Fundraising
Rent a Student Day
Honor Society students at Shelter Island High School (New York) raised money for the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund by organizing a "Rent a Student" day. Members in the community signed up to rent the students in pairs for a suggested donation of $10/hour. Student pairs accompanied by chaperone volunteers were assigned to each jobsite to perform a variety of activites (mowing the lawn, washing windows, cleaning cars, baking cookies, weeding, raking, etc...). On a Saturday in October renters and rentees met for bagels and coffee before they headed off for a morning of hard work. The event successfully raised almost $1000- a success for our small organization of 8 students! (posted 1.12)
Haunted House
Student leaders at George Carter MS in Clio, MI, organized a haunted house for Halloween consisting of a series of rooms winding around the middle of the school's media center and ending with a chase from a "madman." Admission to the haunted house was $3 and groups of 10 people went in at a time.
Homecoming Auction
Football players and cheerleaders who are willing to participate in a fundraiser at North Newton HS in Lake Village, IN, fill out information cards about themselves and agree to dance at the Homecoming Dance with the highest bidder in an auction. An auctioneer auctions each one off during a rally before the Homecoming game.
Sharing a Meal
Every year, the NHS Chapter at Fairview Park (OH) HS holds a spaghetti dinner to raise funds. Hungry patrons buy tickets to attend the dinner. The NHS members and their parents make the food; NHS members decorate the cafeteria, bus tables, and get drinks for the people who come during three-hour shifts. The dinner is held the night of the spring band concert, so many people make it a part of their pre-concert ritual.
Chili For Charity
The Nekoosa (WI) HS National Honor Society raised money for the local chapter of the American Red Cross through its annual Chili for Charity event. Chapter members offered hot bowls of chili, baked goods, and a chance to win prizes at bingo that were donated by local businesses.
Band-a-thon
The National Honor Society at Harrison (NY) HS teamed up with the school's band to turn the band's 14th annual fundraising concert into a community event to help a 5-year-old boy with cancer. Students and local bands performed in the Peter's Night Band-a-thon, with proceeds going to the family of a local kindergartner (Peter) who was undergoing chemotherapy after having a brain tumor removed.
The band-a-thon began at 3 p.m. with each band student playing a short solo. At 7 p.m., local bands played, followed by the school's concert and jazz bands. Student rock bands performed from 9 p.m. to midnight. The event also included a cameo performance by Peter, who conducted the high school concert band after a quick lesson from the band director. Tickets to the event were $5 for adults and $3 for students and were sold at the door.
Spaghetti Dinner and Auction
In an effort to raise money for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and a young boy in their community afflicted with leukemia, the student council at Metropolitan Christian HS in Dallas, TX, organized a spaghetti dinner and auction of donated items. Council members contacted local businesses asking for items that could be auctioned off and received donations such as basketball tickets, gift certificates, and restaurant coupons. All items were auctioned at the spaghetti dinner and the proceeds from the evening were $1,300.
Parking Lot Sale
Accommodating both bargain hunters and those who want to get rid of old household items, members of NHS at Metropolitan Christian HS in Dallas, TX, hosted a giant "garage" sale in the parking lot of their school. Members divided the parking lot into spaces and charged people a fee to set up their items for sale. After paying the fee, any proceeds the seller made were his or hers to keep. NHS raised additional funds by selling refreshments and holding a car wash during the sale.
Rummage Sale
The Charity Challenge at Cudahy (WI) HS made more than $3,000 last year by collecting items from parents and community members from September through April and holding a huge rummage sale in the spring. Leftovers were donated to the Salvation Army, the local library, a senior citizen center, a local food pantry, and groups that make rugs for charity from old jeans.
The Dating Game
The National Honor Society at Seminole HS in Sanford, FL, organizes a Dating Game based on the concept of the television show, with three bachelors and three bachelorettes asking unseen contestants a series of questions. The questions are written by the NHS officers, who also choose the contestants. The show is unrehearsed, which adds to the comic value. After the bachelors/bachelorettes ask their questions, the audience votes by applause to indicate who should be selected from the unseen contestants to form the new couple. After the six couples have been decided, the audience also votes for which couple should be named best couple, most likely to break up, most likely to stay together, and cutest couple. Musical entertainment is provided while the votes are counted and certificates are presented at the end of the show. Audience members pay $3 per ticket to attend this annual event, which allows for a fun and easy fundraiser as it draws big crowds each year.
KC Jam
Karaoke and Coffee (KC) Jam is a fundraiser sponsored by the Mankato (MN) West HS National Honor Society chapter in partnership with a local coffeehouse. The coffeehouse sponsors the event and donates a percentage of the revenue made on refreshments purchased. A karaoke machine is set up for entertainment.
Coffeehouse
The NHS at Woodbury (MN) HS takes the coffeehouse idea a step farther by creating their own coffeehouse in the school's cafeteria. Members create a stage with a black background and twinkle lights and bring in couches to create more comfortable seating. Students serve as emcees for a series of student-perfomed acts--musical, poetic, dance, and so forth. A $3 admission is charged and concessions are sold.
Sing-o-Grams
Future Educators of America members at Highland HS in Higley, Ariz., sponsored a creative fundraising effort with a Sing-o-gram project. FEA club members worked in shifts, sitting outside the cafeteria, selling sing-o-grams for one dollar. Purchasers could designate recipients and suggest lyrics. FEA club members then sang a message from the purchaser to the recipient, who was often a complete stranger.
Walk for Warmth
To raise money for the local fuel bank that provides heat for homes in need, the National Honor Society at Windham (CT) Tech HS organizes a Walk for Warmth. Hundreds of students, teachers, parents, and community members obtain pledges from sponsors for the four-mile walk. Groups compete to raise the most money, with the winning group getting a donated DJ for its next dance.
Senior Trunk Raffle
A unique raffle at Medway (MA) HS has student council members soliciting donations of necessities for college dorm life. They fill a trunk with the products and sell raffle tickets to seniors and their parents. One lucky winner gets the trunk when his or her name is called at the senior banquet.
Kidnap the Teacher
The student council of Ada (OK) HS organizes a campaign to kidnap a teacher each spring as a fundraiser. Members collect money from every teacher's classes every period for a week, keeping track of the total collected for each class. At the end of the week, student council officers bring a substitute teacher into the class of the teacher whose students raised the most money. They take the teacher away in a wheelchair for an hour off and the class gets a party.
Turkey Teacher
During the week before Thanksgiving, the student council at Braxton County HS in Sutton, WV, sponsors a turkey teacher contest. Council members post a picture of a turkey outside each classroom and sell "feathers" to be added to the turkey for 10 cents. For 25 cents a person can take a feather off a turkey. Student council members sell the feathers, keep track of the number sold (in case of stolen or inappropriately added feathers), and glue the feathers on daily. On the Friday before Thanksgiving they announce the name of the teacher with the most feathers--the turkey teacher--who is presented with a stuffed turkey to sit on his or her desk.
Bowling for Wishes
Breaking away from their normal tradition of having a spring service project that focused on campus or community beautification, the NHS chapter at Crestwood HS in Dearborn Heights, Mich., planned a fundraising project to help the Michigan Association of Honor Societies (MAHS) charity of the year, the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Members planned a bowling outing for all 115 chapter members. Each member who wanted to attend was asked to raise at least $10 in pledges and pay a fee to go bowling. If they raised $25 or more, members could attend the outing and not pay for bowling. The night of the event, 60 members attended the bowling outing and the chapter raised $1974.
Reserved Parking
The student council at Bastrop (Tex.) HS came up with a fundraising project that capitalizes on the desire every student who drives to school has to be able to find a parking space close to the building. Since regular parking permits at Bastrop cost $20 and do not guarantee a space, student council reserves 50 parking spaces that they sell by number for $35. These spaces are reserved until noon. " It's good income with little hassle," reports adviser Terry Hamm. "After we bought signs and painted the numbers, there is about a $50 overhead per year for decals."
Lip Sync
Each spring the student council of Londonderry (NH) HS offers the student body and faculty members the opportunity to display their performing abilities in a lip sync contest. Interested persons sign up to perform a practiced act in front of the entire student body. "People really let loose and put a lot of effort into it. This results in a great turnout as well as a successful fundraiser," says senior Melissa Kopacz. "Best of all, this activity is something any person from any group can participate in."
Almost Anything Goes
During spirit week at Coventry (RI) HS the Almost Anything Goes activity is the most competitive portion of the week. Students pay a $3 admission fee to see classes compete in Jello wrestling, ice cream musical chairs, water balloon toss, obstacle courses, and other events. Winners of each event earn points that go towards the spirit week point totals.
Friday Fun Night
The student council and the town parks department in Middleboro, MA, team up to host an evening of fun and games on the high school football field in the spring. They rent jumpy houses and inflatable slides, create assorted obstacle courses, and hire a live band and disc jockey to perform. For a $10 admission fee, participants get three to four hours of unlimited access to the fun. At 8:00 they show a movie on a big screen in the field. The movie selection is voted on from a pre-selected list by the student council the week before the event.
Kiss the Seniors Goodbye
As a farewell to members of the senior class, student council members at Livonia (MI) Franklin HS sell cards for seniors for their friends to write farewell messages. The cards are delivered with four Hershey's kisses during the last week of school.
Tennis Tournament
To publicize their doubles tennis tournament to raise money for the American Red Cross, student council members at Wethersfield (CT) HS advertised at all the tennis courts at schools and tennis centers in nearby towns. A $10 entry fee was charged for each double entering the tournament. Registrations in advance were preferred but they also accepted competitors the day of the event.
Kiss for Make-A-Wish
Boys and girls at Pahrump Valley (NV) HS pay $1 to kiss a card in a unique fundraiser organized by the student council. The cards are put on display and students pay 25 cents to vote on the best kiss. The boy and girl who get the most votes are crowned Mr. and Ms. Irresistible at the Valentine's dance. All proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish foundation.
Have a Heart
During the week before Valentine's Day, student council members at Memphis (TN) Central HS sell red paper hearts for $1. Students choose what name they want written on the heart. On Valentine's Day they are passed out to the students and they wear them all day. At the end of the day a name is called and whoever has that heart wins a prize. All proceeds go to the Memphis Interfaith Association.