Division B - Printed Tools of Public Relations
Category 14 - Other
Christmas Pickle - Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Church
Carol Brinati, Dawn Schreiner, Skye Dumoulin

Judges' Award


Research/Situation Analysis: The St. Margaret Mary 60-member Choir believes in touring to share their love of music and God. However, trips can be expensive and it is their philosophy that all members of the Choir should be able to tour regardless of ability to pay. Therefore, they conduct regular fund-raising programs to raise money to provide financial assistance to its members.
While researching different fund-raising ideas, Carol Brinati decided to combine her love of writing with her love of music to produce a book and CD. She researched the book concept by having two teachers read her manuscript to determine the appropriate age level of the material. She then conducted a focus study with the age appropriate group of children and edited her content based on feedback received.

Objectives: There were four objectives for the fundraising campaign of the St Margaret Mary Choir:
1) Raise $10,000 to provide financial assistance to choir members who could not afford traveling expenses to visit Rome for a Choir performance with the Pope
2) Publish a Christmas themed book in time for distribution during the Christmas season of 2006.
3) Publish a book for less than $5 dollars each to make the book affordable, while achieving desired profit margins.
4) Foster the mission of stewardship, which means donating time, talents and treasures for the greater good of a parish and community.

Implementation: The process began in December 2005 and concluded in January 2007. Carol Brinati wrote the story that is based on an actual incident that took place at St. Margaret Mary and some of the people drawn in the story are actual members of the parish. The CD was recorded by choir members who brought the story to life with music, sound effects and angelic voices.

Evaluation: The book was completed by October 2006 to allow for sales during the three months leading up to Christmas. One hundred volunteers sold the book to relatives, friends and parishioners. Publicity via an article in The Florida Catholic and the Diocese of Orlando website also helped to secure sales.
The sale was so successful, all 2,000 copies were sold. They reached their goal and made $10,000 in profits to help offset the costs of traveling. They also achieved their objective of fostering stewardship by enlisting so many volunteers who donated their time, talents and treasures to make this project a reality.
The objective to keep the book’s production cost at under $5 each was also achieved and the price per book was set at $10, which kept the book within reach of most people.


Budget: Carol Brinati donated $350 for audio production at Greg Rike Productions in Altamonte Springs. A piano needed to be rented and moved to the studio at a cost of $300, which was also donated by Carol Brinati. The out of pocket expenses for printing services provided by Action Graphics was $4.60 per book. Design services were donated by Dawn Shreiner of Sybil Design and the voice and choir performances were donated by the St. Margaret Mary Choir.