Gone are the days of the chocolate drive being the only option for the school fundraiser! With a little creativity and support from the school leadership team, fundraisers and events can become an opportunity to embed healthy choices as a core value of your school, walking the walk instead of just talking the talk!
It begins with raising these conversations with other parents, teachers, tuckshop convenors, P&C/P&F, school leadership and the wider school community. By keeping student wellbeing at the forefront of decision making around school fundraisers, it becomes clear that some activities help the school meet wellbeing goals better than others.
If your school is a little behind the eight ball in promoting a healthy school environment, fundraisers present a great opportunity to begin conversations on opportunities for positive change.
Stumped for healthy fundraising ideas? Anything which encourages physical activity or a healthy lifestyle is a great start! Think strawberry and mango drives, fun runs and colour runs, or talent shows and craft sales.
Smart Choices provides a fantastic guide to fundraising ideas which are non-food related, social event based or “a-thon” style (think, read-a-thon or walk-a-thon). Reaching out to local businesses and suppliers to sponsor or get involved provides a great opportunity to foster partnerships within the local community and can be beneficial for all involved.
The key to successful fundraising lies in research, planning, school and community support and learning from those who have successfully pulled if off before!
If your school is new to creative options for fundraising, don’t be afraid to set the foundation with newsletter items and parent letters which outline the school’s intention to take a new approach to health and wellbeing at school this year. Joining your school’s P&C might be a great place to start!
QAST member schools have a great head start in promoting a healthy school food environment through tuckshop support and guidance.
Check out the range of services offered – membership is a no-brainer!
