Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

Congratulations!

We are thrilled to announce that Angela from Mommy Bytes has won first prize in the Top School Fundraisers Blog Contest on the subject of “My Favorite Teacher”.

Ana and Veronica placed second and third respectfully, and each has won a prize.

Please see the poll results below for exact vote totals.

I personally want to thank all three ladies for the time and effort they put into this contest with thoughtful, entertaining, and meaningful essays.

If you haven’t had a chance to read these entries, I highly recommend you take a few minutes to do so. I have included links at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

I also want to thank all those who took the time to vote. We at Top School Fundraisers greatly appreciate your readership of our blog, and we look forward to continuing our relationship. Please keep reading, and we’ll be holding another blog contest in the coming months.

Once again, congratulations to all our writers!

Jim Berigan

Links to our top three entires:

First Place: My Favorite Teachers by Angela at Mommy Bytes

Second Place: Six months later, or Time goes by so fast by Ana at My adventures through life

Third Place: My Favourite Teachers by Veronica at Sleepless Nights

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So far, we have discussed two different approaches to raising money for a high school study abroad experience. First we looked at ways the student could earn money through his or her own efforts. Second, we looked at how a student could reach out to others for donations toward the trip. Today, I’d like to investigate the option of seeking out scholarships or grants.

Before diving into this subject too deeply, I do want to mention that I believe it is wise to first look at what you can contribute yourself through hard work and sacrifice. That gives you “sweat equity” into the process. Once you have done everything you possibly can on your own, then it is reasonable to turn to those who are closet to you for help. It is always easier to ask those who love you and are invested in you already. If you are still short on funds after all of this, but your desire is still burning, then you should look into the more competitive world of scholarships.

Below, I have listed a few options that you can research more thoroughly yourself. I have included links to where I found this information. Not all of the data I found applied to strictly educational experiences. Some of the options involved more service work. continue reading

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At the stroke of midnight tonight (Thursday May 8, 2008), the voting period for the Top School Fundraiser blog contest will expire.

So, please make sure to squeeze in all the votes you can for your favorite entry. Remember, the writer that gets the most votes will win a $50 prize, while the two runner ups will each get $25.

Each one of these links below will open in a new window to make for easy reading:

Six months later, or Time goes by so fast by Ana at My adventures through life

My Favorite Teachers by Angela at Mommy Bytes

My Favourite Teachers by Veronica at Sleepless Nights

The prizes will be awarded on Friday.

This poll has ended.

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If you are reading this blog, chances are you are a pretty involved parent in your child’s education. You are most likely involved in fundraising activities, field trip chaperoning, room mothering (or “fathering”), and the countless other opportunities to play a vital role in your child’s education.

I would also guess that you have a pretty good relationship with your child’s teacher. After all, the teacher sees your child for six or seven hours a day for 180 days per year. That’s a lot of influence he or she can have on your offspring. Of course, it’s a good idea to know who that person is.

As a former elementary school principal, I witnessed the spectrum of relationships that parents have with teachers, and I’ve heard the “secret” teacher lounge chatter about those relationships. Therefore, I think I can offer a few suggestions on ways for parents to say thank you that will be truly meaningful to and appreciated by your child’s teacher.

1. Volunteer in the Classroom
Most classrooms are overcrowded. That is to say that the ratio of teachers and aides to students is higher than anyone would want. This isn’t only distressing to the parents, but it is also a source of great concern for the teachers. By and large, teachers really do desire excellence, but many times, the numbers make that an elusive goal.

Therefore, I would find a way to volunteer your time as a part-time classroom aid. I’ve seen a mom volunteer one hour per week to listen to students read. The teacher really appreciated that, because the kids got more individualized instruction.

Maybe it’s something you can only do once per month. However, if you pool your time with three other parents, that’s a once-per-week help the teacher is getting, and that’s significant. continue reading

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Last week, I began a multi-part investigation on how to raise money for your high school study abroad adventure. I concentrated on methods that would prove the student’s desire and commitment level. Foreign exchange programs can be very expensive, so the student must really have it in his or her heart to go. I wrote about things like controlling spending habits, selling personal items, trading personal items for more valuable items that you can sell for cash, blogging for money, and lastly, getting a job.

Today, I am going to focus on asking others to help finance your experience. The first part of this process involves your local community. The second part involves looking for scholarships that support such trips, and I will tackle this in a subsequent entry.

Local

Appealing to Your Friends and Family for Cash
A study abroad experience falls squarely into the category of “personal development”. In some programs, you may be doing a portion of service work, as well, which is great. However, it is likely that you will have your best shot of raising money for your trip from the people who love and care for you already. These are the people who will be most likely to make a contribution to your journey.

If you do decide to try this route, I would recommend being extremely honest and polite in your approach. Clearly define what your plan is for the trip and what you expect to get out of it. Be armed with information, facts, and testimonials from past participants in the program. The more answers you have prepared ahead of time, the better your chances for a gift.

A personal meeting works better than a phone call, and a phone call works better than a letter when making your appeal. Be sincerely grateful for any amount you receive. Remember, it all adds up. Also, be sure to make it known to your relatives that if they can’t help out, you totally understand and are fine with that. You don’t want to alienate anyone by your query. continue reading

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With the advent of social networking and the rise of online-based businesses, the opportunities for people to find careers around the world has greatly increased. Foreign language classes are commonly available for children as young as elementary school age, and it’s not out of the ordinary for high-schoolers to want to spend up to a year as a study abroad student. The choices that face young people today are astoundingly diverse and exciting.

Transitions Abroad is both a print magazine, as well as an online portal that provides in-depth information on issues related to studying, living, and working abroad. In their surveys of American foreign exchange students, the following traits have been reported in significant percentages:

• Increased self-confidence
• Increased maturity
• Lasting impact on world view
• Enhanced interest in academic study
• Influenced subsequent educational experiences
• Reinforced commitment to foreign language study
• Helped foster a better understand cultural values and biases
• Influenced a desire to seek out a greater diversity of friends
• Continues to influence interactions with people from different cultures
• Acquired skill sets that influenced career path
• Ignited an interest in a career direction pursued after the experience continue reading

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