Several months ago I decided I wanted to throw a party for some of the bloggers in the area. I think it’s always a good idea to get together with local moms, business owners, creatives, or anyone within your particular niche for fellowship and support. However, if you follow along with me on Instagram then you know I’ve discussed the term “influencer” a few times. So I wanted to make sure this get together was a little more meaningful. From the early stages of the planning process I knew I wanted to combine it with some kind of service project. After thinking about the organizations I’ve done service for in the past and checking out justserve.org I chose Placer Food Bank which helps provide meals for families in Placer, Nevada, and El Dorado counties. It was a lot of work but today I can’t wait to share all the details of our Sunshine and Service pool party with you!

the details of our Sunshine & Service pool party

a big thank you to our generous sponsors

I started reaching out to sponsors right away. For this event I mostly reached out to companies that I already had a rapport with. The companies that sponsored our event were so generous with their donations. It was very humbling to hear how much they wanted to help us make this event a success.

our title sponsor was Smart & Final

Smart & Final was fantastic with their donations. Not only did they contribute enough money so that we could have some delicious refreshments from their First Street line of products, but my friend Kimi and I were also able to go on a little shopping spree for donations for Placer Food Bank. We even had enough money to purchase reusable shopping bags from Smart & Final to use as our swag bags.

What swag back would be complete without a yummy treat, right? I had been speaking with Snackapade for a little while when all of a sudden I realized that SMASHMALLOWS would make the perfect addition to our swag bags! After all, nothing quite says Summer like s’mores and marshmallows. Snackapade was kind enough to send along a variety of their gourmet SMASHMALLOWS for all attendees to enjoy.

Another company that I reached out to was Lillian & Co. I have been an affiliate with Lillian & Co. for almost a year now. Not only do I love their products but I love their mission statement. If you haven’t yet checked out Lillian & Co. I highly encourage you to do so! Now’s a great time to start Christmas shopping too!

You can even use code LITTLEDOVE for a discount from their shop.

I also reached out to COOLA Suncare. COOLA also makes Bare Republic which we are big fans of in our household, it’s all we use anymore! I just thought that sunscreen would be the perfect sponsor for a summertime pool party. COOLA generously sent enough products for everybody to have two different sunscreens in their swag bags. Everybody got a chance to try their great, cruelty-free products!

I have worked with Zuru Toys a few times and my kids love their Bunch O Balloons products. Bunch O Balloons were nice enough to send us several products to use. I used their Bunch O Balloons party balloons to make balloon garlands for decorations. They also sent packages of their Bunch O Balloons water balloons for everybody’s swag bag!

I also reached out to Art 2 The Extreme. Although I hadn’t worked with them in the past I had been following Nicole on Instagram for awhile. I love her products and I knew that her colorful crayonsicles would be the perfect addition to our swag bags! Nicole was generous enough to send one along for everybody!

Finally, I reached out to my friend Jessica who is a consultant for Pampered Chef. I had worked on a project with her last year and have ordered from her before. I knew that one of Pampered Chef’s awesome summertime products would be the perfect addition to our event swag bags! Jessica generously donated some awesome metal reusable straws from Pampered Chef for everybody at the party!

enjoying Sunshine & Service

When the day of our Sunshine and Service pool party finally arrived there were several Sacramento-area bloggers and influencers in attendance with their families. Adults chatted and got to know each other, kids that had never met before were soon best friends. Yes, we had a great time but it was more than that. It was so heartwarming to see all of us come together and do some good. Getting to take the food to Placer Food Bank the following week really made me realize how much good we had done in our community. It was fun throwing a party with a purpose and I can’t wait to plan the next one–next year. You know, once I’ve recovered from this one.

Attendees of our Sunshine and Service pool party:

Amanda @amandankan

Ashley @ashleynewell.me

Melissa @bellecipartyof4

Jessica @blogaboutitall

Emily @emilysbogner

Kimi @kimilove

Justine @littledove.justine

Laura @probablyattarget

Alexandra @thismomisgoingplaces

Have you ever attended an party with a purpose? What was the cause?

All of the attendees would like to thank Brittany from Brittany Shaw Photography for joining us at our Sunshine and Service pool party and providing the photography for our event.