Last month Michele McKnight, owner of Michele’s Coffee Corner, invited customers and students to put their creativity to work and decorate plain white coffee cups. “They could use crayons, paint, whatever they wanted to,” she explained. “We selected 40 of our favorite cups and auctioned them off through an online silent auction. We gave the others away with regular coffee purchases. People were delighted and the cups traveled all around town.”
With an initial investment of $4 for cups, the auction raised $377. Tips from customers receiving the special cups added more than $100 more. “The grand total donated to Excelsior to help fund art supplies and experiences came to $480,” reported Excelsior High School Principle, Carol Boyden. “It was a very successful fund raiser for our students, and the fact that a community member came up with the idea and implemented it for us was really appreciated. We have some great kids up at Excelsior and it's really nice to see the community recognizing that fact.”
Photos of the cups can still be seen on Michele’s Coffee Corner Facebook page. Each cup was a unique piece of art. “You kind of forget how much fun it is to color with crayons,” McKnight chuckled having created a number of cups herself. McKnight hopes to do this again next year and a similar project may be in the works for Valentine’s Day.
