Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Story of Giving from Jennifer McCrary

This year I spent about 40 hours as a volunteer, creating a fundraiser for my alma mater high school, which is recognized for its excellent performing arts program, in particular, their yearly musical productions. High school can be a tough time for young people, and I think the arts have grounded many teenagers, including me as I went through those years.

I modeled the fundraiser on one I saw in Ventura County, called Dancing with Our Community Stars (that effort has raised over $174,000 for local nonprofits in only four years.) Though I knew the high school would not raise that level of funds, I followed the basic model of getting leaders at the school - the teachers! - to volunteer as 'Stars', and paired each Star with a student dancer, and the competition has begun! Each Star is competing to 'win' by raising the most money, and $1 equals 1 vote. We convinced the 3 Vice Principals, an Art Teacher, and an English Teacher to dance, and the spirit of the event has already been great - everyone on campus cannot wait to see these teachers dance. The competition will take place January 14th, at the school's annual Dance Concert; funds raised will benefit the Performing Arts Fund and create a new Scholarship Fund to give to a graduating senior(s) who participated in at least 2 years in one area of performing arts.

Thank you for your consideration and generosity

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