In the afternoon of Tuesday, July 23rd, Sisters Gloria LeLuia, Sandra Music, and May Flower – along with Aspirants Len and David met up at Gloria’s abode, known as The Pumpkin Priory. Once the faces were put on and the dresses were zipped, the five of them piled into Sandra and May’s cars with all of their wimples and bingo supplies – ready for another fantastic event at Democracy Brewing.
Once there, The Sisters met up with events manager Karsen who was – as always – super stoked to see them. Karsen welcomed The Sisters, got them set up in the private room out back, and gave The Sisters four awesome prizes to give away – including an empty growler which the winner could bring to the bartender on their way out to fill with whatever beer they wanted. The Sisters were soon joined by Julie and Helena, two representatives from that night’s beneficiary, FriendshipWorks.
This month, the room filled quickly and early. This was partly because FriendshipWorks spread the word and got an entire table of guests to come and partly because the patrons of the event which was being in held in that room before us heard about Bingo and decided to stick around. Every seat was taken. A short while later, The Sisters were also joined by Novice Isaiah Prayer who jumped right in and started selling those Bingo cards.
A couple of new things were added to Democracy Bingo yet again this month. For starters, The Sisters held their first raffle in that venue. They gave away a swag bag donated by FriendshipWorks full of t-shirts, water bottles, tote bags, and so much more! They also gave away a beautiful framed print by Boston artist Sarah Gay-O’Neill; the patrons of the event went gaga over it. As a fun bonus to the traditional raffle, Sister Gloria introduced “Caller’s Bingo.” As The Sisters called Bingo numbers, they made sure to keep their eyes open to see if any horizontal row of Bingo balls on their own board filled up. If it did, The Sisters would call “BINGO!” and … because The Sisters are givers … everyone in the room would get one free raffle ticket! Because when The Sisters win, everybody wins. And wouldn’t you know it … the very first round of Bingo, on O69 of all balls, Gloria got a Caller’s Bingo. FREE TICKETS FOR EVERYONE!!
After a few rounds of Bingo, The Sisters welcomed Julie – in her fabulous teal church lady hat – to the microphone to discuss more of what FriendshipWorks does and where the money raised would be going. FriendshipWorks is a non-profit organization which works to match volunteers with the elder population throughout Greater Boston. They provide people with rides to hospital visits, companionship, music nights, therapy animals, arts and crafts nights, and nearly any other service they might need or want. The number of services which she listed seemed never ending – the amount of work this organization does is an inspiration. The crowd went wild a few times during her speech. Truly moving.
As the evening wound down, The Sisters counted the funds they had raised and came to a total of $447.00!!, all of which will be donated to FriendshipWorks. Not bad at all for a two-hour event. The Sisters also took time to chat and takes pictures with the patrons before they left. It was a truly blessed evening.
Following this, The Sisters headed home. Thank you to all who made it out this evening. This is a truly magical event and we are so excited to be continuing it every month now!!
