By LaVonne Czech, Herrick parent
Thinking outside the box, Herrick Middle School experimented with a new way to raise money – introducing Raise Craze! During this fundraiser, students performed acts of kindness for others while raising money for their school. They emailed friends and family about their good deeds and asked them to consider making a donation to Herrick. No pledges, no selling — just kindness! Sounds pretty simple, right?
Well to their pleasant surprise, it was that simple. Raise Craze was a HUGE success, netting nearly $22,000! Teachers and students were very pleased with the outcome, and are extremely proud of all the students’ efforts. These middle school kids worked efficiently and focused on the needs of others in their families, school and community. As a matter of fact, they had so much fun focusing on others, that many forgot it was a school fundraiser. And because Raise Craze was focused on giving back, Herrick also plans to pay it forward within the nearby community.
As an incentive, this fundraiser also brought some ambitious competition among the kids. The student who completed the most acts of kindness and who gathered the highest donations won the opportunity to tape Principal Matt Neustadt and Assistant Principal Amy Gray to the wall! Needless to say, the principals stuck to their promise! This truly was a great effort by all.
Quick Glance at Herrick’s Raise Craze Numbers:
$21,866.96 total money raised
# of donations – 582
# of participants – 572
# of emails send – 1,634
# of Acts of Kindness COMPLETED – 386
To learn more about this unique fundraising effort and how it works, visit www.raisecraze.com.