If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being Class President these past few months it’s that fundraising, especially during a pandemic, is quite difficult.
I’ve also learned that with a supportive community and some advertising, success is achievable, and many of our recent fundraisers at the high school have proven just that.
When I and the other class officers were selected, we had no idea how we would fundraise with all of the restrictions placed on us.
We weren’t able to plan any in-person events which limited us to very few ideas, but we knew we had to do something. Something different. Something more innovative.
With this in mind, we planned around the COVID circumstances and came up with several ideas to help the community and fundraise for our school.
We wanted to be able to plan things that were helpful to our school and to our local Fairhaven community all while abiding by COVID rules.
Although we could not create or participate in events such as car washes, dine-in fundraisers, or Holiday Bazaars at the town hall, we were able to improvise and find ways to utilize what our community has to offer to our advantage.
For instance, our junior class is holding a shoe drive that donates shoes to a company that gives the shoes to those in need while sharing a certain amount of money to the class for every pair brought in.
Our sophomore class has been promoting safety during the pandemic along with school spirit by selling Blue Devil face masks.
Another fantastic idea that the class officers have come up with is the idea of a takeout fundraiser that not only promotes local restaurants but raises money for the hosting class as well.
The senior class just recently held a successful fundraiser at Tropical Smoothie.
Our freshman class also held their first fundraiser, partnering with Captain’s Place.
I think I speak for all of the class officers when I say that starting up these fundraisers has been tough.
Even from my own experience, I think I called just about thirty different restaurants until reaching one that would follow through.
Many of these aforementioned restaurants said it plain and simple that they could not help us because they were barely surviving after COVID hit.
While this is understandable and actually extremely upsetting that our local businesses are suffering so much, it made this fundraising process that much more complicated, having to come up with new ideas and trying to find someone that was able to work with us.
The Class of 2024 and I were so lucky to be able to partner up with Captain’s Place for they were genuinely so kind and helpful throughout the whole process. We were able to raise $700 from our fundraiser, including donations.
Although fundraising during such an odd year like this one has thrown us through several challenges, it has also led to some pretty incredible things. The FHS classes have started to look at fundraising not only as a way to gain, but also to give back. By shedding some light on those in need and locals that are looking for extra customers, we have been able to help out a lot.
If you get anything from this article I hope that it’s the urgency to support local businesses!
We’ve all been affected during the pandemic, but I encourage you to pay it forward to the locals that continue to push through this pandemic for their customers like Captain’s Place.
If you’d like to make a donation to one of the classes, please mail or bring in a check/cash to Fairhaven High School, 12 Huttleston Ave., Fairhaven, MA 02719
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