Friday, January 23, 2015

BUCK UP!! Scholarship

SOOOO....if you haven't heard yet...The BUCK UP SCHOLARSHIP FUND will award $2000 in scholarships THIS April!!!

I feel SO blessed to be able to foster THIS. 

The vision began with my journey into entrepreneurship. The whole...giving up money & being BROKE for a while, while I grOW my business journey. Boy did my PRIDE get in my way, for a loooooong time. I felt the strugGLE of NEEDING money to get you to the next step & having to ask someone for it...which is something I also took PRIDE in not having to do. So once I DIED to myself in that aspect & moved on with my journey I realized the NEED to CrEaTe a way to HELP others in that regard. I mean...it was a BIG hurdle for me. Totally slowed me down...until I worked through it...

The way I see it....God doesn't put things on your heart and visions in your head - if he's not going to equip you with the tools & people to get you there. It took me a minute to REALLY believe that though. The more you relinquish control over certain aspects of your life, the more you become aware of your fear of the unknown. Everybody has it. I can tell you though...that the REAL journey starts when you Buck Up Baby & turn it loose to God. 

This brought me back to my Senior year in High School... If Ms. Janda was still with us - she could testify to the number of hours I spent at the typewriter in the school library...filling out applications. I talked to someone else who is on a scholarship committee for another organization & they told me the number of applicants go down each year. I think a total of 2 had applied this past year. BUCK UP BABY & GET TO FILLING THOSE OUT. There's people out there that wanna HELP YOU! They just have to know about you. 

My DEEP ROOTED HOPE for this scholarship is that we can make a difference in SOMEONE's life & be a source of ENCOURAGEMENT, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, & GUIDANCE to someone that is mustering up the COURAGE to pursue a dream. This scholarship is open to adults advancing their education also....because....it's just okay to change your mind or add more tools to your tool bag. I want people to SHARE their story too, because that is what ENCOURAGES others...to know that someone else can IDENTIFY with their journey in one way or another. 

I had a BA Degree & a professional career that I was good at, but sometimes your SPIRIT is calling you to MORE.

We are in the process of getting the details together for the NEXT event, so be prepared & ON THE LOOK OUT FOR MORE INFO!! We'll be updating our website regularly, so BOOKMARK it!: BUCK UP AUCTIONS WEBSITE 

So you might wanna know WHO can apply for the scholarship(s) & WHAT it will take to get it & WHEN it will be awarded so.....HERE'S THE DETAILS: (ALL the participating High Schools should have this information also: RTC, Burton, Fayetteville, LaGrange, Brenham, Giddings)

Applicant must be pursuing higher education in any of the following: College, University, Jr. College, Trade School, Licensing School, or Clergy-related education. This scholarship will be open to anyone within the 30-mile radius seeking higher education, which includes the cities & school districts of: Brenham, Giddings, LaGrange, and everything in between (Round Top-Carmine, Fayetteville, & Burton). Proof of residency will need to be provided along with scholarship essay.

Scholarship Monies will be paid directly to the school of choice. The winners will have 6 months to enroll in their choice of higher education.

Applicant must be a graduating high school senior or older. This could be a returning student, adult going back to school or pursuing some sort of license, or a graduating high-school student.
The applicants that are awarded the scholarships MUST be willing to share their essays to the general public in any form that the Scholarship Committee deems as a positive way to share the purpose of this scholarship.

Must also be willing to come to the following year’s event & share the progress of your journey & how the scholarship has helped you.

The scholarship committee is comprised of 5 members from the community with backgrounds in education, leadership, civic organizations & development, & business owners.

If a family member of a committee member chooses to apply for the scholarship, that committee member will step down from the committee & the Buck Up Auctions staff will nominate 3 people for the vacant committee chair. The existing committee will than vote in 1 of the 3 nominees to be appointed as committee member.

As the applications come in, the Buck Up Auction staff members, will number the applicants, so the committee is not aware of the actual person applying, until the winner(s) are selected.
This year $2,000.00 of scholarship will be awarded. The number of scholarships awarded and the amounts will be determined by the committee.

Deadline to submit essay is April 2nd. Scholarship recipient(s) will be chosen & announced on or before April 30th.  


Mail information to:
Buck Up Auctions
Scholarship Committee
390 Vogel Lane
Carmine, TX 78932

INFORMATION SHEET
buck up
 verb
:  to become encouraged :  brace up
–Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Buck Up: To rise to a challenge, to do something others are unable to – urban dictionary


Applicant Name:
Address:


Phone Number:
Email Address:
Agree to share your Buck Up Story?

Why are you applying for this scholarship?




Where will you use this scholarship, if awarded?


Please list all organizations & extracurricular activities you are involved in.


Please choose ONE of the essay topics, on the next page, to write about.

Essay Topics:
Please write an essay over ONE of the two essay topics below: (Please keep to 2 pages or less)

1)      Give us an example of an experience where you have had to "BUCK UP" and do something that pushed you out of your comfort zone & how that made an impact on your life & possibly others.
2) Tell us about an area/idea/dream that you have either:  not mustered up the courage for, are currently in the process of, or feel as if you missed out on the opportunity to “Buck Up.”  


Thursday, January 15, 2015

SAVE THE PIEMAN...It Takes A Village!

We are conducting the AUCTIONS for a medical fundRAISING benefit on the 25th of THIS month. It is to help a CHRISTIAN, Father, Grandfather, Husband, friend, LOCAL Businessman, Entrepreneur, CReATIVe thinker, & one of my biggest ENCOURAGERS....Mr. Bud "The Pieman" Royer.


Tara (his daughter) sent me a message that they were planning a fundRAISER to help them cover the costs of his medical expenses that started piling up when he was RUSHED to the hospital during the last Antique Show. PLEASE READ TARA'S BLOG FOR ALL THE INFO. 

I didn't hesitate in telling her YES we will HELP. Get us a date. I was in very similar shoes almost 10 years ago when we found out MY Daddy had to have a LIVER TRANSPLANT. We didn't have insurance & sure as heck didn't have anywhere near that kind of money. We had a family meeting and from the moment we realized what had to happen to keep him ALIVE, we put our heads down and went to work. It's a ScaRY place to be....to not know how much time you have to raise the money & just HOW you are going to go about doing something you've never done before...successfully...&in a hurry. BUT....you just do it. Your family needs you & you're gonna give all you've got to get there. During that time we LEARNED a lot: how to go out and cultivate donations, how to organize an event with food, live music, equine events, concessions, &  LIVE and silent auctions, how to deal with harsh criticism that blindsides you, how to get a non-profit involved to make donations tax-deductible, how to organize a group of volunteers, how to get press, and make flyers, & how to CONTRIBUTE your talents to accomplish one big goal...and to PRAY...hard. We also learned that there are LOTS & LOTS of really FANTASTIC people SURROUNDING us.

Ever since we got enough money together for Dad to be able to get a CHANCE at a liver transplant - ONCE they made it to his name on the list...I've been thinkin'.... I pondered over what it is about PEOPLE...& COMMUNITY....that come out and support individual causes like this. WHAT makes people (many we didn't know) come out & buy tickets, come in with armfuls of donated auction items, write a check....WHAT makes some of these local businesses GIVE significant sums of money to....just people? Just...common-not your highest paying customer-simple people?

The best answer I've got is LOVE. This DEEP love that we can't even explain ourselves. That LOVE we feel for COMPLETE STRANGERS when tragedy steals away a precious life. The LOVE that makes you STOP & PRAY for those BEAUTIFUL children sitting at St. Jude's FIGHTING the fight of their life. That LOVE...that can help in just THAT way, which is PERFECT & HOLY & GOOD. I think this is an example of what Jeremiah 31:33 talks about: " I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." It's a LOVE that can never be repaid....just added to. It took me a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOng time to wrap my head around that...almost 10 years. I also believe that these events my family & I organized...planted a seed - showing me HOW one auctioneer can RALLY a group of people to come together & GIVE....paint a picture and a way for them to help someone else. You shoulda saw my Uncle Mele gettin' after it back then! I thought he was gonna blow the top off the hall!

I share all this with you because I KNOW how grateful BUD & his family are for ANY support they get. I also know that they will NEVER be able to put into words, the GRATITUDE they feel, nor how IMPORTANT the support of everyone is. We never know when we'll NEED somebody & when we can HELP...& when we feel COMPELLED to help...we should. Royers....without hesitation, donated SEVERAL items for my Dad's benefits...almost a decade ago & let's not mention ALL the donations they've given to all the causes in our small area & for how long. These are GIVERS to our community.  

I saw Bud at Pie Haven in Austin one day & we talked about all kinds of things and I started telling him that I really want to pursue my auction career, but............ He cut me off & he said...."Just do it already...I don't know what you're waitin' on...." Well....it probably wasn't even a month later & I quit my good-payin' job & LITERALLY sat in the ENCOURAGING words of others, because it was probably the scariest thing I'd ever done. 

My Dad's still here & has been SO blessed to meet his 3 Grandbabies. He's on less medication & anti-rejection drugs than he has been, And I am HERE, having raised money for NUMEROUS causes and organizations, working for myself, creating work for other hard-workin' women, growing MY business & I want to ENCOURAGE you to just do what feels RIGHT to you & help support these GOOD people. 

There will be DELICIOUS grub...of course ! GREAT, GREAT Music, T-Shirts to help support the cause & a LIVE & SILENT Auction. Stop by the cafe for tickets or get'm ONLINE at www.royersroundtopcafe.com

This GOOD TIME starts at 11AM at Henkel Hall in Round Top - SUNDAY, January 25th. Buck UP Baby & Come on out!!! It really does take a village!!

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

New Year-New Plan

So 2014 was a GREAT year for Buck Up Auctions. It was our first FULL year in business, with me working FULL-time at it. I have referred to this first year as a test market. We've done several fundraising auctions, several consignment auctions, & several estate auctions. We have learned some things that work, some things that don't work, that there is a lot we want to learn, and that we are BETTER than what we give ourselves credit for. We've seen, faced, & dealt with ALL kinds of critics. We've raised money for our SCHOLARSHIP program & will be able to give out $2000 of scholarship $$$$!!! As I sit here gazing at the business model me & my friend Christie worked on at the beginning of last year - I am ENCOURAGED to see that We've:


  • Built NEW relationships, with KEY people that can help grow the business.
  • ACCOMPLISHED some of the KEY activities we set out for ourselves at the beginning of last year.
  • Correctly identified our VALUE propositions, which hold true & we have some to ADD.
  • UTILIZED many of the marketing channels we identified and know what works and what doesn't. 
  • FOLLOWED-THRU on some VERY Out-of-THE-Box marketing strategies & they had a POSITIVE impact on the business.
  • IDENTIFIED the NEED to DEEPEN our customer relationships.
  • Become AWARE....REALLY AWARE of our VALUE to organizations, causes, and individuals & walk more CONFIDENTLY & FIRMLY in our PURPOSE & PLAN. 
  • Now have ACTUAL models to help us determine a more accurate cost structure for the different auctions we conduct. 
  • Identified other POTENTIAL revenue streams that we hadn't previously thought of. 
  • AND...that we are still here, with MORE team members, & EAGER for what 2015 has to offer.

Tomorrow the Buck Up Auctions TEAM will get together to BRAINSTORM the 2015 PLAN & forge FORWARD. I can PROMISE that it will include EDUCATION, more OFFERINGS, MORE IDEAS, More Out-of-THE-Box ideas, & MORE ideas of GIVING-BACK, SHARING our Gifts & TALENTS, & HELPING others. 

I KNOW the groWTH I've had, personally, this year & KNOW that with the INCREASED knowledge, confidence, & experience that I now have.....2015 is going to BuSy & EXCITING!!



BUCK UP BABY & COME ALONG FOR THE RIDE!!!
Heather Schoenst Kaspar
TXL 17037