Holding a teacher’s day off fundraiser is a terrific way to draw attention to a school fundraiser! You can get everyone in your community involved and excited. The trick is to have a few phones with video capability, and some parents willing to help out for the day.
This fundraiser is good to hold after a big test when everyone is kind of exhausted from hard studying and testing, or as filler for a day near the end of the school year when everyone is just waiting for the year to end. Have handpicked teachers take turns going out in the community with a kid or two in tow. The kids can be leading the teacher by a rope, and the teacher should hold a sign to say ‘teacher held hostage!’
It can be explained to people around town (get major business centers such as diners, groceries and car dealerships to agree to a visit from the group) that the teacher has been taken hostage and chaos is ruling back at the classroom, The video phone is produced, and scenes are shown of children wreaking havoc in the classroom (the supervising adult volunteer can stay out of sight, and the kids can act crazy and out of control for the camera.
The only way for the teacher to get back to the classroom is to raise a certain amount of money. On the back of his/her sign, the teacher can have a graph of how much money is left to raise. Each donation gets them closer to the goal, and closer to returning to their classroom!
As each teacher reaches their goal, they return to class and another room is ‘taken hostage’. If each teacher involved raises a hundred dollars, they can generate some serious money for the next school need! If done at the end of the year, it can be earmarked for the next year’s class trip.
If done correctly and with a little help from the radio stations – perhaps they can be persuaded to jump in with breaking news although don’t get carried away and say hostages are taken at the school! Make sure any ‘broadcasts clearly state a fundraiser is going on, and teachers have been escorted by students out of their classrooms and will not be allowed to return until a ‘ransom’ is paid!
This is another fun fundraiser that can become a yearly event!
