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July 5, 2007
The Chimneys: A Fundraiser in Need of a Charity
There is a fundraising event planned for this fall with just one little problem: It's in need of a cause.
I'm referring to the Autumn at the Chimneys event, a show house set to take place in Bridgeport's most spectacular home: The Chimneys on Old Battery Lane in Black Rock. It used to have a cause -- the Burroughs Community Center in Bridgeport, -- but the Burroughs board of directors suddenly decided to withdraw from the event.
This teed off more than a few people, not the least of which was the event's flamboyant creator and executive producer, Franco Grimaldi, who as an aside, is only a couple generations removed from the very same Grimaldis who own and operate the Principality of Monaco. But I digress.
"I've done 20 show houses, and I'll tell you, I've never run into anything like this," Grimaldi. "A real switcheroo. What they did was rude -- no other way to describe it. They wanted to run the whole operation -- but they have no show house savvy. They had no idea what they were doing."
Grimaldi said that the Burroughs board of directors re-wrote the contract. "I looked at the new contract and I said, 'I'm not too comfortable with this,' and they said, 'We withdraw.'"
But Grimaldi said that the show house will go on. "We might have to fudge the dates a little but, the plan is to have the preview gala on September 15th, and it's be open from September 16th through October 14th. I'm hoping we can stay on track with those dates."
He added that the The Chimneys has "thirty-six designer spaces" the will provide palettes for about 30 interior designers, artists, landscape architects and other like-minded creative types.
So, there you have it. If you're in charge of a non-profit, and you're looking for a ready-made, turnkey fundraiser for this fall, give Franco (203) 870-9488 ) a call. Or, check out his Web site, www.theroomofchoice.com. Here's a film clip in which he talks about his plans:
Here is official, complete, Burroughs statement about their decision to withdraw. As you can see, it's not too revealing.
"The Board of Directors of the Burroughs Community Center has made the decision to withdraw from the Autumn at The Chimneys event this fall.
"We would like to thank the dozens of volunteers who worked on this event on behalf of the Burroughs Community Center. In the upcoming months Burroughs will continue to focus on the gym expansion project to better serve the children and families of our community. We look forward to the continued enthusiasm of the volunteers and partners during this time.
"We wish Talent Resource Centre well in their efforts to make The Chimneys Showhouse event a success."
They declined further comment.
Here are more "Chimneys" pictures.
Posted by john on July 5, 2007 10:26 PM
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