Meaningful School Fundraisers
Teach Children How to be Socially and Environmentally Responsible
Aug 31, 2009
In an economy where personal budgets are being stretched to the limits, school fundraisers need to be meaningful in order to garner support and participation from families. While more parents than ever want to help raise funds for their child’s school, most families now limit participation unless the school fundraising programs are meaningful for the children and support an organization that is socially and environmentally responsible.
New school fundraising programs that encourage recycling, support fair trade and preserve the local small businesses in a community help to teach children that raising funds can be a charitable endeavor. A child who has the opportunity to participate in socially and environmentally responsible school fundraisers will experience the pleasure in helping others and taking care of the environment that blossoms into a lifetime of compassion and thoughtfulness.
EcoPhones is a recycling fundraising program that pays schools cash for every cell phone, ink jet cartridge, laptop computer, ipod, and digital camera collected and shipped to them. They will accept non-working items; however more cash is earned for electronics that work. This is an easy fundraising idea that does not require families to purchase anything, and helps them to safely dispose of unwanted electronics in an environmentally conscious way.
EcoPhones safely recycles each collected electronic by either reconditioning it for resale, or de-manufacturing it and responsibly breaking it down into it’s core components according to strict environmental guidelines. EcoPhones also supports its home community by donating a portion of its proceeds to support local charities.
Equal Exchange Fundraising
The Equal Exchange school fundraiser program offers schools a portion of the profits of selling fair-trade and organic foods that support sustainable farming methods around the world. A variety of organic coffees, teas, chocolates, almonds and dried fruits are all fair trade products available from Equal Exchange.
The philosophy behind fair trade is that independent farmers who practice environmentally sound farming practices should earn a fair and decent wage for the food they grow. Fair trade also aims to protect the earth’s natural resources by supporting growers who do not harm the soil, water supply or environment with the use of pesticides.
A free whole school curriculum is available for grades 4-9 from Equal Exchange Fundraising. It gives educators the tools to teach children that personal choices make impact on the environment, explain the concept and importance of fair trade, and finally, inspire a child to make a difference in the world.
Even though times are tough, now more than ever children need to develop a natural compassion for others and to help people in need. The Pennies for Peace service-learning program was originated by Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea [Penguin Books, 2007], as a way to help children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In 1994, Greg Mortenson visited an elementary school in Wisconsin and shared his personal story that is the the basis for Three Cups of Tea. He described a village in Pakistan that he visited that was so poor that it could not afford a school or a teacher for the children. Inspired by Greg Mortenson, the children at the school spontaneously began a program called “Pennies for Pakistan” and collected over 62,000 pennies within a month.
Inspired by the generosity of those children in Wisconsin, Pennies for Peace was born. Today the mission of the program is twofold; collecting charitable donations for building schools for the children in Pakistan and Afghanistan and teaching children around the world about helping others and sharing and working together to make a difference.
Pennies for Peace offers a free toolkit for schools and educators to implement a year long service project and worthwhile school curriculum.
School fundraisers that allow children to learn about charity, caring for the environment and being responsible citizens of the Earth not only raise funds, but create a community of compassionate and thoughtful children.
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