tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62389043391508968752011-11-27T16:25:08.786-08:00School Fundraising for the Modern Madcap Mom (and Dad)verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-55851165533754729132008-05-28T15:57:00.001-07:002008-05-28T16:45:16.653-07:00

This Saturday afternoon we're hosting "Dads, Dirt, and Donuts" (our Spanish translator turned that into "Padres, Plantas, y Pan Dulce" for our Latino families, which is so brilliant it makes my head hurt), a school beautification event that is embarrassingly split down gender lines. But in this case, I'm happy to set political correctness aside because it keeps me from having to dig around in the

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-88200396463275131762008-05-21T16:02:00.000-07:002008-05-21T17:33:51.549-07:00

For an overview of this large Spring fundraiser, please click here. To learn how this fundraiser makes the big bucks, please click here.Though I'm still fumbling around in a little bit of a post Walk-A-Jog stupor, I wanted to check in here to say that the event went off without a hitch. We haven't tallied our final take (the kids did not have to submit their sponsor money until today), but the

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-54901743658490057842008-05-14T22:46:00.000-07:002008-05-14T23:08:00.701-07:00

For an overview of this large Spring fundraiser, please click here. To learn how this fundraiser makes the big bucks, please click here.I was clearly over-confident about my ability to both tend to my Walk-A-Jog duties AND blog about them. You'll forgive me, then, for this decidedly un-sexy bullet point post:• We have more than 250 kids walking the course! If their pledges average out to just

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-23256539923001364232008-05-03T19:51:00.000-07:002008-05-03T21:08:31.614-07:00

For an overview of this large Spring fundraiser, please click here. To learn how this fundraiser makes the big bucks, please click here.I've collected all the volunteer sign-up sheets, and I'm pretty happy that 65 parents have stepped up to the Walk-A-Jog volunteer plate. I need to coerce/cajole/beg/ approximately 20 more to do the same. It's so hilarious to look at the sheets because there is

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-19870762841762252682008-04-22T17:02:00.000-07:002008-04-22T17:23:41.572-07:00

For an overview of this large Spring fundraiser, please click here. To learn how this fundraiser rakes in the moolah, please click here.As I mentioned in a previous post, the baskets created by each class (and coordinated by individual Room Parents and teachers) will be the sole silent auction items at this year's Walk-A-Jog. I thought it might be helpful to list the baskets that are being

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-80376733540976182042008-04-17T18:54:00.000-07:002008-04-17T19:22:15.027-07:00

These Moms from rural Spain need to find my blog — quick! To raise money for a recreation center at their local school, they posed for a naughty-girl calendar. Witness:Even worse? They overestimated the market response for their project and are now stuck with 500 copies and $16,000 worth of debt. As if posing in tinsel wasn't enough punishment...via telegraph.co.uk

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-22588956970084754292008-04-12T09:24:00.001-07:002008-04-15T16:11:31.011-07:00

I'm taking a brief break from my scintillating coverage of Walk-A-Jog to address an issue that we discussed at a recent parent volunteer meeting: should EVERY school event be viewed as an opportunity to raise money?In recent years, the answer to this question was an unspoken, "Of course not." For events like our Holiday Craft Fair, International Day, and the annual Talent Show, we have often "

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-60014569598870609782008-04-07T10:30:00.000-07:002008-04-07T10:56:27.387-07:00

Keeping teachers and staff in the loop on any fundraiser is critical to your success. When you communicate effectively, respectfully, and with that brand of enthusiasm (read: wild-eyed and slightly disheveled) unique to parent volunteers around the country, you exponentially increase your chances of victory. With that in mind, I delivered a memo to each teacher's mailbox asking them to work with

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-46188668355035891852008-03-31T18:37:00.000-07:002008-03-31T23:14:33.553-07:00

For an overview of this large Spring fundraiser, please click here. To learn how this fundraiser makes the big bucks, please click here.Tomorrow I take the long march around campus posting volunteer sign-up sheets outside each classroom door. This should work out fine for Kindergarten - 2nd grade because parents with kids in those grades still hang abooot. The 3rd-5th grade parents will never see

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-46475474520823612008-03-20T09:30:00.000-07:002008-03-20T09:54:36.153-07:00

For an overview of this large Spring fundraiser, please see my previous post.*** How do we make money at Walk-A-Jog? Let me count the ways:1. Sponsors I. We solicit family sponsorships, which are basically straight donations with two small perks: the family name or child's name also appears on the official Walk-A-Jog t-shirt and the event banner. Plus you get to show off your school spirit.

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-48898855834008552382008-03-18T19:11:00.000-07:002008-03-18T21:04:41.740-07:00

"Walk-A-Jog" is our ancient (I'm serious—it's 25 years old or something), tried-n-true Spring fundraiser. It has two components:1) Fitness. The kids walk and/or jog around the streets surrounding the school, breaking a sweat and racking up tally marks at stations manned by teachers. We work with the city to close the streets for 90 minutes, and the course is monitored by parents. Also, to avoid

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238904339150896875.post-67702109633591062712008-03-17T20:51:00.000-07:002008-03-17T22:07:03.558-07:00

As I type, the threat of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's misguided budget cuts (some 4.8 BILLION dollars for K-14 education) looms. If approved, California earns the dubious distinction of placing second to last in its funding, just above Mississippi.Mind? Boggled.Now, more than ever, it will fall on California's public school parents to close the gap between what our schools receive from the

verhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18059954107392477750noreply@blogger.com3