Great Fundraisers: Items to Auction for Your School Trip
Image courtesy of T-shirt Quilts Houston
School auctions are great fundraisers for the school and your organization! Contact the auction chair to see if your organization or school trip group can enter an item at the auction for a trip fundraiser. Unsure what to enter? Here are 4 items that are sure to generate high interest at the school auction:
School T-Shirt Quilt: Create and auction a blanket out of current school t-shirts! To minimize upfront cost, ask club moderators, team coaches, and staff if they would be willing to donate a shirt or if your group can purchase the shirts at whole price. Ask trip parents if they, or someone they know, would be willing to make the quilt. This item is a keepsake for any student or parent!
Front Row Seats at Graduation: Many parents will want to sit front and center to see their child walk across the stage at graduation! Contact the graduation committee to see if four seats can be reserved and auctioned.
Yard Clean-Up: Many people would like help with their fall or spring yard clean-up and gardening. Auction a Saturday afternoon where trip students will garden, weed, and rake leaves for the auction winner. First seek parental approval and a Saturday that fits the schedule for trip participants.
Travel Basket: Have trip students weave a waste basket out of old maps or maps of your destination. Then, fill the basket with a travel guide for your destination and a travel gift certificate from Scholastica Travel. If your school creates t-shirts for the trip each year, include an extra in the basket. This helps to promote your cause and organization. The basket can also contain other travel items, such as a travel magazine subscription, a journal, travel size toiletries, a picture frame, or a travel coffee mug.
Group Tour Experience: 5 Ways Engage Students After Returning Home
You have just returned from an outstanding group tour and your students are filled with excitement. Now that you are back in the classroom, what can you do to help your students process all that they experienced? Here are five things that you can do as a class to solidify all that you learned and share your experience with others:
1. Write: By taking the time to write about their travels, students will actively reflect on their experience and process what they have learned. This can be in the form of a class essay assignment or even as a guest blog post right here on the Scholastica Travel blog. If your students are interested in publishing on this blog, please send an email to nrice@scholasticatravel.com. The editor can assist in topic ideas, if needed.
2. Create a Video: As a class, create a video that captures your group tour experience. The video can be created from live footage taken during the trip or as a slideshow of student pictures. Have students vote for and select the background music that matches the fun and learning they experienced.
3. Flat Stanley Project: Take a stowaway with you during your group tour. Students will love taking pictures with Flat Stanley throughout their travels. When you return, students can collaborate to write about and share their experience with younger students.
4. Class Presentation: Have the current travelers create a trip presentation that they will then give to next year’s class. This will build excitement for next year’s explorers while helping the current students process their experience and share what they learned. You can even play the video that they created! Students will enjoy having a captive audience that they can share their trip with, and next year’s
5. Publish in the Newspaper: Share the purpose of your trip and the effects that traveling has had on your students with the greater community. Publish an article in the local paper! Select your favorite group picture from your travel and accompany the picture with excerpts from the student travel essays.
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3 Fundraising Ideas for School Trips: Support Local Business
Photo by berkleychamber.typepad.com
Fundraising in partnership with a local business is a win-win for your school trip and your community. It is an opportunity to promote what a great experience this trip is for your students. Additionally, you support the growth of a local business. Over time, the community builds a strong tradition together; both in support of the student trip and the work of local businesses.
1.T-Shirt Ad Space: Many schools create t-shirts for participants to wear during their trip. These t-shirts build camaraderie, provide a lasting souvenir, and help to keep track of students during the trip. If you are already creating the t-shirts, why not turn it into a fundraiser? Request sponsorship from friends and family and advertisements from local businesses. Logos of businesses and names of sponsors can be printed on the back of the t-shirt. Brainstorm with trip participants for local businesses to contact. Divide these businesses among the students. Businesses will then only be contacted by one student rather than several. This will also improve your overall efficiency. Match students with businesses where they have connections or particular affinity. Set a flat rate for business participation. Some businesses will be more generous, while other will be less. Over time, this fundraiser can build a strong connection among the community.
photo http://www.goinglocal-info.com
2. Sell a Local Product: Partner with a local company to sell a useful, locally made product. The benefits are three-fold; money is earned for your trip, a local business is supported, and supporters walk away with something practical. Price the product so that your organization earns 40% or more of the profits. Honey and coffee are excellent products to sell. Many people use these products daily. Find a local beekeeper at a farmer’s market or a local coffee roaster. Agree upon a pricing and supply scheme. For example, honey could be sold for $10, with $5 going to the beekeeper and $5 to your organization.
3. Dine-Out at a Participating Restaurant: Many restaurants host fundraising nights for local organizations. Your school can earn 10-20% of the nights’ receipts! These nights are great opportunities for hosting a trip meeting, fundraising, and building excitement for your trip all at the same time. Interested? There are over 20 different restaurants with school fundraising opportunities!
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