Fundraiser

In January of 2010 a magnitude 7 earthquake devastated the nation of Haiti. The students had been studying earthquakes and began following the story. As they viewed the devastation (we followed the stories and photos on line on our classroom Smartboard) the students decided that they wanted to do something to help the people of Haiti.

1. The students brainstormed ideas for raising money. The students decided on four fundraisers: collecting money after services on a Sunday morning, designating our chapel offerings for a month, having a bake sale, and selling pop at lunch. 2. We hung a piece of butcher paper for each fundraiser. We then brainstormed what needed to be done on each fundraiser in order for it to be a success and listed them on the paper. Students signed up for the project that they wanted to work on and listed what their responsibilities would be for the fundraiser. These papers remained hanging for the duration of the project. 3. A committe was formed to ask permission to carry out each fundraiser. The students determined who needed to be contacted for each fundraiser (in this case our principal and pastor). They determined what information they needed to convey and what questions they needed to ask in order to obtain permission. The students then made appointments and met with the appropriate authorities. 4. Another committe was formed to research various charities. We examined several websites that share information about charities (we began with our local Christian radio station). The students looked at how much of their donation would actually go to Haiti, as well as the charity's record of giving. The committe presented two charities to the class and the students voted - selecting Food for the Poor. 5. Each committe determined what advertising they would do for their project. These included: a Power Point on the earthquake that was presented in chapel, written announcements for both the church and school newsletters, verbal announcements made over the intercom during morning announcements, posters hung around the school, and advertising on the school/church flat screen. These activities involved working with various church and school personnel. 6. The students then carried out each fundraiser. We kept a chart on which we recorded the money raised after each fundraiser.

While this turned into a rather large undertaking, it was definitely worth the effort. The students remained engaged throughout the process and were very proud of their accomplishments.