Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

Approximately 2,400 attendees came out to support St. Joseph’s School in Salem, Massachusetts for a Polar Express-themed fundraiser. They rode the MBTA train that leaves from the Salem station. Passengers drank hot chocolate and sang Christmas carols. They were greeted by Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus. The fundraiser raised thousands of dollars for the school.

The fundraiser is based on the popular children’s story about a young boy’s evening train ride to the North Pole. Tickets for the St. Joseph event cost $22 and three of their four trips were completely sold out.

St. Joseph’s heard about the Polar Express themed fundraiser from other schools and decided to try it. Their director of development Mona Nadeau applied for dates with the MBTA and won them. The school paid the MBTA $10,000 for train services and staff for the day.

Source: The Salem News

No Comments »

The Art Factory of Augusta, Georgia will hold its second annual Art in the Attic fundraising sale on Saturday, November 17th. Last year’s sale offered beautiful artwork in various mediums: from folk art to art prints to pottery. The yard sale style fundraiser benefits the $15,000 in scholarship funds that the school awards each year to students. No one is turned away from the Art Factory as a student for financial reasons.

Shoppers can find unique pieces, just in time for holiday gift giving — many at bargain prices. The sale begins very early (literally at dawn) and runs until twelve noon.

It’s sort of like art adoption. We want to find people to adopt these pieces and love them,” Cindy O’Brien, Director of the Art Factory said. So many of the board members and artists who donated pieces had purchased or made and loved them for many years. But tastes change, people move and marry and separate, and artwork that may have worked in one setting stops suiting when the background changes. The work is more than someone else’s cast-offs. It’s a collective history of Augusta’s art lovers and it showcases a lifetime of learning and growing with the visual arts community.

Source: Metro Spirit

No Comments »

The Winneconne High School held their Winneconne Halloween Bash 2007 fundraiser on Sunday, October 21st. More than 300 children attended the spooky event at the Winnecone, Wisconsin school. Funds raised benefited the American Cancer Society. The event was to promote safe trick or treating and was organized by the high school student council.

One popular feature was the haunted science labratory. It was one of the newest attractions at the event.

Barb Sauer, a science teacher at Winneconne High School, said she developed the ideas for the haunted lab through the Internet while looking for lesson plans for her class. Sauer found a lot of haunted physics lab ideas there. “We want to make science fun and intriguing,” she said. “There really isn’t anything there that will scare kids.”

The Halloween-themed event had 20 trick-or-treat stations. It also had 14 game stations for various age groups. There was a glow-in-the-dark hallway and also a haunted hayride.

Source: thenorthwestern.com

No Comments »

Coastal Grove Charter School held their Medieval Festival of Courage of Saturday, October 13th at the Manila Community Center in Arcata, California. The festival invites several local schools to participate in the event, but it is a fundraiser for the Charter school.

Children and adults dressed in medieval costumes. They were entertained by traditional medieval music and games from that time. Instruments included acoustic guitar, harp, flute, bagpipes, penny whistles and also traditional medieval songs.

Vendors at the medieval festival offered handmade crafts, herbs and weapons that were several centuries in age. The festival was both fun and very educational.

The Coastal Grove Charter School is a public charter school using Waldorf curriculum. The Waldorf curriculum is based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner.

Source: The Eureka Reporter

1 Comment »

Halloween candy treats are a must have for any school halloween carnival. Parents also need to have candy on hand for trick or treaters who come by the house. Some families sponsor parties on Halloween night instead of or in addition to kids going door to door and candy is needed there too.

So what kind of candies are available for Halloween? You can pick up mini candy bars or other candy at the grocery store. But if you plan ahead a bit you can order candy in bulk online. You can also get more unusual candy treats than you would get if you just went to the local store.

Oriental Trading Company – Lots of Variety, Great Prices

Oriental Trading Company has some of the best selections online of Halloween candy They have a lot of Halloween novelty candies like gummy teeth, bubble gum shaped like pumpkins, Halloween PEZ dispensers, and Halloween printed jelly beans like the ones shown here. You’ll make a big impression with those kind of candy treats!

If you’d like to give out traditional mini chocolate bars, smarties or other candy, they have that in bulk. You’ll find great prices on all the Halloween bulk candy.

Would you like to learn more about school carnivals?  Check out Jim Berigan’s “School Carnival Money Making Guide!  It’s 186 pages of advice, suggestions, and ideas that will help your school make the money it needs!

Visit Oriental Trading Company to browse their selection and to get free shipping, just enter code RLS100 at checkout.

Halloween Shaped Lollipops – a Tasty Treat

Halloween shaped lollipops are fun treats for your school kids. They can be used as a fundraiser, sold at a carnival booth or given out free as treats. They are just 25 cents each you decide!

This photo just shows three pops, but they really come in lots of flavors: Black Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Bubble Gum, Caramel Apple, Cherry Snow, Cotton Candy, Grape Delight, Green Apple, Juicy Orange, Strawberry Shake, Watermelon Slice, and Wild Cherry. There’s lots of other shapes and flavors of gourmet pops available. You can view all the available pops and even order online here … or Call 1-888-778-2580 for more info.

Healthier Treats – Sugar Free and/or Organic

An alternative to sugary snacks are sugar free and organic candies. Serendipity Sugar Free™ comes in a 1 lb. bulk bag with approximately 96 pieces per bag. They come in a wide variety of flavors. Since they are sugar free, these candies are just 12 calories per piece! Plus great for kids with allergies, they are vegetarian, Kosher, with no gluten, no trans fats, no Nuts, no dairy ingredients and no soy!

Organic Naturepops come in modern, cool flavors like Citrus Blast and Chocolate. Ingredients include organic lime extract, organic orange extract and vegetable colors. The lollipops have organic evaporated cane juice, which is a natural form of sugar.

These sugar free and organic candies are available at Simon Candy Shop.

5 Comments »