It is the Season for Handmade Goodness!

Although not about fundraising specifically, it is an inspiring article about kids and creativity...great for Christmas...but just maybe a fundraiser too!

Teaching the Value of Handmade Goodness

Have wonderful and creative holiday season!

Is it teaching or an adventure. Is it both?

Acme Sharing --- Be inspired!
I want to share the above link with you. It is not specific to raising funds for a van, but it is a wonderful resource for showing how giving and gratitude can be a part of our children's daily fibre.

Our children are our future. Their values will refelct how our communities evolve.

The thought of fundraising can be a burden when you look only at the dollar signs, but when you see that it can also be an adventure and a learing experiece for your family, there will be so much more value!

Enjoy the link, I hope you find it inspiring!

"Helping Hannah Hodge Podge Market" An Event to Inspire

This blog is a great forum to share positive experiences from around the province.  I love thinking about fundraisers and how they can be successful, but for readers, it can be quite a different experience.  It is one thing to have the will to do an event, another to pull it together.  Sharing the real life experiences of families, like you, may be just what you need to be inspired!


I would like to introduce you to the Corkum family!  Here is a little bit about their family and their fundraiser.

Q. What was your motivation for doing the fundraiser?

A. Our motivation for doing the fundraiser was basically knowing what we needed to do to accommodate our home for our daughter Hannah. I have been working hard for the past year to figure out her needs for now and in the future with Hannah's Occupational Therapist, along with the costs of all of the renovations we need to do to our home to make it wheelchair accessible. Once we figured out what a total cost was and what funding we could apply to, then we knew how much we as a family needed to raise to make it all happen.

Q. What was the fundraiser?

A. Our Fundraiser was the "Helping Hannah Hodge Podge Market" We had a flea market with live music at Glooscap Centennial Arena. We had flea marketers, a masseuse, the Canning fire department put on a hot dog BBQ, a Sledge Hockey display (Hannah and Josie both play),a silent auction, elephant auction, a bake table and a very large donations to be sold section. We also had a pay pal donation account set up on Facebook for people to make donations.

Q. Did you have a target amount of money in mind?

A. We didn't really have a target amount of money to raise. We were extremely happy with the amount that we did raise. We figured we would raise maybe $1500 to $2000, but we raised $3200!

Q. Were the kids involved? If so, how?

A. Josie was more involved than Hannah. Josie helped me decorate the posters, she helped nail them on poles around the community and surrounding areas ( her and I would go for a drive and she would pick which pole we should put the posters on). Hannah and Josie both helped me one day after school stapling bulletins on the poles in Canning and taking them into the local businesses. 

Q. What did the kids learn from participating in the fundraiser?

A. Hannah basically thought it was a party in her honor, she didn't quite comprehend the whole thing, but she did understand that we were selling things to get her a new bathroom and wheelchair ramp for the front door. Josie was very proud to help in anyway to make her sisters life easier. She learned how happy it made her to help others and what a great feeling it is.

Q. How did the community respond?

A. We had a great response from the community in many ways: advertising, donation of goods to sell, donations for the silent and elephant auctions, donation of tables and chairs for the market from our local Lions Club, locals donating their time to help me set up and sell. Everyone that came to the Hodge Podge Market bought something from the donation table or donated money. The local musicians donated their time to help us too.

Q. What was the easiest aspect of the fundraiser? Most difficult?

A.The easiest aspect of the fundraiser was getting the items to sell on the donation tables. I had closed my antique/vintage shop a couple years ago and I had lots of leftover items from that. My Aunt had recently passed away and my cousin gave me all the contents to sell too.  The most difficult aspect of the fundraiser for me was asking for help, but my husband Dean says packing everything up was the most difficult part for him.

Q. Was using your time to raise funds a good investment?

A. Yes, using our time to raise funds was a good investment. I would do it again in a heartbeat to give my kids a better life!

Back to School: Reading, Writing, Math and Fundraising

I am a firm believer that fundraising is about far more than dollars in the bank or a purchased item.  It is about community, it is about a collective goal and awareness. It is also about learning some really important life skills. A child participating in fundraising (if properly executed) can learn about public speaking, planning, overhead costs, counting money, bank accounts and providing good value.  That may seem like allot of work, but it is natural learning built into fundraising.

School is a natural place for fundraising.  That is, fundraising that is planned and executed with strong learning outcomes. School is your child's community.  It is the place they go to learn .  It is also a place that continually fund raises for a variety of academic needs.  Have your considered fundraising for your child's needs through school?

As part of a tight school community, your child's classmates are aware of physical challenges that require supportive equipment.  Do they understand the illness and how that impacts all aspects of life?  Could they be more aware?

If you are reaching out to the community for your fundraising, don't overlook school.  Take a moment to talk to the teacher or the principal and see if they are open to using a school fundraiser for your child as a learning opportunity. 

You will not only raise funds, but pride and awareness.

Here is an article that may help with some ideas! Fundraising in the classroom

Something to think about....

Fundraising can be a very public journey.  You are the one who typically can decide how much to share about you and your family, but I bet there have been times when you were unsure how much to say.

I found this post on Love that Max that may be useful as you think about how much you share about your child, not just on a daily basis, but in your funding journey.

What does this have to do with fundraising....

Nothing really, except in the blogging world I found this cute tool to help parents.  Adjust it to meet your needs!  Let the kids be rewarded for their work...and maybe in the end your reward will be a little extra time for you!
Kid's Charts

President's Choice Children's Charity asks "Watch the Expiry Date"

Many of you are aware that President's Choice Children's Charity has assisted many qualifying families with putting an accessible van on the road for their kids.

The application for that is required to be submitted is periodically updated and ONLY the most current application form will be accepted.

To ensure you have the right form check this link president's choice children's charity application