the St. Charles County and Chesterfield publications, as well as to South County Parish Neighbors for running full spread articles about Operation Shower and our fundraiser in their November editions. This publicity, along with the nine online event calendars our event was listed on, allowed Operation Shower breadth and depth of reach for promoting our first-time event of this caliber.
All our vendors at our event would appreciate your continued support, including Addy’s Way, Arbonne with Krista Tavares, A Therapeutic Effect Mobile Massage, Bella & Mango, Cuddle Butters Bamboo Boutique, Cutco Cutlery, Empyr Coffee, Fish Eye Fun, Fleur de Lis Florals, Hawley Truckers St. Louis, jBloom, Kendra Scott-Frontenac, Krescant Marie, Lemon House Bakes, Magnolia Soap & Bath Co., Norwex, Nuterra Farms, OH OLIVE, River Valley Co., Ruby Rue Candle Company, Sarah’s Boxes & Boards, Steele Caramels, Tastachio Brands LLC, Tastefully Simple, The Emporium at Wash Mo, The Initial Design, Three Crafty Foodie Chicks, Touchstone by Swarovski, Wellness Palooza, and Wrapped + Written.
In conjunction with the event, we hosted a nationwide, weeklong silent auction, displaying over 120 items. In collaboration with Kendra Scott Gives Back, our silent auction hit over 104% of its goal and the total results from the week have become OUR FAVORITE THING! Collectively, Operation Shower raised over $25,000 for our growing military families and we look forward to planning and growing Our Favorite Things fundraiser in 2025.
