But this week we're talking about community service and volunteering. Yesterday I provided you with some very good reasons for doing community service, including:
- Increasing positive sentiment and goodwill toward your school in the local community -
- Networking opportunities -
- Increased referrals -
- Press coverage -
- And of course, because it's the right thing to do -
So how do you get your school involved in community service projects in your local area?
Well, the easiest way is to start within your own school...
Food Drives
Food drives are one of the simplest ways you can help out charity and non-profit organizations in your local community. And, virtually every town has a local food bank.
Doing a food drive is pretty simple, and the logistics are fairly easy to handle. Announce the food drive with posters, hand outs, emails, and social media posts, then collect food in a large receptacle in your dojo lobby.
You'll want to clear out and sort the food each night, to prevent food items from being damaged. Packing them in large sturdy boxes will help prevent this from happening.
Then, once your drive is over, deliver the food to the local food bank. Simple, right?
However, before you do a food drive I suggest that you talk to the local food bank and see which items they need most so you can request those from your members. Otherwise, you'll end up donating a bunch of food that nobody wants, and it'll just get tossed after you donate it.*
Fundraisers
Fundraisers are another fairly no-fuss way to help out local charities in your community. Of course, you can always support an organization like
St. Jude's Childrens' Hospital with a fundraiser, or you can reach out to your local children's hospital instead.
There are also a million ways you can do fundraisers. You can hold an in-house event like a school tournament or kick-a-thon, and have students get people to pledge a certain amount of money for the number of rounds they spar or kicks they do.
Or, you can just take donations for a certain period of time. Or you can do a different sort of fundraising event like a car wash or a bake sale, or any number of other events that might generate funds to donate to the cause you've selected.
The main things to be aware of when doing these fundraisers is to find out if people can donate directly to the organization. Many times, people will want to just write a check directly to the org or donate by credit card online, and that makes it easier on you.
How To Handle Cash Donations
However, your most common donations will be in the form of cash, and you'll collect more donations if you accept cash during your fundraiser. For reasons I'll explain shortly, you'll need to have someone help you count the cash and set it aside for safekeeping.
I strongly suggest that you set up a special savings account at your bank where you can deposit funds collected each day of the drive. This way, you have a record of how much you collected over the course of the drive, and you will avoid mixing your own funds with fundraiser money, which can get very sticky if you're not careful.
Have a student count the cash each night, and deposit it along with your regular deposit at your local bank. Even if it's just a small amount, it's better to do things this way to avoid any issues with funds laying around your school that might end up missing for whatever reason.
Record Everything
Again, depositing funds in a special separate account helps a lot with record-keeping. However, you'll also want other records of the event, too.
I suggest that you have someone take pictures of the drive or fundraiser along the way. You can take snapshots with your phone and upload them to social media sites, or ask a student to do it for you.
Also, have someone film you delivering the food or writing the check for the final fundraiser payment to the charity (be sure to blank out your account numbers if you show the amount in the video).
This is not just for PR purposes; it's also to prove to everyone that the money you raised went to the chosen charity. Remember that we live in a very skeptical culture, so it's prudent to have proof and to show that proof publicly to head off any rumors or speculation before it starts.
- - -
Of course, there are other ways you can get involved and support local causes. Tomorrow, I'll share a few tips with you on how you can do exactly that.
