Mommy Poppins is New York City s favorite free online resource for parents and kids where you ll dis

It doesn t matter whether your kids attend public, private or parochial: New York City parents are always being called on to donate international travel news their money and (even more precious) time to help their children international travel news s schools. In fact, vigorous fundraising is an integral part of many schools international travel news success, academic and otherwise.
As a PTA board member for my son s school, I have been very involved in the fundraising process. I ve developed initiatives for new money makers and also managed tried-and-true cash cows. While I don t pretend to be the next Jean Joachim, the ber PTA mom who helped raise more than $1 million for the Upper West Side s PS 87 and then wrote the book Beyond the Bake Sale , I am a former marketing executive with more fundraising ideas than my son s school can feasibly international travel news handle in a given year. I m happy to share a few of my favorites with my fellow NYC parents.
In addition to raising money for the school, my ideas are meant to be fun for families and foster community. All of these projects require a bit of prep, but since school just started, there s plenty of time to get them going. June is a long way off!
Gamewright , the manufacturer of Slamwich , The Scrambled States of America and other fun educational international travel news games, gives schools international travel news 50% of the products you end up selling. Instead of a boring catalog to shop from, the company sends you all the tools you need to hold a fun night, when you can play and then sell the games. Add extra oomph by selling pizza, beverages, candy and snacks. These games nights are pretty international travel news easy to organize and a great way to raise money while having a good time.
Just like any other walk-a-thon, kids get people to pay them for walking (or more likely running) around. international travel news When I was young, you had to go door-to-door to solicit sponsors, but today kids can reach out to potential supporters online (all those far-flung relatives, international travel news your old college roommates, etc.). This can also be adapted to different activities: Try a dance-a-thon in the school gym, a weekend bike-a-thon around your local park or my personal international travel news favorite, a read-a-thon!
Most children love to draw and design. Harness that energy with a school-wide contest, and then have the winning design printed on something you can sell. At my son s school we did a T-shirt and designated a special day when all the students would wear them to school. You could also print up hats, coffee mugs or tote bags.
Why should the kids have all the fun? Host a family disco bash in the school gym, decorate and get a deejay (or your iPod) to play some cool tunes. Theme it around a festive holiday like Valentine s Day or Cinco de Mayo for inspiration. Funny props, Polaroid photo booths and glow necklaces will make it a night to remember.
Ask families to submit their favorite recipes and print up a book to buy. The kids can even hand-write the recipes, to give it a bit of personality. Lay the cookbook out on a computer and self-publish it or partner with an outside vendor who agrees to print it at a reduced rate.
Skip the pizza and transform the cafeteria into a fine dining establishment for an evening. Have the kids prepare a meal (with some adult help of course) and then cook and serve it to the parents (and clean up afterward). If your school has no cooking facilities or the kitchen is off-limits to non-staff, see if you can find a local restaurant that will donate its space during off-hours.
One Friday night a month, host a date night when parents can leave their kids at school and go out on the town. A few parent volunteers will keep the children entertained with a movie, games and a pizza dinner.
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Mommy Poppins is New York City s favorite free online resource for parents and kids where you ll discover the inside international travel news skinny on things to do , see , learn , play , make , read , splash , eat , run amok , party and envy in the New York area with kids . I hope you like the site. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
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