Every day, I walk down to lunch and pass by a new fundraiser outside the cafeteria. Whether it’s to support the arts at BHS or feed the homeless, I feel like I’m being hounded for money every week, and, quite frankly, it’s trying. The fundraisers are getting out of hand.
It is common practice for clubs, organizations and school leadership to set up bake sales next to the cafeteria. While these fundraisers can raise money for important and worthy causes, the students’ and staff’s pockets drain all too often. Because of this, these fundraisers earn less, which defeats the point of setting them up in the first place.
“Schools everywhere face surprisingly similar fundraising challenges…Low community engagement, inconsistent communication, and donor fatigue,” said Stephanie Gavern, a guest contributor to the Winkler Group, an educational consulting firm.
At BHS, it seems that every group, club and sports team has fundraisers constantly. While this generates revenue for important things that keep these organizations running and functional, it gets irritating having an overly enthusiastic person trying to persuade you to buy their baked goods every day.
The ever-persistent grasping for handouts for various frankly ambiguous causes is forcing revenue decline. I, for one, am drained, financially and from the constant shoving of donation posters down my throat.
While the major fundraising events, such as Pink Week and Operation Christmas Wishes, can be exciting and highly lucrative, the small, repetitive and unproductive pop-ups of various sales and donation tables are irksome and generally make little in comparison.
The leadership teacher, Mrs. Armstrong, said, “This year for Pink week, we made $85,000, and for Operation Christmas wishes, we made a little over $19,000. So this year, my leadership kids raised over $100,000.”
This clearly shows how effective major fundraising events can be. These types of events are spread out throughout the year, which makes them attention-grabbing and prioritized. This contrasts to the repetitive pop-up sales at lunch, which are predictable and, most of the time, boring.
The number of fundraisers simply needs to be reduced, or else the organizations that run them will continue to drop until it is simply not worth running them. While it is fueling the sweet tooth of the student body, there are more beneficial and worthwhile ways to aid our community.
According to GVI, an award-winning charity that aids with worldwide environmental issues, “Contributing your time can be beneficial to charitable causes, and by joining a volunteer project, you can make a lasting impact.”
So instead of burning a hole in students’ and staff’s wallets, organizations should coordinate volunteering opportunities and invest in more diverse activities to participate in.
“I think many students (and staff) would like to donate time and skills rather than money if possible. I personally would rather spend some time volunteering rather than writing a check,” said Mrs. Hamilton, the school pianist and AP Music Theory teacher.
It’s important to help one’s community, and many feel more fulfilled when they go out and actively participate in a cause. It gives one a more tangible grasp of what and why they are helping.
As reported by VolunteerHub, “Volunteers are 66% more likely to donate financially to the organization they support than those who do not volunteer their time.”
Statistically, the implementation of interactive activities as well as volunteer opportunities for the staff and students, paired with the reduction of bake sales and solicitation, should both increase the effectiveness of events such as bake sales and escalate the quality and quantity of outreach produced by BHS.
A good example of how things could be is how the Freshman Class Council opted for writing letters addressed to local children’s hospitals or the more recent auto show, which raised money for the Motor Sports Club by having students and community members sign up their cars and charging entry fees.
Perhaps the best example of unique fundraising events is the infamous Senior Survivor that concluded last week. The sheer reach and scope of the event is truly inspiring because of its engaging at entertaining nature that encourages everyone at school and in the community to support it.
While events like Senior Survivor can only be as effective as they are when done annually, unique and engaging activities that support charities and our school should be heavily encouraged.
BHS’s fundraising events need to improve and diversify. Donor fatigue will worsen, causing organizations in need of aid to suffer. Instead, they should balance these sales events with volunteer work and activities.
