By Pyc Fitness
©2004-2008
While plenty of kids are still hawking candy bars, cookie dough or frozen pizza, some schools and parent groups are planning fundraisers that burn calories instead of peddling them to others.
"You don't really want to send your kids door-to-door anymore, and this also makes them more aware of fun activities to do to stay healthy," said Suzette Henderson, PTO president at Main Street Elementary School in Lincoln County, where students asked for pledges for each physical activity they completed in a schoolwide "Pride Olympics."
The burden of selling overpriced products to neighbors and co-workers often lands on parents. And everyone gets tired of buying things they don't want from the same old catalogs, says Brien McCarthy, principal at Harvest Ridge Elementary School in St. Charles County. His school also used pledges to raise money in a math-a-thon that focused on learning, rather than selling.
From selling candy bars and wrapping paper to a swipe of a credit card at Target, school fundraisers have evolved throughout the years. But organizers and parent groups still face a multitude of fundraising challenges and complications, from keeping students and parents motivated to wrangling with new wellness guidelines that threaten candy sales.
"Fundraisers get really old, really quick," said James Martinez, spokesman for the National Parent Teacher Association. "You have to come up with new ideas all the time."
A recent nationwide survey of more than 1,000 principals found that rising operating costs, shrinking budgets and enrollment booms are forcing more K-8 principals to rely on revenue from fundraising, according to the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
In the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District, fundraising may be the only way a sixth-grade camp tradition will continue this year. District funding for the camp was one of several items cut when the board slashed $100,000 from this year's budget. A group of parents is trying to raise the money so the camp can go on this spring.
And with the possibility of an additional $700,000 in cuts for the 2008-2009 year, it's likely the district may have to rely more and more on fundraising to support student activities, said Dave Kuschel, the district's director of communications.
In the nationwide survey, 85 percent of principals said they had seen an increased need for schoolwide fundraisers in the last decade. Like parents, they also grow tired of fundraisers — 64 percent also said they would stop fundraising if they could.
Students aren't exactly lining up to sell, either. Those with years of fundraisers under their belts are burned out by the time they reach middle school, said Melinda Toarmina, co-president of the PTO at Bryan Middle School in St. Charles, where this fall's fundraiser profits from product sales hit an all-time low. The PTO pays for items and activities such as Family Fun Night and for students who cannot afford field trips.
"You really have to think outside the box these days if you want to be successful and get kids involved," she said.
While some PTO groups struggle with participation in fundraisers, others must contend with school wellness policies that threaten to take a bite out of their profits from selling candy during school lunches.
Federal guidelines require districts to reduce unhealthy food choices in their schools. The Illinois Nutrition Education & Training Program has a list of fundraising recommendations that include events such as car washes and walk-a-thons. Those have the added benefit of promoting physical activity rather than selling items such as candy, said Deborah Rees, supervisor for the program.
A staple fundraiser for many parent groups, lunchtime candy sales were a point of contention this year in the Francis Howell School District. Superintendent Renée Schuster suspended the sale of candy in the second week of school this year, much to the dismay of parent groups trying to raise money for all-night graduation celebrations and other student activities.
The district decided about a week later to allow candy sales to continue with a few conditions and to reimburse the parent groups for any revenue lost during the suspension. District officials will continue discussions with parents as the district moves toward a goal of phasing out candy sales by the 2009-2010 school year.
In the Metro East, families at two schools in the Triad district have come to look forward to an annual 5K race that raises money for Freeman and Henning elementaries. It began about six years ago as a fundraiser for playground equipment. Now, each year the school surveys teachers about where the money raised is needed.
"It's a bonding experience," said Kathy Eller, a school nurse and organizer. "And the kids get excited about it because we talk about it in the classrooms and about exercise and being healthy while also doing something for the school. The parents are really happy about it too; it's kind of like a social gathering at the end of the school year."
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