CMJHS takes fundraising by storm
By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor
Miriam Ostermann Photo
broke fresh ground when they raised a whopping $72,000 during the 59 Minute Fundraiser – surpassing the institution’s personal goal by a landslide and propelling the school into the No. 1 selling spot Canada-wide.
Six hundred Grade 7, 8 and 9 students dialed as many numbers as possible within a 59-minute period on Nov. 17 to sell popcorn. The junior high school participated in a pilot project last year, where the sale of cookie dough resulted in $15,000 or a profit of just under $7,000 that was used towards the purchase of a new sound system for the school.
This year’s total came as a pleasant surprise to staff who will allocate the $36,000 profit towards school activities and facility improvements.
“Our personal goal was just to beat last year’s, which we hit, and then our second goal was $20,000 and we surpassed that big time,” said Lisa Homan, who is on the fundraising committee.
“Usually with fundraisers parents have a lot of the burden of doing it themselves. This fundraiser, the kids have to do the job and they have to phone people all day. It shows communication and it shows leadership since they’re taking charge of their order instead.”
The students were split up into three groups at three different one-hour time slots. Students then put their skills to use and sold either a 20-bag variety pack or a 10-pack of four different popcorn flavours: butter and salt, kettle corn, bold white cheddar or dill pickle.
QSP, which markets itself as a leader in youth fundraising, has raised over $525 million for Canadian youth. According to Homan, QSP provided the popcorn and organized the prizes and keychains for the event. Every time a student sold $40 worth of popcorn, that student was able to choose a keychain, with a “p” for prize or a “c” for candy written on it.
“I had worked with this school for over 10 years prior to this and have seen some of their best years profiting $8,000 – $10,000 with a traditional two week fundraiser,” said LeeAnn Lesniewski, QSP representative for Strathmore.
“Crowther is blessed to have such great student, staff, and community support that all came together for this successful campaign. We are thankful that we were able to help raise money in such a fun and spirited way.”
Students had until Nov. 23 to hand in money and order forms at which point the school will tally up results and determine which grade raised the most money to receive a prize. The popcorn is expected to come in around the New Year.