Does it sometimes seem to you that the kid’s school is on the permanent fundraiser. It may seem that there is not a week goes by when a form is coming home about something or other. If they are not raising funds for that school itself there are always other little charity fundraisers either local or national that they’re getting involved in. Its a real temptation to just sigh and moan “oh not another one”. Everyone has busy lives, juggling work, kids, homes it appears as though anything else is simply yet another “unwelcome thing to become done” an irksome task to become “got out of the way!”
And that is a genuine shame. For should you stand back and take 5 minutes to think about it so much school fundraising is actually very exciting and full of chance of both yourself and your children.
What could be better than some shared endeavour. A task having a clear focus and end goal. An opportunity to try new things and build relationships different things, be that the school fete or selling fundraising bulbs in the bulb man catalogue. What a fantastic way to teach project skills.
Stuff that seem trite and commonplace to us can seem like exciting challenges to the children. Kids like things to do. That like to be set little tasks. That like to see results. That like to both work alongside each other and (basically remember my own childhood) that like some competition.
School fundraising if it’s done the proper way can provide them a different sort of learning. Or at best practical applications for that things they’re learning. The simplest school project can be given extra importance and meaning from designing fete posters to working out the price of ingredients for fundraising fairy cakes.
The other thing of course that it can help them learn is all about charity. About the way the planet is and what we should might like to do about this. This is a best part to understand about. If these things are carried out sensitively with care simple charity fundraisers can be a great way to teach children about giving, sharing, understanding and helping.
My very own daughter recently came home with a little card collecting box she had made. The concept was that it would use our bathroom and each time anyone used the toilet they should have to put a penny within the box (It costs anything to spend a penny!). This really is among those imaginative and thoughtful fundraising suggestions for kids and came from the charity Wateraid. It had been instigated at her school with a teacher and the local vicar. It had been a really simple fundraising idea having a particular attract children. When the boxes were returned to school after a couple of weeks they were full of small change (my daughter would police the whole family’s toilet visits and get accusingly if she felt anyone had forgotten their contribution). She’d also like to immediately explain the concept to people to the house (just in case they need to go).
Once the boxes returned into school the amounts raised weren’t great -perhaps 50.00 for the entire school (its still 50.00 an excellent charity did not have before ). That though isn’t the only real point. The charity “spend anything box” was a great little work for my daughter. She started it, set it up, ran it and first viewed it though towards the end. Pretty good for a five year old! She enjoyed building her collection box and putting the designs on the exterior (as well as on carpeting simultaneously -”oops!”). She liked to count the coins because they mounted up. She loved the day they all needed to take their boxes in. As a family we had a few conversations about poverty and conditions in the developing world that we might possibly not have otherwise done. I loved the fact that it was because of her asking questions a number of them really thoughtful.
