The first idea was to have all the kids draw something and then send those drawings to a company who would turn them into items parents could buy, such as magnets, coasters, etc.
The second idea was to have the kids sell rolls of garbage bags door to door.
The third idea was .... I can't remember now.
But the last idea was to have a fun run.
I usually sit in the corner with a few other moms. At this meeting we were in our corner and when the fun run idea came up we were all for it. We started talking about how much fun that would be and how much support we could get from the community because there are SO MANY fun runs/races in the area.
Everyone began debating the ideas and what they thought would work best. It was apparent very quickly that the moms were only really considering the drawings idea. I didn't think they would get very much money doing that because the timing wasn't right. If they waited until Fall they could catch people who would already be spending money on Christmas presents and give them an option of spending the money to help the school while taking care of Christmas shopping. Then it wouldn't feel like "one more thing" they have to buy to help their kids.
Slowly, the five of us who sit in the corner began making a plan for how the fun run would work. All of us have run in races before so we had ideas about what needed to happen. After listening to about 15 minutes worth of debate, we decided to say something. We made the point about the timing and then we stated the pros and cons we had just come up with in doing a fun run. There were a few very outspoken moms who weren't too happy with the idea and said there was no way we could pull it off in 2 months. The PTA president called for a vote (something that was hotly disputed later when one of the unhappy moms realized she had lost, but it did happen!).
Luckily, it was a small meeting so the 5 of us were able to persuade enough people that the idea for the fun run passed....and we were the committee. We met the next day and 2 weeks later we were well on our way to having a great fun run.
Each one of us has different contacts in the community and know different people. I live in a neighborhood of entrepreneurs so I was able to get a lot of them to sponsor our fun run. Another woman knows city officials in Santa Clara and is friends with the police chief so she was able to get us permission for the race and ideas on how to mark the course. Another woman is an avid runner and was able to find a fun course that wouldn't be too hard for a fun run. Another woman knew a graphic artist who did the posters for us. And the other mom is a college student majoring in computers and she was able to set up our website for registration. It's been amazing.
We have met each week and have been able to get things moving very quickly. We made a list of local businesses and then asked other PTA members to approach a couple of them asking for sponsorship and donations. Some were too nervous to help out but others had no problem and were able to get a lot of money coming in.
We got the sponsor letter going and were able to get businesses to help us with finances. For $50 their company name will be listed on our shirt and for $100 we will put their logo on our shirt. We not only collected cash donations but we were given coupons to local businesses and one business even donated the use of their blow-up finish line ...thing that you run through when you finish a race. We have helicopter rides, Tuacahn tickets, meals to a bunch of restaurants (Red Lobster, Golden Corral, Texas Roadhouse), carpet cleaning, hard cover books from Deseret Book, free pizza coupons from Papa Johns, free ice cream from Dairy Queen, and a lot more stuff.
Then we began advertising and having people sign up. We tried to keep the run affordable and we actually had a drawing for 2 free family entries into the race. As of today (1 week before the race) we have approximately 178 people registered to run! Our "out of this world" goal was to have 200 sign up. And we are taking race day registrations so we may have more. As of today we have $1,105 in registration fees, $1,900 in cash sponsor donations, and $3,005 in donated items from sponsors for our prize drawing at the end of the race. Not too shabby for 5 moms with only 2 months!
Our fun run is next Saturday and I am very excited to see how it turns out. We are trying to get this to be a yearly tradition so it can grow and grow. I love it!
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