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Curling for a Cure

Just about every company fundraiser revolves around golf, but what's the solution for a fundraiser slated for February in Minnesota, where the average high temperature is below 30 degrees? It's the Olympic sport of curling, of course.

Quality Park, an office products supplier in Minneapolis, was seeking a "truly Minnesotan" event to raise money for the City of Hope cancer treatment and research center in Duarte, Calif., said Sandy Moyer, president of Quality Park. The sport resembles shuffleboard as participants slide a flat-bottom stone on ice toward a target nearly 150 feet away.

"We had to do something tied to the cold weather," she said. "We wanted to find a way to participate in fundraising while making it an atypical event." Held at the local St. Paul curling club, an indoor facility, about 20 teams of four competed in a round robin tournament for the curling gold and glory. "Probably 99 percent of participants had never done this before," Moyer said with a laugh. "It takes no athletic ability and was something all people could participate in." Prior to the competition, participants received about 30 minutes of training. A stone is thrown, aiming for a target on the opposite end of the court, and two people with brooms--sweepers--warm the ice to help direct the path of the stone. "I always wondered what they were doing when we watched it on TV," she says. "If you're really good at it, you can direct the stones exactly where you want them to go." The closer to the center of the target, the more points are received and, like shuffleboard, opponents can knock stones out of play.

Quality Park raised about $16,000, and the team consisting of employees from rival Smead Office Supplies walked away as the winners, said Moyer. "We were equipped with nothing but our sneakers and a good attitude," she said. "So many people think they would never have the opportunity to curl, but they wanted to come back for more." Participants in this year's event came from as far away as Pennsylvania and California, she said, and included suppliers, customers and associates from all over the office supply products industry. Moyer participated and said that although her team did not even score a single point, they had the most fun. She recounts when the folks from City of Hope arrived in St. Paul for the event. Being from California, they weren't accustomed to Minnesota's harsh winter. "They were in shock for two days," she said with a laugh. "They wore just about every piece of clothing they owned."

Moyer is already planning for next year's fundraiser and hopes to make it an annual event. "We've had so many requests to do it again," she says. "We definitely have many of the same people already asking to be included next year and several other sister companies in the industry said it sounded like a wonderful time."

--Nicole Young