This week’s homework by @steemiteducation is to write a post about any fundraising you have done before and also give fun idea to raise funds for a school or charity. This topic brings back quite a lot of memories related to my childhood and school years so I am all excited to dive right into it.
Raising Funds for a Cause Supporting Cancer Treatment
The first fund raising event that I took part in was when I was in grade 4 and was about 10 years old at that time. There was a marathon being run in the city and the organizers behind it were reaching out to different schools to encourage the children there to spread awareness about the event. It was being run to promote awareness about cancer and raise funds for a charitable organization that donated to cancer treating hospitals. We had to sell tickets for the event and for every 100 tickets sold, the student would get a certain present. For instance, for selling 1 copy of 100 tickets, you would get a Lion King mug; for selling 200 tickets you would get a mug with a T-shirt and so on.
I was quite excited about participating in it because I loved Lion King and I so wanted that beautiful mug that was shown to us. I was a huge Lion King fan back then; honestly speaking I still am. I was also really close to a baby cousin of mine who too loved Lion King crazily like me so I wanted to get 2 mugs to share one with him.
So I took one copy of 100 tickets from my teacher and ventured on a mission to sell the tickets as soon as possible. Every day, I would go to different houses in my neighborhood with my mother to sell tickets. It took me about a week to sell about 50 of those 100 tickets and when I had exhausted my neighborhood and knew that nobody else would buy any tickets there, I reached out to my father. He had quite a nice social circle so I asked him to do a favor for me and sell some tickets to his friends. He was a happy to be a part of it and sold about 20 tickets for me. I know I have talked about my parent’s separation and how my father wasn’t a very dedicated husband, but during my childhood, he was a nice father so it is only right to remember him for that and be grateful for those times.
Back to the fundraising project. I also bought a few tickets myself and sold about 10 of them in my family. Once I was done selling 100 tickets, I then embarked on the journey to sell another 100 to grab a mug for my cousin. I told my teacher I wanted 2 mugs only and not the other gift that was being given for selling 200 tickets. My younger sister was also involved in this fundraising activity and was selling tickets to her friends and family members. I remember our family members becoming tired of buying tickets from the two of us, lol. I managed to sell another 100 tickets too before the project ended and get the mug I was so excited to have for my cousin.
I think it was a great activity and it really pushed kids to be more actively involved in it by offering them nice presents. Mostly, children are greedy, not all of them but most of them and a good way to motivate them to do something especially for a good cause is by pegging a nice reward to the fulfillment of the goal. This way they become more enthusiastic about the whole process. However, materialistic rewards should not always be used since it makes children greedier.
Fun Fairs for Raising Funds for Different Charitable Organizations
When I was in grade 8th and about 13.5 years old, a fun fair was organized in my school to raise funds for a children’s hospital. There was an entrance ticket for all of us and all the different classes in my branch had organized different stalls. The profits earned from each stall were supposed to be collected and given to a children’s hospital nearby to support it. The cause was great and since it was the first fun fair I was participating in ever, I was quite excited about it.
My friends and I made a little jail wherein we would put people for some time till someone else would bail them out. If you wanted a certain teacher or a student to be put in the jail, you would have to give 100rs or more and if that person wanted to get out, they would have to pay twice that amount. It was extremely fun and exciting putting teachers in jail and seeing them behind bars for the first time. Lots of students took their revenge on teachers who were strict, lol. It was hilarious and I am happy that all the teachers actively participated in it and some even stayed for hours in the jail just for the fun of it.
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From then onwards, every year my school used to organize funfairs to raise funds for different causes and I happily participated each time. Now that I am recalling that time from back then, I am smiling and am quite happy about being a part of good events that taught me many things.
What Fundraising Events Teach YouFundraising events wherein you work in an individual capacity teach you how to take the pressure of achieving a certain milestone all by yourself and devising a strategy to fulfill the goal. Your analytical and decision making skills develop and you learn how to craft a plan and then execute it strategically to achieve your goal. Also, you learn how to plan to fulfill a goal and this improves your planning skills.
Moreover, fundraising events wherein you are required to work in a team help you develop team building skills. As much as it is important to learn to do work on your own, it is equally important to operate as a part of a team because in life, you won’t always be alone and will face situations where you will have to work in a group. Being part of fundraisers where you get to work in a team prepares you for those times ahead. You learn to interact with people, to understand them, to listen to their ideas, to contribute your ideas, to make yourself heard and to come up with a plan that suits everyone and helps you achieve the desired goal as well. Also, it is while working in teams that you get a chance to explore your leadership skills and execute them.
Apart from personal development, such events help you become more aware of the plight and sufferings of others and do something meaningful to support a good cause. When you raise funds for a charity, you put in your time and energy to collect funds for someone else and not for yourself. You invest your efforts to make things easier for someone else and this helps you nurture compassion and spread kindness around. Due to all these reasons, I believe fundraising events should be carried out more in societies and schools and children of all ages should be encouraged to participate in them. Now what can be some good and fun ideas for raising funds? Here are my views on the question.
Fun Ideas to Raise Funds for a Charity or School
Bake sales and fun fairs where children and teachers organize different stalls to sell things and then raise funds for causes are great ideas and are being commonly practiced in different countries and their schools. Apart from this, I think the following ideas would work well:
• Having a Talent Show: Communities or neighborhoods or even schools could organize talent shows every once in a while. The children of different classes or from the neighborhood could prepare some interesting acts such as dance performances, gymnastics, dramas or anything else they are good at with the help of parents and teachers and then showcase their talents on a particular day. You could have tickets for all those who would want to see it and the money raised from selling those could go to improve a certain department in a school, buy resources for it or support a charitable cause. The children and adults involved in the talent show can make posters to create awareness about it and put them up in the neighborhood. They can also have a small tea party for all those who attend the show and talk about organizing more such events in the end.
• Concerts: Small concerts can also be held wherein children of a neighborhood or school can showcase their talents. You can have tickets for the event and also ask people to donate for whatever cause you intend to help out by carrying out that event. This also helps kids and adults become aware of their musical talents, explore them and even polish them. A concert and talent show can be held in any open or closed area in the school. If you are having it in your neighborhood, you could ask a neighbor with a big backyard to help you out for a day. As for the money needed to organize the event and buy any resources needed for it, you could encourage the participants to donate a part of their pocket money and ask for donations. This will help everyone nurture more compassion for others.
• Make DIY Crafts and Sell: You can also ask students to make DIY crafts using cardboards, bottles, cans, beads and paper and then sell them by organizing a small DIY sale in the neighborhood or school. Here are some links for making DIY crafts:
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/craft-ideas/how-to/g1389/diy-kids-activities/?slide=2
https://nl.pinterest.com/explore/diy-crafts-for-kids/?lp=true
What are your views on the topic? Were you ever involved in fundraisers and how do you think one can arrange more fun fundraisers to raise funds for a certain cause?
Thank you for taking out the time to go through this post.
Love and light,
Sharoon.
If you enjoyed this post, you may like the following of my posts too:
@sharoonyasir/batman-and-jesus-why-do-we-fear-debate
@sharoonyasir/my-scar-stories-reminders-of-many-different-memories
I am a part of the @ecotrain which is a great place to read and meet inspirational content and people, respectively.
I am also a part of the #steemitbloggers community run by @jaynie which is a fantastic community to join if you are passionate about blogging.
