If you see a circle of women out in the community, collecting gently used clothing or happily selling raffle tickets at local events, likely it’s the powerful Waconia Dandylions. This nonprofit organization serves the health and wellness of families in our community. This group, which is the women’s chapter of the Lions Club International, started in 2020 and has since grown to 80 members. Maybe you’ve heard of their annual Frozen Fairway Open, which supports breast cancer survivors and their families through Hope Chest, or the Diaper Drive that they organize each year to help the community with much-needed baby essentials. This season, flannels and boots are making their annual debut, and so is their Flannel Fall Bar Crawl on October 11th. And as fundraising (and fun) goes, this one is a showstopper.
Waconia Dandylions member Lacey Shaw says that the Flannel Fall Bar Crawl began in 2022 when the founding members brainstormed fresh and fun ways to engage the community in fundraising. Here’s how it works: you purchase your wristband, throw on your coziest flannel, and your smile says Lacey, and travel from local bar to local bar, enjoying fun themed drinks and discounts. Some participating bars will even offer hangover specials for the next day. A flannel sale will take place at one shop, and many others will provide prizes for a raffle. Basically, it’s everything you want in a fall festival.
“Last year we sold 482 wristbands and raised $4,000. This year, our goal is to sell 650 wristbands!” Lacey shares. The goal of the Flannel Fall Bar Crawl is to raise funds for the Dandylions’ Gifts for Grands initiative. Through this program, the team collects holiday wish lists from local senior living facilities and provides gifts–and holiday cheer–to help make the season bright for residents.
The future of the Dandylions is blooming bright. “Our current members are highly motivated individuals with big dreams for our events! We want all of our events to grow throughout the years to bring in money to help serve our community and help other various causes throughout.” There’s no doubt the Waconia Dandylions are well on their way to fulfilling this mission. Because when hearts unite for a great cause, amazing things take root.
For more information on the Waconia Dandylions or how to buy tickets for the Flannel Fall Bar Crawl, visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/waconiadandylions