The Claypool Early Learning Center needed some new supplies. The teachers of the two classes of twenty preschoolers decided to sell Jewels for Schools to raise money to buy these things, partly because the experience would also count for needed requirements for multicultural curriculum.
They planned the fundraiser to begin the week of the Thanksgiving break, knowing the children would have lots of opportunities to sell to doting relatives during that time. It was planned to end two weeks later. Since the children were young, the teachers wanted to keep it simple, so they decided to sell just one product, the single bracelet, for $6 (all Jewels for Schools prices are divisible by three, so you can easily compute how much is profit for your group, and how much will be donated to support education in Africa).
On the Monday the fundraiser began, Sally Rich, founder of Jewels for Schools, came to meet with the children and tell them about the fundraiser. Using lots of visuals, she taught them at their level about the daily lives and educational needs of the children in Africa who would benefit from their sales, and about the paper beads and how they were made. Along with their teachers, she told them how the sale would benefit their school as well.
At the end of school that day, each child was sent home with a sealed manila envelope with six bracelets to sell, and a note explaining the program to their parents. Parents were told they were free not to participate, and all they had to do was send the packet back. One family sent the packet back, but almost immediately, others began asking for more bracelets to sell. One mom said, "I usually hate fundraisers, but this is one I can get behind, because it's for a great cause, and the bracelets are so cute and inexpensive!"
After two weeks, families sent back the money they had collected and any unsold bracelets (there were two or three late ones, but that is to be expected). The amount raised was $1,782.00! One third, $594 was theirs to spend on the supplies they needed. One third went to pay for the bracelets and pay the women who made them. And one third was donated to build a school in Uganda. The money was sent the week after Jewels for Schools received it, and by the following week, a report came back that bricks were being made for the new school! Soon pictures of the bricks were posted on the class facebook page, along with an educational video about brick-making in Uganda. Forty small children and their families had made a load of difference in the world!
They planned the fundraiser to begin the week of the Thanksgiving break, knowing the children would have lots of opportunities to sell to doting relatives during that time. It was planned to end two weeks later. Since the children were young, the teachers wanted to keep it simple, so they decided to sell just one product, the single bracelet, for $6 (all Jewels for Schools prices are divisible by three, so you can easily compute how much is profit for your group, and how much will be donated to support education in Africa).
On the Monday the fundraiser began, Sally Rich, founder of Jewels for Schools, came to meet with the children and tell them about the fundraiser. Using lots of visuals, she taught them at their level about the daily lives and educational needs of the children in Africa who would benefit from their sales, and about the paper beads and how they were made. Along with their teachers, she told them how the sale would benefit their school as well.
At the end of school that day, each child was sent home with a sealed manila envelope with six bracelets to sell, and a note explaining the program to their parents. Parents were told they were free not to participate, and all they had to do was send the packet back. One family sent the packet back, but almost immediately, others began asking for more bracelets to sell. One mom said, "I usually hate fundraisers, but this is one I can get behind, because it's for a great cause, and the bracelets are so cute and inexpensive!"
After two weeks, families sent back the money they had collected and any unsold bracelets (there were two or three late ones, but that is to be expected). The amount raised was $1,782.00! One third, $594 was theirs to spend on the supplies they needed. One third went to pay for the bracelets and pay the women who made them. And one third was donated to build a school in Uganda. The money was sent the week after Jewels for Schools received it, and by the following week, a report came back that bricks were being made for the new school! Soon pictures of the bricks were posted on the class facebook page, along with an educational video about brick-making in Uganda. Forty small children and their families had made a load of difference in the world!