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Seniors need money for their class trip or prom. The school band needs
money to travel to a competition. Youth sports leagues need to earn
funds for equipment and the PTA needs money to fund a field trip. These
are all very real and good reasons for fundraising activities.
When
managing any type of team or school fundraising activity we should have
the phrase "Safety First" planted firmly in the minds of our player,
students and parents alike. Though we as adults may have this type of
mindset we especially need to emphasize the value of safety to our
young people.
When developing a school fundraising campaign
where children will be your primary sales force it is imperative that
you take the utmost precaution for their safety. Develop a safety plan
and make sure that everyone knows about it and then strictly enforce it.
A.) Focus on Safety First
With
chilling stories of criminal minds in the newspapers and TV news we
recommend that under no circumstances should your kids be going
door-to-door selling for your team fundraiser or school fundraising
project without appropriate adult supervision. Honestly, if your school
fundraising plan requires door-to-door cold call sales you should
completely revise your plan. And this should not be limited to product
sales. Other types of fundraising activities such as a car wash or a
bake sale outside of local stores should have adult supervision as well.
B.) Develop a written policy concerning school fundraising activities.
All
sales activities should require that an adult, preferably more than
one, be present. Ensure that everyone involved in your project be aware
and conscious of your safety policy. Print your policy and give a copy
to each of your kids as well as to their parents.
This will
ensure that your parent pool understand that you are not promoting
unsafe sales practices, and that their children are not being
encouraged to "do what it takes" to make a sale.
Reinforce that
your children should be concentrating their sales effort in a safety
conscious manner by limiting their sales efforts to friends, family,
neighbors, and the coworkers of their parents.
C.) Communicate the need with reinforcement
You
might create safety conscious posters to display in high traffic areas
of your school. Ask other educator peers to assist you by adding verbal
reminders in class. Have "Safety First" or a similar statement printed
on all sales materials. If need be buy are rubber stamp with your
slogan and use it on all printed sales literature.
D.) Structure your prize program and sales instructions to promote school fundraising safety
One
of the best ways to ensure that your kids are safe while fundraising
for their school or team is to give the best and most exciting prizes
at a level that can be reached without the kids feeling like they have
to "sell the world" to get them. Another thing that you can do is
during your kickoff, instruct the students or players how they can sell
all they need to sell without going door-to-door by asking some of
their family friends and relatives to take their brochure to work for
them.
Do not put your kids in unsafe situations. There is no amount of money that is worth compromising the safety of our children.
Take the necessary steps to ensure your child's safety while envolved in their school fundraising activities by giving them incentives that promote safe fundraising. To learn more about how you can do this go to AIM Fundraising's website.
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