Portland Press Herald: School fundraising takes field trip to local marketplace
Posted by Masey Kaplan on August 01, 2011 (0 Comments)
School fundraising takes field trip to local marketplace
Close Buy's catalog of local goods turns school benefits from an obligation to a pleasure, school groups say.
By Edward D. Murphy | March 14, 2011
Staff Writer
When Renee Bender's daughter brought home a gift catalog used as a fundraiser for Longfellow Elementary School in Portland, the reaction was less than enthusiastic.
Masey Kaplan shows products from her school fundraising catalog, Close Buy, at her Falmouth home. The catalog features products made by local companies, such as lip balms from Westbrook-based Mad Gab's and handbags from Angela Adams.
The Close Buy catalog offers vendors 50 percent of sales and schools 30 percent of sales. Founder Masey Kaplan is thinking of adding a spring catalog with gardening tools.
"I was like, 'What can I stand to buy?' " said Bender, co-president of the school's parent-teacher organization, knowing that a portion of what she spent would go to her daughter's school. "What can I buy that won't really bug me?"
That all changed this year when she flipped through the new Close Buy catalog, which features items from Maine companies, such as coffee from local roasters, lip balms from Westbrook-based Mad Gab's and even handbags from Angela Adams.